The Science of Astrobiology

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface; Acknowledgements; Recommendations to the readers


Introduction: The cultural and scientific context of astrobiology


I.1 Early attempts to read the Book of Life: Aristarchus of Samos and Hipparchus; Nicholas of Cusa (Cusanus); Nicholas Copernicus; Giordano Bruno; Charles Darwin. I.2 Some pioneers of the science of astrobiology; Alexander Oparin; Stanley Miller; Sidney W. Fox; Cyril Ponnamperuma;
John Oro,
1st Marquess of Oró. I.3 Three strategies for astrobiological exploration; I.4 Inserting philosophy into astrobiology; I.5 Emphasizing the role of biology in astrobiology; I.6 Inserting physics into biology especially in astrobiology; I.7 Inserting the earth sciences in astrobiology; I.8 New fingerprints of early life; I.9 Inserting paleontology into astrobiology; Supplementary Reading; References

The Book of Life

Part 1: The Origin of Life in the Universe


Chap. 1. From cosmic to chemical evolution; 1.1 Beginnings of a rational cosmology based on physical constraints; 1.2 Cosmological models; 1.3 The cosmic microwave background; 1.4 The growth of studies of astrobiology; 1.5 Origin of the elements: from the big bang to the interior of stars; 1.6 Supernovae: the source of biogenic dust; 1.7 Molecular clouds and circumstellar disks; 1.8 Stellar and biological evolution; Supplementary Reading; References.
Chap. 2. From chemical to prebiotic evolution; 2.1 Cosmochemistry; 2.2 Precursor biomolecules in interplanetary dust; 2.3 Cosmic dust and comets: their role in astrobiology; 2.4 Origin of the Solar System: the Rosetta mission; 2.5 Origin of the terrestrial planets; 2.6 Origin of the Jovian planets; 2.7 Origin of the moons in the outer Solar System; Supplementary Reading; References
Chap. 3. Sources of life's origin: A search for biomarkers; 3.1 The Moon and its water content as a mirror of the early Earth; 3.2 Biogenic elements on asteroids; 3.3 Biogenic elements on comets; 3.4 Biogenic elements on meteorites; 3.5 The Murchison meteorite; 3.6 Biogenic elements in extreme terrestrial environments; 3.7 A terrestrial analog to Europa in Antarctica: The dry valley lakes; 3.8 A second terrestrial analog to Europa near the South Pole: Lake Vostok; 3.9 A third terrestrial analog to Europa in the Canadian Arctic; Supplementary Reading; References
Chap. 4. From prebiotic evolution to the emergence of single cells; 4.1 Which are the macromolecules of life? 4.2 The primitive Earth; 4.3 The origin of the first cell; 4.4 A biochemical relic of the earliest stages of life; 4.5 Symmetry in the cosmos; 4.6 Symmetry in the life sciences: Asymmetry in the Animal World; Asymmetry in the Microscopic World: Chirality;
Homochirality as a Biomarker of Life; Abdus Salam's Vision of Symmetry in Nature; The Origin of Chirality and the Murchison Meteorite; 4.7 An analogy with languages: the genetic code; 4.8 The origin of cellular organelles; 4.9 From chemical to cellular evolution; 4.10 The influence of the ancient Sun on the early evolution of life; 4.11 Eventual deeper insights into the origin of life from solar missions; Supplementary Reading; References


