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Life and Planetary Evolution Lab
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The lab seeks to understand the evolution of planets and the evolution of life together, with the aim of searching for life in space.
AboutAbout the lab
Understanding the evolution of planets and of the life they host together, toward the search for life in space
The Life and Planetary Evolution Lab conducts research with the aim of understanding the evolution of planets and the evolution of the life they host together, and connecting this to the search for life in space.
Targeting planets, moons, and icy bodies in the Solar System as well as exoplanets, the lab uses diverse methods, including computation, telescope observation, development of observation instruments, field surveys on Earth, biology experiments, and planetary exploration.
Centered on the perspective of the co-evolution of planets and life, the lab treats Earth as a model for bodies that nurture life.
On the lab's website, it is introduced under the name "Life and Planetary Evolution Group."
Key terms
- Exoplanet
- A planet outside the Solar System. Through a telescope it appears as a point, so the information that can be obtained is limited
- Icy body
- Bodies such as Europa, Enceladus, and Pluto, which are expected to have subsurface oceans
- Coronagraph
- An observation instrument that cancels out the light of a bright star. The lab is developing one for the direct observation of faint Earth-like planets around stars
- Co-evolution
- An interplay in which changes in Earth's environment drive the evolution of life, and that evolution in turn changes the environment of the planet
NewsLab news
A paper with the Project Assistant Professor as first and corresponding author was published in PNAS
A review of icy bodies in the Solar System, with Assistant Professor Kimura as first author, was published in Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Planetary Science
A paper on icy planetesimals, with Assistant Professor Kimura as first author, was published in Earth, Planets and Space
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to understand the evolution of planets and the evolution of the life they host together, and to connect this to the search for life in space. Targeting Solar System bodies and exoplanets, it combines methods such as computation, telescope observation, development of observation technology, field surveys, biology experiments, and planetary exploration.
*Illustrative imageCo-evolution of Earth and life
Since life arose about 4 billion years ago, Earth has interacted with the evolution of life and greatly changed its environment. Using experiments and theory, the lab studies the emergence and evolution of oxygen-producing photosynthetic organisms and the development of indicators of life on exoplanets.
*Illustrative imageFormation and evolution of Solar System bodies
From small bodies such as Ryugu to icy bodies, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, the lab investigates why such diverse bodies formed. Based on findings from exploration and experiments, it builds theoretical models of the evolution of these bodies, and also uses telescopes to observe changes in their surfaces and atmospheres.
*Illustrative imageInstrument development for the search for life in space and exoplanet observation
The lab is developing a coronagraph for the direct observation of Earth-like exoplanets and will carry out a demonstration with the Subaru Telescope. It also works on instrument development and observation proposals for mission plans such as JUICE, the Jupiter system explorer; LAPYUTA, an ultraviolet space telescope; and SEIRIOS, a formation-flying space interferometer.
MembersFaculty
Members of the Life and Planetary Evolution Lab consist of faculty, project faculty and researchers, administrative staff, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, and external collaborating researchers.As of 2026
- ProfessorTaro Matsuo
- Assistant ProfessorJun Kimura
- Assistant ProfessorMinoru Kumazawa
- Project Assistant ProfessorKumiko Itoh
- Project Assistant ProfessorSatoshi Itoh
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “PIA19048 realistic color Europa mosaic edited” NASA / Jet Propulsion Lab-Caltech / SETI Institute / Public domain (cropped)
- Co-evolution of Earth and life: “Stromatolites in Sharkbay” Paul Harrison / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Formation and evolution of Solar System bodies: “Simulant of Asteroid Ryugu Surface PC105278” Kestrel / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Instrument development for the search for life in space and exoplanet observation: “Coronagraph Instrument of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope 1-pia26272-coronagraph-instrument-exposed” NASA/JPL-Caltech / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Animal Morphology Lab): “Dead Man's Island marine invertebrates” Eric Polk / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Plant Cell Fate Regulation Lab): “A thaliana seedlings (cropped)” Safflle / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular Developmental Biology Lab): “Confocal Microscope” Mark from Edinburgh, United Kingdom / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Protein Design Lab): “TMEM238 protein predicted folding via AlphaFold” Huntingrl / CC0 (cropped)
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