The New Science of Astrobiology

by Chela-Flores, Julian

• ISBN13: 9780792371250
• ISBN10: 0792371259
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-12-01
• Publisher: Kluwer Academic Pub

Summary

Astrobiology is a very broad interdisciplinary field covering the origin, evolution, distribution, and destiny of life in the universe, as well as the design and implementation of missions for solar system exploration. A review covering its complete spectrum has been missing at a level accessible even to the non-specialist. The last section of the book consists of a supplement, including a glossary, notes, and tables, which represent highly condensed 'windows' into research ranging from basic sciences to earth and life sciences, as well as the humanities. These additions should make The New Science of Astrobiology accessible to a wide readership: scientists, humanists, and the general reader will have an opportunity to participate in one of the most rewarding activities of contemporary culture.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xvii
Joseph Seckbach
Preface	xxi
BOOK 1: ORIGIN OF LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE
INTRODUCTION: What is astrobiology?
The three strategies in the search for extraterrestrial life	5	(1)
Putting biology back into the space sciences	6	(2)
A role for physics in the birth of modern biology	8	(1)
The role of the earth sciences in the study of the origin of life	8	(1)
Organized studies and meetings on the origin of life	9	(4)
PART I CHEMICAL EVOLUTION: FOUNDATIONS FOR THE STUDY OF THE ORIGIN OF LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE
From cosmic to chemical evolution
Some cultural questions	13	(2)
Cosmological models	15	(2)
The cosmic microwave background	17	(1)
Further views on the cosmos	18	(1)
The unexpected repulsive cosmic force	18	(1)
The birth of studies on the origin of life	19	(1)
The growth of studies on the origin of life	20	(2)
Origin of the elements: from the big bang to the interior of stars	22	(1)
Supernovae: the source of biogenic dust	23	(1)
Molecular clouds and circumstellar disks	24	(2)
Stellar evolution	26	(1)
Implications of stellar and biological evolution	26	(3)
From chemical to prebiotic evolution
Organic cosmochemistry	29	(1)
Precursor biomolecules in interplanetary dust	30	(2)
Cosmic dust and comets: their role in astrobiology	32	(1)
Origin of the solar system: the Rosetta mission	32	(3)
Origin of the terrestrial planets	35	(1)
Origin of the jovian planets	35	(1)
Origin of the satellites of the jovian planets	36	(1)
Sources for life's origins: A search for biogenic elements
Biogenic elements on the Moon	37	(2)
Biogenic elements on asteroids	39	(1)
Biogenic elements on comets	40	(2)
Biogenic elements on meteorites	42	(5)
Biogenic elements in extreme terrestrial environments	47	(3)
Perennially ice-covered lakes in Antarctica	50	(1)
Lake Vostok	51	(4)
PART II PREBIOTIC EVOLUTION: THE BIRTH OF BIOMOLECULES
From prebiotic evolution to single cells
Which are the macromolecules of life?	55	(1)
The primitive Earth	56	(1)
The origin of the first cell	57	(1)
A biochemical relic of the earliest stages of life	58	(1)
The origin of the macromolecules of life	59	(1)
Extraordinary symmetry of cell membrane molecules	59	(1)
Are there extraterrestrial sources of molecular asymmetry?	60	(1)
Was there an asymmetric influence in chemical evolution?	60	(1)
The handedness of biomolecules are useful biomarkers	61	(1)
An analogy with languages: the genetic code	61	(1)
The origin of cellular organelles	62	(1)
From chemical to cellular evolution	63	(1)
Was there liquid water on the early Earth 4,400 million years ago?	64	(1)
The dawn of unicellular organisms	65	(4)
BOOK 2: EVOLUTION OF LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE
From the age of prokaryotes to the origin of eukaryotes
A unique event lost somewhere deep in the Archean	69	(1)
Role of oxygen and iron in eukaryogenesis	70	(1)
Signs of evolution in Archean rock formations	71	(1)
First appearance of multicellular organisms	72	(1)
The origin of chromosomes	73	(1)
On DNA folding	74	(1)
The Molecular Clock hypothesis	74	(1)
A transition in the pathway towards intelligence	75	(1)
In which environments can exremophiles survive?	76	(1)
Mechanisms of evolution beyond natural selection	76	(1)
Constraints on chance	77	(1)
Chance, contingency and convergence	78	(1)
Eukaryogenesis and evolution of intelligent behavior
Modern taxonomy emphasizes single-celled organisms	79	(1)
The phenomenon of the eukaryotic cell	79	(1)
The phenomenon of multicellularity	80	(1)
Evolution of the hominoids	81	(1)
Evolution of intelligent behavior in the hominids	82	(1)
Does eukaryogenesis lie in the pathway towards universal communication?	83	(2)
The origin of language in the universe	85	(1)
The co-evolution of brain and language	86	(5)
BOOK 3: DISTRIBUTION AND DESTINY OF LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE
