Life On Earth And Other Planetary Bodies

Author : Arnold Hanslmeier,Stephan Kempe,Joseph Seckbach
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 518 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2012-10-29
Category : Science
ISBN : 9789400749665

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Life on Earth and other Planetary Bodies by Arnold Hanslmeier,Stephan Kempe,Joseph Seckbach Pdf

A trio of editors [Professors from Austria, Germany and Israel] present Life on Earth and other Planetary Bodies. The contributors are from twenty various countries and present their research on life here as well as the possibility for extraterrestrial life. This volume covers concepts such as life’s origin, hypothesis of Panspermia and of life possibility in the Cosmos. The topic of extraterrestrial life is currently ‘hot’ and the object of several congresses and conferences. While the diversity of “normal” biota is well known, life on the edge of the extremophiles is more limited and less distributed. Other subjects discussed are Astrobiology with the frozen worlds of Mars, Europa and Titan where extant or extinct microbial life may exist in subsurface oceans; conditions on icy Mars with its saline, alkaline, and liquid water which has been recently discovered; chances of habitable Earth-like [or the terrestrial analogues] exoplanets; and SETI’s search for extraterrestrial Intelligence.

Author : National Research Council,Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences,Space Studies Board,Committee on Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution
Publisher : National Academies Press
Page : 161 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 1990-02-01
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780309042468

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The Search for Life's Origins by National Research Council,Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences,Space Studies Board,Committee on Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution Pdf

The field of planetary biology and chemical evolution draws together experts in astronomy, paleobiology, biochemistry, and space science who work together to understand the evolution of living systems. This field has made exciting discoveries that shed light on how organic compounds came together to form self-replicating molecules-the origin of life. This volume updates that progress and offers recommendations on research programs-including an ambitious effort centered on Mars-to advance the field over the next 10 to 15 years. The book presents a wide range of data and research results on these and other issues: The biogenic elements and their interaction in the interstellar clouds and in solar nebulae. Early planetary environments and the conditions that lead to the origin of life. The evolution of cellular and multicellular life. The search for life outside the solar system. This volume will become required reading for anyone involved in the search for life's beginnings-including exobiologists, geoscientists, planetary scientists, and U.S. space and science policymakers.

Author : Peter D. Ward,Donald Brownlee
Publisher : Springer
Page : 359 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2007-05-08
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780387218489

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Rare Earth by Peter D. Ward,Donald Brownlee Pdf

What determines whether complex life will arise on a planet, or even any life at all? Questions such as these are investigated in this groundbreaking book. In doing so, the authors synthesize information from astronomy, biology, and paleontology, and apply it to what we know about the rise of life on Earth and to what could possibly happen elsewhere in the universe. Everyone who has been thrilled by the recent discoveries of extrasolar planets and the indications of life on Mars and the Jovian moon Europa will be fascinated by Rare Earth, and its implications for those who look to the heavens for companionship.

Author : Jean-Pierre de Vera,Joseph Seckbach
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 432 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2013-07-30
Category : Science
ISBN : 9789400765467

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Habitability of Other Planets and Satellites by Jean-Pierre de Vera,Joseph Seckbach Pdf

Is the Earth the right model and the only universal key to understand habitability, the origin and maintenance of life? Are we able to detect life elsewhere in the universe by the existing techniques and by the upcoming space missions? This book tries to give answers by focusing on environmental properties, which are playing a major role in influencing planetary surfaces or the interior of planets and satellites. The book gives insights into the nature of planets or satellites and their potential to harbor life. Different scientific disciplines are searching for the clues to classify planetary bodies as a habitable object and what kind of instruments and what kind of space exploration missions are necessary to detect life. Results from model calculations, field studies and from laboratory studies in planetary simulation facilities will help to elucidate if some of the planets and satellites in our solar system as well as in extra-solar systems are potentially habitable for life.