Part 2: The Evolution of Life in the Universe


Chap. 5. From the age of prokaryotes to the emergence of eukaryotes; 5.1 Could prokaryotes have emerged on the early Earth 4,4 Gyr ago? 5.2 The dawn of unicellular organisms; 5.3 An early emergence of life makes the Moon a major target for astrobiology; 5.4 A unique event lost somewhere deep in the Archean; 5.5 The evolution of the Earth's atmosphere: The Great Oxidation Event; 5.6 The role of oxygen and iron in eukaryogenesis; 5.7 First appearance of metazoans in the Paleoproterozoic; 5.8 The origin of chromosomes; 5.9 The Molecular Clock hypothesis; 5.10 A transition in the pathway towards intelligence; 5.11 In which environments can extremophiles survive in our Solar System? 5.12 Mechanisms of evolution beyond natural selection; 5.13 The adaptation of life to extreme environments; Supplementary Reading; References
Chap. 6. Eukaryogenesis and evolution of intelligent behavior; 6.1 Modern taxonomy emphasizes single-celled organisms; 6.2 The phenomenon of the eukaryotic cell; 6.3 The phenomenon of multicellularity; 6.4 Evolution of hominoids; 6.5 Evolution of intelligent behavior in the hominids; 6.6 Did external events contribute to the evolution of intelligence on Earth? 6.7 The pathway towards communication; 6.8 The emergence of language and music in modern humans; Supplementary Reading; References


Part 3: The Distribution of Life in the Universe


Chap. 7. On the possibility of biological evolution on Mars; 7.1 What have we learnt from previous missions to Mars? 7.2 An Eden-like early Martian environment; 7.3 The early Viking Missions; 7.4 Mars Pathfinder and the Sojourner Rover; 7.5 The Mars Global Surveyor; 7.6 Mars Express; 7.7 The Phoenix Mission; 7.8 The question of the origin, evolution and distribution of Martian life; 7.9 Mars Odyssey and the Exploration Rover "Opportunity";7.10 Is methane a possible biomarker in the Martian atmosphere? 7.11 Testing for life on Mars on terrestrial analogs; 7.12 Mars in the second and third decades of the 21st century; Supplementary Reading; References
Chap. 8. On the possibility of biological evolution on the moons of Jupiter; 8.1 The discovery of Europa; 8.2 The Galileo mission; 8.3 Tentative inventory of organic elements in the Europan ocean; 8.4 The habitability of Europa; 8.5 What are the constraints on the putative Europan biotope? 8.6 Technological challenges for reading further into the Book of Life: The Original Hydrobot-Cryobot; Advanced Design for Hydrobots, Penetrators; Surficial Landers for Europa; 8.7 Returning to the Jovian System; 8.8 Are there biosignatures revealing a second biology on Europa? 8.9 Sulfur patches and space weather in the neighborhood of Europa; Supplementary Reading; References
Chap. 9. On the possibility of biological evolution on the moons of Saturn; 9.1 The discovery of Titan; 9.2 The Voyagers: The first missions to Saturn and Titan; 9.3 The Cassini-Huygens Mission; 9.4 Titan and Enceladus; 9.5 The atmosphere and hydrosphere of Titan; 9.6 Titan's surface; 9.7 Is there a liquid ocean on Titan? 9.8 The plumes and habitability of Enceladus; 9.9 An eventual return to Titan and Enceladus; 9.10 The habitability of Titan; Supplementary Reading; References
Chap. 10. How different would life be elsewhere in the universe? 10.1 Possible degrees of evolution of life; 10.2 The search for other solar systems; 10.3 How are extrasolar planets found? 10.4 Which are likely habitable zones? 10.5 The multiplicity of exoplanets in our galactic neighborhood; 10.6 What is a planet? 10.7 The CoRoT mission; 10.8 The Kepler mission; 10.9 The discovery of the first super-Earths in habitable zones; 10.10 Exomoonology: the habitability of satellites around other stars; 10.11 Potentially habitable worlds: planets like Earth; Supplementary Reading; References
Chap. 11. The search for exointelligence in worlds around other stars; 11.1 What is our place in the universe? 11.2 Intelligent behavior is intimately related with the need to communicate; 11.3 The Drake Equation; 11.4 Progress in instrumentation; 11.5 SETI on the Moon; 11.6 From the first neuron to brains; 11.7 Beyond geocentricism; 11.8 The Fermi Paradox; 11.9 SETI: towards the future; Supplementary Reading; References