PART I EXOBIOLOGY OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM: SCIENTIFIC BASES FOR THE STUDY OF THE LIFE OF OTHER WORLDS
On the possibility of biological evolution on Mars
Could there have been chemical evolution on Mars?	91	(1)
Possible relevance of quartz in chemical evolution	92	(4)
The question of the origin, evolution and distribution of Martian life	96	(1)
Has there been single-celled eukaryotes on Mars?	97	(1)
Was there liquid water on Mars?	98	(3)
Mars Express	101	(1)
The future of humans on Mars	102	(1)
On the possibility of biological evolution on Europa
The discovery of Europa	103	(3)
The Galileo mission	106	(2)
Tentative inventory of organic elements in the conjectured Europan ocean	108	(1)
Habitability of Europa	108	(2)
Search for biological evolution in the Solar System	110	(1)
Is eukaryogenesis ubiquitous?	111	(1)
What are the requirements for the maintenance of life on Europa?	111	(1)
Searching for microorganisms on Europa and terrestrial ice	112	(1)
Testing for evolutionary trends of Europan biota	112	(1)
Can there be life without light?	113	(2)
Is there liquid water in Europa?	115	(1)
What are the constraints on the putative Europan biotope?	116	(1)
On the possibility of chemical evolution on Titan
The discovery of Titan	117	(1)
The Voyagers: The first missions to Saturn and Titan	118	(2)
Titan and Triton	120	(1)
The atmosphere of Titan	121	(1)
The origin of Titan's atmosphere	122	(1)
The tantalizing surface of Titan	123	(1)
The Cassini-Huygens mission	124	(2)
Can there be liquid water on Titan?	126	(2)
The possibility of life on Titan is remote	128	(3)
PART II BIOASTRONOMY: THE STUDY OF ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA RELATED TO LIFE
How different would life be elsewhere?
Possible degrees of evolution of life	131	(1)
The search for other solar systems	132	(1)
How are extrasolar planets found?	133	(1)
Which are likely habitable zones?	134	(1)
Stars and their Jupiter-like planets	134	(1)
What is a planet?	135	(2)
On the habitability of satellites around Jupiter-like planets	137	(2)
The search for evolution of extraterrestrial intelligent behavior
What is our place in the universe?	139	(1)
Intelligent behavior seems to be intimately related with the need to communicate	140	(1)
Progress in instrumentation	140	(1)
The Phoenix Project	140	(2)
The Meta, Beta and Serendip projects	142	(1)
Seti on the Moon	142	(1)
The technical progress of Seti	143	(1)
On the difficulties of the Seti project	144	(1)
From the first neuron to brains	144	(1)
The Drake equation	145	(1)
Eukaryogenesis as a factor in the Drake equation	146	(1)
Testing the Drake equation in the Solar System	146	(1)
Beyond geocentricism, anthropocentrism and `biogeocentrism'	147	(2)
Is the evolution of intelligent behavior universal?
Convergence and contingency in evolutionary biology	149	(2)
Biological evolution on other worlds	151	(1)
Evolution of intelligent behavior in an aquatic medium	152	(1)
Experimental tests for the evolution of micro-organisms elsewhere in our solar system	153	(2)
Which precursors of evolution of intelligent behavior should we search for?	155	(4)
PART III CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS FOR THE DISCUSSION OF THE DESTINY OF LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE
Deeper implications of the search for extraterrestrial life
Positivism and the Vienna Circle	159	(1)
Position of humans in the totality of all earthly species	160	(1)
Can our intelligence be repeated elsewhere?	161	(1)
Other constraints imposed on our view of life	162	(1)
Is evolution more than a hypothesis?	162	(1)
Constraints on life imposed by philosophy and theology	163	(1)
What is specific to a human being?	163	(2)
Are there trends in evolution?	165	(2)
Philosophical implications of the search for extraterrestrial civilizations
Pasteur, Darwin and Wallace	167	(1)
Philosophical issues	168	(2)
The boundaries of science, philosophy and theology	170	(1)
Can there be cultural convergence?	170	(1)
Towards a general interest in the origin of life	171	(1)
Is there life elsewhere in the universe?	172	(1)
On the persistency of biogeocentrism	172	(1)
What is the position of the human being in the cosmos?	173	(1)
What changes can we expect in our culture if there is a prevalence of the living state throughout the cosmos?	174	(1)
Back to the beginning of astrobiology
Astrobiology in the historical context of the sciences of the universe	175	(1)
Aristarchus of Samos	175	(1)
Nicholas of Cusa (Cusanus)	176	(1)
Nicholas Copernicus	176	(1)
Giordano Bruno	177	(2)
Charles Darwin	179	(1)
Alexander Oparin	180	(1)
Stanley Miller	181	(2)
Sidney W. Fox	183	(1)
Cyril Ponnamperuma	184	(1)
The recent period	184	(1)
Recapitulation
The Central Questions of Astrobiology	185	(4)
BOOK 4: SUPPLEMENT
Notes and References	189	(26)
Glossary	215	(12)
Supplementary Reading	227	(10)
Indices
Abbreviations	237	(2)
Subject Index	239	(6)
Name Index	245	(4)
About the Author	249	(2)
Proceedings or related events in astrobiology co-edited by the author	251