Author : Akio Makishima
Publisher : Elsevier
Page : 268 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2017-01-27
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780128120590

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Origins of the Earth, Moon, and Life by Akio Makishima Pdf

Origins of the Earth, Moon, and Life in the Solar System: An Interdisciplinary Approach presents state-of-the-art knowledge that is based on theories, experiments, observations, calculations, and analytical data from five astro-sciences, astronomy, astrobiology, astrogeology, astrophysics, and cosmochemistry. Beginning with the origin of elements, and moving on to cover the formation of the early Solar System, the giant impact model of the Earth and Moon, the oldest records of life, and the possibility of life on other planets in the Solar System, this interdisciplinary reference provides a complex understanding of the planets and the formation of life. Synthesizing concepts from all branches of astro-sciences into one, the book is a valuable reference for researchers in astrogeology, astrophysics, cosmochemistry, astrobiology, astronomy, and other space science fields, helping users better understand the intersection of these sciences. Includes extensive figures and tables to enhance key concepts Uses callout boxes throughout to provide context and deeper explanations Presents up-to-date information on the universe, stars, planets, moons, and life in the solar system Combines knowledge from the fields of astrogeology, astrophysics, cosmochemistry, astrobiology, and astronomy, helping readers understand the origins of the Earth, the moon, and life in our solar system

Author : Muriel Gargaud,Purificación López-Garcìa,Hervé Martin
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 547 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2011-01-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781139494595

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Origins and Evolution of Life by Muriel Gargaud,Purificación López-Garcìa,Hervé Martin Pdf

Devoted to exploring questions about the origin and evolution of life in our Universe, this highly interdisciplinary book brings together a broad array of scientists. Thirty chapters assembled in eight major sections convey the knowledge accumulated and the richness of the debates generated by this challenging theme. The text explores the latest research on the conditions and processes that led to the emergence of life on Earth and, by extension, perhaps on other planetary bodies. Diverse sources of knowledge are integrated, from astronomical and geophysical data, to the role of water, the origin of minimal life properties and the oldest traces of biological activity on our planet. This text will not only appeal to graduate students but to the large body of scientists interested in the challenges presented by the origin of life, its evolution, and its possible existence beyond Earth.

Author : Angelo Pio Rossi,Stephan van Gasselt
Publisher : Springer
Page : 433 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2017-11-28
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783319651798

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Planetary Geology by Angelo Pio Rossi,Stephan van Gasselt Pdf

This book provides an up-to-date interdisciplinary geoscience-focused overview of solid solar system bodies and their evolution, based on the comparative description of processes acting on them. Planetary research today is a strongly multidisciplinary endeavor with efforts coming from engineering and natural sciences. Key focal areas of study are the solid surfaces found in our Solar System. Some have a direct interaction with the interplanetary medium and others have dynamic atmospheres. In any of those cases, the geological records of those surfaces (and sub-surfaces) are key to understanding the Solar System as a whole: its evolution and the planetary perspective of our own planet. This book has a modular structure and is divided into 4 sections comprising 15 chapters in total. Each section builds upon the previous one but is also self-standing. The sections are: Methods and tools Processes and Sources Integration and Geological Syntheses Frontiers The latter covers the far-reaching broad topics of exobiology, early life, extreme environments and planetary resources, all areas where major advancements are expected in the forthcoming decades and both key to human exploration of the Solar System. The target readership includes advanced undergraduate students in geoscience-related topics with no specific planetary science knowledge; undergraduates in other natural science domains (e.g. physics, astronomy, biology or chemistry); graduates in engineering and space systems design who want to complement their knowledge in planetary science. The authors’ backgrounds span a broad range of topics and disciplines: rooted in Earth geoscience, their expertise covers remote sensing and cartography, field mapping, impact cratering, volcanology and tectonics, sedimentology and stratigraphy exobiology and life in extreme environments, planetary resources and mining. Several generations of planetary scientists are cooperating to provide a modern view on a discipline developed from Earth during and through Space exploration.

