Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Jul 2004
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004assl..305..415r&link_type=abstract
Astrobiology: Future Perspectives, p. 415 by Ehrenfreund et al., Leiden Observatory, The Netherlands ASTROPHYSICS AND SPACE SCIE
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Scientific paper
The two other solar system bodies thought to be most compatible with "life as we know it" are the planet Mars and Europa, a natural satellite of the planet Jupiter. These worlds appear to harbor the potential for past and/or present-day liquid water, biologically useful energy sources, and a significant and rich organic chemistry. Such traits are under active investigation both through ongoing, targeted, solar system exploration missions and from the extensive analysis of data from previous missions and astronomical observations. And both bodies are the subject of astrobiologically inspired future missions. The nature of both Mars and Europa fuels speculation about the prospects for life, and the established facts about each of them, added to more recent observations, can explain their astrobiological interest. Nonetheless, such data can only form a circumstantial case for that interest, and further investigations of water (in all of its forms), energy, and organic chemistry are sure to be required before astrobiological investigations can be further targeted-and data from any biological observations can be properly interpreted. Most important will be a dedication to understanding both Mars and Europa for the environments that they possess-and the nature and distribution of those environments in space and time-rather than trying to understand these worlds by simple analogy to the modern Earth. It is clear that both Mars and Europa have characteristics that may be similar to those of Earth when studied over its entire history, but it is equally true that each of them have characteristics that are unlike anything presented by the Earth system at any single time in its past. The same can be said of Saturn's moon, Titan, which presents a compelling mix of organic chemistry, water ice, and atmosphere-but must represent a significant departure from any historical Earth. This is not necessarily a disadvantage. In fact, through the study of Mars, Europa, and Titan we may come to recognize circumstances on the early Earth that are presently unknown, or at least unappreciated. Such is the promise of astrobiology-not simply a "search for life," but a change in perspective that can shed light on established disciplines, while it allows for the pursuit of answers to some of science's most compelling questions.
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