If I was interested in primarily the study of extremophiles, and other forms of life in space and outside of earth, what would be a good path to take for undergrad?
Hi! Hope this post is allowed here, can delete if not. I'm a High school student going into my senior year after this coming summer, and over the last year have had my interest in space reignited with the artemis launch, the biosignatures found on mars last September, etc. I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I want to do for college, as I was previously set on going to art school (and have the majority of my portfolio done) but have had second thoughts.
I've found myself incredibly interested in the study of life outside of earth and on other planets (or any signs of such) and wanted to ask, if I want to pursue a career in lets say, Astrobiology or a similar field, what would be a good first step regarding college? I was looking into microbiology, but my concern is that the focus is more on the pharmaceutical side, centering too much on diseases and viruses etc.
Any advice appreciated. thanks.