Habitability of Other Planets and Satellites

ISBN-13: 9789400792166 / Angielski / Miękka / 2015 / 419 str.

Jean-Pierre De Vera; Joseph Seckbach

Opis

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.

Recenzje

From the reviews:

"This edited collection of short papers covers a range of topics relevant to questions of habitability on planetary bodies other than Earth. ... the book is perhaps suitable as a primer in aspects of astrobiology associated with questions of habitability of other planets and moons. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above." (P. K. Strother, Choice, Vol. 51 (7), March, 2014)

Spis treści

Foreword; Joseph Seckbach
Preface; Hagai Netzer
Introduction; Jean-Pierre de Vera
List of Authors and Their Addresses
Acknowledgements; Jean-Pierre de Vera and Joseph Seckbach
Part 1: PARAMETERS FOR HABITABILITY, HABITABLE ZONES AND LIFE: ENERGY, LIQUID SOLVENT, INFORMATION
The Habitable Zone: Basic Concepts; Stephen Kane
Exoplanets: Criteria for Their Habitability and Possible Biospheres; John Lee Grenfell, Heike Rauer and Philip von Paris
The Habitable Zone and The Generalized Greenhouse Effect; Giora Shaviv and Smadar Bressler, Nir J. Shaviv
The Influence of UV Radiation on Exoplanets’ Habitability; Orion Talmi and Giora Shaviv
Factors of Planetary Habitability; Rob Hengeveld
Bio-relevant microscopic liquid subsurface water in planetary surfaces?; Dirk Möhlmann
Part 2: IMPACT CRATERS AND THE EVOLUTION OF LIFE
Organic molecules in lunar ice: a window to the early evolution of life on Earth; Dirk Schulze-Makuch
Part 3: FIELD STUDIES IN PLANETARY ANALOGS, SIMULATIONS AND SPACE EXPERIMENTS WITH RELEVANCE TO HABITABILITY
Experimental simulation of possible origins of life (Conceptual and Practical Issues); Henry Strasdeit and Stefan Fox
Simulation and measurement of extraterrestrial conditions for experiments on habitability with respect to Mars; Andreas Lorek and Alexander Koncz
The Role of Terrestrial Analogs in the Exploration of The Habitability of Martian Evaporitic Environments; Roberto Barbieri
Part 4: SEARCH FOR HABITABLE WORLDS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND BEYOND
Microbial scale habitability on Mars; Frances Westall
Interior and surface dynamics of terrestrial bodies and their implications for the habitability; Lena Noack and Doris Breuer
Exoplanets and habitability; Stephen Kane
Part 5: ALTERNATIVES TO EARTH-LIKE LIFE
Extremophiles on Alien Worlds: What Types of Organismic Adaptations are Feasible on Other Planetary Bodies; Dirk Schulze-Makuch
Brown Dwarfs and Black Smokers. The Potential for Photosynthesis using Radiation from Low-Temperature Black Bodies; John A. Raven and Sean Donnelly
Part 6: APPLICATION OF EXISTING TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE DETECTION OF HABITABLE PLANETS AND THE SEARCH FOR LIFE
Detection of Habitable Planets and The Search for Life; Heike Rauer, Juan Cabrera, Stefanie Gebauer, John Lee Grenfell
Raman Spectral Signatures in the Biogeological Record: An Astrobiological Challenge; Howell G. M. Edwards, Ian B. Hutchinson, Richard Ingley
Application of Raman Spectroscopy as In Situ Technology for the Search for Life; Ute Böttger and Antje Hermelink  and Jean-Pierre de Vera and Jörg Fritz and Iris Weber and Dirk Schulze-Makuch and Heinz-Wilhelm Hübers
Part 7: FUTURE SPACE MISSIONS FOR LIFE DETECTION
Habitability on Kepler worlds: Are Moons Relevant?; Julian Chela-Flores
Clean In-Situ Subsurface Exploration of Icy Environments in the Solar System; B. Dachwald, S. Ulamec and J. Biele
Part 8: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Theoretically possible habitable Worlds – but soon will we get answers by observations?; Jean-Pierre de Vera and Joseph Seckbach
Subject Index
Author Index

Blurb

Is Earth the right model and therefore our Earth-centric view the only universal key to understand habitability, the origin and maintenance of life? This book tries to give answers on this question. It gives insights into the nature of planets and their potential to harbor life as well as the role of life itself as an engine to increase the habitability of planets and satellites. Knowledge of different disciplines in Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Planetology and Physics are the driving force for the discussion what might be the clues to classify a planetary body as a habitable object. The role of the atmosphere, solar radiation, magnetism, tectonics, mineral composition, liquid water availability and the interactions with life are in the focus of the general discussion. Earth serves as the reference system to get an approximation of the factors which might be important for classification of a celestial body as a habitable object. Results from field studies and those obtained from laboratory studies in planetary simulation facilities will help to elucidate if some of the planets and satellites in our solar system are potentially habitable for terrestrial life forms. The discussion is also enlarged in particular to exo-planets and their potential to be habitable. Further, recent technologies are presented in this book which might be suitable for remote or in situ identification of habitable environments and life as we know it. Instrumentation, detection devices, space projects and space mission designs to search for habitable niches and life is part of this work and gives insights into the challenges we might confront if we pursue the main task to detect life. The initial step of these exploration endeavors might be to discover first habitable environments and then to look after life forms with life detecting instrumentation in the discovered habitable niches.