About the Author

Vera M. Kolb obtained degrees in Chemical Engineering and Organic Chemistry from Belgrade University, and her PhD in Organic Chemistry from Southern Illinois University. Following a 30 year career, she is currently Professor Emerita of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. During a sabbatical leave with the NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training (NSCORT) in Astrobiology, she worked with Dr Leslie Orgel at the Salk Institute and Professor Stanley Miller at UC San Diego. She is the editor of, and a contributor to, Astrobiology, An Evolutionary Approach (2015) and Handbook of Astrobiology (2019).Benton C. Clark III obtained degrees in Physics and Nuclear Engineering, and a PhD in Biophysics from Columbia University. In space exploration, he designed radiation monitors for the Gemini spacecraft and the instrument for Viking which first analyzed the composition of Martian soil. He has been a science team member for all rover missions to Mars, as well as sample return missions from comets and asteroids, and has also consulted with NASA for the NSCORT, Exo-biology and Astrobiology programs.