Part 4: The Destiny of Life in the Universe


Chap. 12. Is the destiny of life inexorably linked with intelligence? 12.1 The origin of the neuron: a first step in the evolution of intelligence; 12.2 The origin of metazoans: a second step in the evolution of intelligence; 12.3 Convergence and contingency in evolutionary biology; 12.4 Biological evolution on other worlds; 12.5 Evolution of intelligent behavior in aquatic media; 12.6 Testing the evolution of microorganisms in the Solar System; 12.7 Precursors of the evolution of exointelligence-where should we look? 12.8 Can the origin of metazoans be detected elsewhere in the Solar System? 12.9 Back to Europa for further constraining the Drake Equation; 12.10 Convergence between SETI and the exploration of our Solar System; Supplementary Reading; References
Chap. 13. Cultural frontiers of astrobiology; 13.1 The frontiers of science, philosophy and theology; 13.2 Positivism and the Vienna Circle; 13.3 Position of humans in the totality of all earthly species; 13.4 Is evolution more than a hypothesis? 13.5 What is specific to a human being? 13.6 Are there trends in evolution? 13.7 Cultural implications of discovering extraterrestrial life; 13.8 Relevance and implications of discovering life elsewhere; 13.9 Consequences of other intelligent behavior; Supplementary Reading; References
Chap. 14. When astrobiology meets philosophy; 14.1 Pasteur, Darwin and Wallace; 14.2 A philosophical issue: design in biology; 14.3 Towards a common interest in astrobiology and the humanities; 14.4 Is there life elsewhere in the universe? 14.5 Can our intelligence be repeated elsewhere? 14.6 Some of the larger issues when philosophy meets astrobiology; Supplementary Reading; References
Chap. 15. Why we may be unable to read the complete Book of Life; 15.1 Evolution of the universe and its contents including the living process; 15.2 Constraints on the universality of biology; 15.3 Extending Newton's mechanics into the microscopic domain; 15.4 From quantum electrodynamics to quantum chromodynamics; 15.5 The unification of elementary forces; 15.6 Hopes for clarification from new instrumentation; 15.7 Influential steps other than quantum field theory; 15.8 String theory as a basis for reading the Book of Life; 15.9 Questions that lie in the frontier where astrobiology meets philosophy; Supplementary Reading; References
Chap. 16. An intelligible universe with the science of astrobiology; 16.1 The meaning of reality; 16.2 The Philosophy of Kant and Hegel; 16.3 Is the universe a well-determined ordered system? 16.4 Logical positivism and consilience; 16.5 Are we approaching the end of biogeocentrism? 16.6 Is reductionism inevitable in the physical and in the life sciences? 16.7 Difficulties reading Part 3 of the Book of Life; 16.8 Perhaps the Third Part of the Book of Life can be intelligible; Supplementary Reading; References
Epilogue: Learning to read the Book of Life: An interdisciplinary process; Acronyms and abbreviations
Illustrated glossary; General index; Index of illustrations; Index of Tables; Alphabetical index; About the author; Books by the author

Pressestimmen

From the reviews:

"Chela-Flores (Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Italy) supplies up-to-date reviews of the astronomy (so viewers will know where to aim telescopes), a survey of early life on Earth ... and a survey of solar system candidates. ... Overall, a good volume to have on one's library shelf and to function as a required reference in astrobiology courses. Summing Up: Recommended. All academic, general, and professional audiences." (K. L. Schick, Choice, Vol. 49 (6), February, 2012)

"I strongly recommend this book, written by a real humanist, to any open-minded reader eager to consider "classical" astrobiology in its philosophical context. The book offers a very rare occasion to access the full dimension of astrobiology: origin, evolution, distribution and destiny of life in the Universe." (André Brack, Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres, March, 2012)

"While reading this book, the origin-of-life professional will recognize its useful organization and summary of various components of astrobiology. ... I found this book instructive and mind-opening. ... The author is very successful in conveying that much can be gained in astrobiology by merging science with philosophy." (Radu Popa, Astrobiology, Vol. 12 (10), 2012)