Author : Dirk Schulze-Makuch,Louis N. Irwin
Publisher : Springer
Page : 343 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2018-11-19
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783319976587

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Life in the Universe by Dirk Schulze-Makuch,Louis N. Irwin Pdf

Examines each of these parameters in crucial depth and makes the argument that life forms we would recognize may be more common in our solar system than many assume. Considers exotic forms of life that would not have to rely on carbon as the basic chemical element, solar energy as the main energy source, or water as the primary solvent and the question of detecting bio- and geosignatures of such life forms, ranging from earth environments to deep space. Seeks an operational definition of life and investigate the realm of possibilities that nature offers to realize this very special state of matter. Avoids scientific jargon wherever possible to make this intrinsically interdisciplinary subject understandable to a broad range of readers.

Author : Bruce Jakosky
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 340 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 1998-10-15
Category : Science
ISBN : 0521598370

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The Search for Life on Other Planets by Bruce Jakosky Pdf

Does life exist on other planets? This 1998 book presents the scientific basis for thinking there may be life elsewhere in the Universe. It is the first to cover the entire breadth of recent exciting discoveries, including the discovery of planets around other stars and the possibility of fossil life in meteorites from Mars. Suitable for the general reader, this authoritative book avoids technical jargon and is well illustrated throughout. It covers all the major topics, including the origin and early history of life on Earth, the environmental conditions necessary for life to exist, the possibility that life might exist elsewhere in our Solar System, the occurrence of planets around other stars and their habitability, and the possibility of intelligent extraterrestrial life. For all those interested in understanding the scientific evidence for and likelihood of extraterrestrial life, this is the most comprehensive and readable book to date.

Author : National Research Council,Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences,Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board,Space Studies Board
Publisher : National Academies Press
Page : 166 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2010-03-08
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780309215893

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Forging the Future of Space Science by National Research Council,Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences,Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board,Space Studies Board Pdf

From September 2007 to June 2008 the Space Studies Board conducted an international public seminar series, with each monthly talk highlighting a different topic in space and Earth science. The principal lectures from the series are compiled in Forging the Future of Space Science. The topics of these events covered the full spectrum of space and Earth science research, from global climate change, to the cosmic origins of life, to the exploration of the Moon and Mars, to the scientific research required to support human spaceflight. The prevailing messages throughout the seminar series as demonstrated by the lectures in this book are how much we have accomplished over the past 50 years, how profound are our discoveries, how much contributions from the space program affect our daily lives, and yet how much remains to be done. The age of discovery in space and Earth science is just beginning. Opportunities abound that will forever alter our destiny.

Author : John Chambers,Jacqueline Mitton
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2017-05-02
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781400885565

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From Dust to Life by John Chambers,Jacqueline Mitton Pdf

The birth and evolution of our solar system is a tantalizing mystery that may one day provide answers to the question of human origins. From Dust to Life tells the remarkable story of how the celestial objects that make up the solar system arose from common beginnings billions of years ago, and how scientists and philosophers have sought to unravel this mystery down through the centuries, piecing together the clues that enabled them to deduce the solar system's layout, its age, and the most likely way it formed. Drawing on the history of astronomy and the latest findings in astrophysics and the planetary sciences, John Chambers and Jacqueline Mitton offer the most up-to-date and authoritative treatment of the subject available. They examine how the evolving universe set the stage for the appearance of our Sun, and how the nebulous cloud of gas and dust that accompanied the young Sun eventually became the planets, comets, moons, and asteroids that exist today. They explore how each of the planets acquired its unique characteristics, why some are rocky and others gaseous, and why one planet in particular--our Earth--provided an almost perfect haven for the emergence of life. From Dust to Life is a must-read for anyone who desires to know more about how the solar system came to be. This enticing book takes readers to the very frontiers of modern research, engaging with the latest controversies and debates. It reveals how ongoing discoveries of far-distant extrasolar planets and planetary systems are transforming our understanding of our own solar system's astonishing history and its possible fate.

Author : Rhawn Joseph,Rudolf E. Schild,Chandra Wickramasinghe
Publisher : Cosmology.com
Page : 536 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2010-12
Category : Science
ISBN : 0974975591

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Life on Earth Came from Other Planets by Rhawn Joseph,Rudolf E. Schild,Chandra Wickramasinghe Pdf

Author : Karel Schrijver,Iris Schrijver
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 215 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2015
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780198727439

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Living with the Stars by Karel Schrijver,Iris Schrijver Pdf

Living with the Stars tells the fascinating story of what truly makes the human body. The body that is with us all our lives is always changing. We are quite literally not who we were years, weeks, or even days ago: our cells die and are replaced by new ones at an astonishing pace. The entire body continually rebuilds itself, time and again, using the food and water that flow through us as fuel and as construction material. What persists over time is not fixed but merely a pattern in flux. We rebuild using elements captured from our surroundings, and are thereby connected to animals and plants around us, and to the bacteria within us that help digest them, and to geological processes such as continental drift and volcanism here on Earth. We are also intimately linked to the Sun's nuclear furnace and to the solar wind, to collisions with asteroids and to the cycles of the birth of stars and their deaths in cataclysmic supernovae, and ultimately to the beginning of the universe. Our bodies are made of the burned out embers of stars that were released into the galaxy in massive explosions billions of years ago, mixed with atoms that formed only recently as ultrafast rays slammed into Earth's atmosphere. All of that is not just remote history but part of us now: our human body is inseparable from nature all around us and intertwined with the history of the universe.

Author : Muriel Gargaud,Purificacion Lopez Garcia,Hervé MARTIN
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2011
Category : Evolution (Biology)
ISBN : OCLC:758293196

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Origins and Evolution of Life by Muriel Gargaud,Purificacion Lopez Garcia,Hervé MARTIN Pdf

"Devoted to exploring questions about the origin and evolution of life in our Universe, this highly interdisciplinary book brings together a broad array of scientists. Thirty chapters assembled in eight major sections convey the knowledge accumulated and the richness of the debates generated by this challenging theme. The text explores the latest research on the conditions and processes that led to the emergence of life on Earth and, by extension, perhaps on other planetary bodies. Diverse sources of knowledge are integrated, from astronomical and geophysical data, to the role of water, the origin of minimal life properties and the oldest traces of biological activity on our planet. This text will not only appeal to graduate students but to the large body of scientists interested in the challenges presented by the origin of life, its evolution, and its possible existence beyond Earth"--Provided by publisher.

Author : National Research Council,Division on Earth and Life Studies,Board on Life Sciences,Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences,Space Studies Board,Committee on the Origins and Evolution of Life,Committee on the Limits of Organic Life in Planetary Systems
Publisher : National Academies Press
Page : 116 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2007-07-26
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780309104845

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The Limits of Organic Life in Planetary Systems by National Research Council,Division on Earth and Life Studies,Board on Life Sciences,Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences,Space Studies Board,Committee on the Origins and Evolution of Life,Committee on the Limits of Organic Life in Planetary Systems Pdf

The search for life in the solar system and beyond has to date been governed by a model based on what we know about life on Earth (terran life). Most of NASA's mission planning is focused on locations where liquid water is possible and emphasizes searches for structures that resemble cells in terran organisms. It is possible, however, that life exists that is based on chemical reactions that do not involve carbon compounds, that occurs in solvents other than water, or that involves oxidation-reduction reactions without oxygen gas. To assist NASA incorporate this possibility in its efforts to search for life, the NRC was asked to carry out a study to evaluate whether nonstandard biochemistry might support life in solar system and conceivable extrasolar environments, and to define areas to guide research in this area. This book presents an exploration of a limited set of hypothetical chemistries of life, a review of current knowledge concerning key questions or hypotheses about nonterran life, and suggestions for future research.