Embedded Files
Learning is not the product of teaching. Learning is the product of the activity of Learners - John Holt
EXTRA ACTIVITIES RELATED TO ASTROBIOLOGY
EXTRA ACTIVITIES RELATED TO ASTROBIOLOGY
TOP UNIVERSITY FOR ASTROBIOLOGY
TOP UNIVERSITY FOR ASTROBIOLOGY
BEST BOOKS TO WATCH OUT IN ASTROBIOLOGY
BEST BOOKS TO WATCH OUT IN ASTROBIOLOGY
“The nature of life on Earth and the search for life elsewhere are two sides of the same question—the search for who we are.”
“The nature of life on Earth and the search for life elsewhere are two sides of the same question—the search for who we are.”
– Carl Sagan
– Carl Sagan
Image source- Arizona State University
Hey Buddies, let's explore world of unreal. Do visit all the webpages of Astrobiology
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known"
Carl Sagan
Her we present a Quiz which will test your knowledge and interest related to Astrobiology. Do attempt the quiz once you explore all the webpages
ASTROBIOLOGY - INTRODUCTION
ASTROBIOLOGY - INTRODUCTION
Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the Universe. It encompasses the origin, evolution and history of life on Earth and also studies the potential for extraterrestrial life. Astrobiology provides an interdisciplinary approach with innovative insight toward fundamental questions in science.
Astrobiology unites physics, chemistry, astronomy, biology, molecular biology, ecology, planetary science, geography, and geology to study “anything and everything about life on Earth in order to understand how life might arise and survive elsewhere in the Universe”
At the heart of astrobiology is yet another basic and unanswered question: What actually is life?
One might think after centuries of study that issue would be resolved, for life on Earth at least. Actually, it’s getting increasingly complicated to come up with an answer that takes in all the “lifeforms” discovered and that might have once existed on our planet.
One frequently used definition of life is “a self-sustaining system capable of Darwinian evolution.” But there are literally several hundred more.
Credits - AZ quotes .
The quote by American astronomer Geoaffrey Marey was known for discovering exoplanet in early decade
IMAGE OF EARTH TAKEN FROM SATELLITE
Credits - ESA / JAXA
The central goal of astrobiology is to find evidence of past or present life beyond Earth, if it ever existed. But there are countless mysteries about planets and moons, about solar systems, about galaxies and about the makeup of the space between them that inevitably will be confronted and unraveled along the way. Ultimately, the search for extraterrestrial life is possible only as part of an exploration of the makeup, the dynamics, the history and the many as yet unknown wonders of the cosmos.
While no one can say with certainty what sort of life might be turned up by these experiments, the usual assumption is that it will be microbial, as single-celled life is adaptable to a wide range of environments and requires less energy.
Image of past Martian Jezero Crater which was filled with liquid water and also would have microbial life
This is a land site for NASA's ambitious mars SUV size rover called "Perseverance ".
Credits - nasa.gov
Artist’s rendering of NASA’s Cassini spacecraft observing a sunset through Titan’s hazy atmosphere.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Credits- astrobio.net
Image of Jupiter seen by Juno probe as of flyby through Jupiter
Turning Science Fiction into Science Fact
Consider: The rover Curiosity has firmly determined that ancient Mars was significantly more wet and warm, and was an entirely habitable place for microbial life. All the ingredients needed for life as we know it – the proper chemicals, a consistent source of energy, and water that was likely present and stable on the surface for millions of years – were clearly present.
Did microbial life then begin? If so, did it evolve?
Those questions remain unanswered, but this much is known: If a second genesis occurred on Mars (or on Jupiter’s moon Europa, Saturn’s moon Enceladus, or anywhere else in our solar system), then the likelihood increases substantially that many other forms of life exist on those billions of exoplanets and exomoons now known to orbit distant stars and planets. One origin of life on Earth could be the result of a remarkable and inexplicable pathway to life. Two origins in one solar system strongly suggests that life is commonplace in the universe.
The World of Astrobiology
The World of Astrobiology
One high-profile example is the Exo Mars mission sponsored by the European Space Agency, with help from the Russian Space Agency and NASA. A major goal of the mission is to test for the organic gas methane in the mars atmosphere. While European scientists have made such global methane detections in recent years, it was the NASA detection of large plumes of released methane at specific sites that focused this Exo Mars mission goal. Astrobiology cooperation is often intellectual as well as operational.
Astrobiology may sometimes seem most defined by high-profile missions, but often those missions represent years of prior theoretical and laboratory work. And once data from missions have been obtained, more lab analysis and testing has to take place, and then be challenged and criticized by colleagues, before the results can be released as a significant finding. For instance, it took almost two years of intensive lab work and data analysis before members of the Curiosity science team could announce that they had teased out from Mars drill samples the presence of long-sought organic compounds, the building blocks of life as we know it.
Mars Curiosity rover’s one-year anniversary selfie. The photo was actually composed of dozens of individual images taken between April and May 2014. Curiosity’s mission is to find evidence of past or present habitable conditions on the surface of Mars.
Credits- nasa.gov
SELFIE TAKEN BY CUROSITY ROVER
Credits - mars.nasa.gov
VIEW OF MILKY WAY TAKEN BY TELESCOPE
Credits: space.com
Credits - NASA/ESA
Image showing liquid water plumes releasing in space from a Saturn's moon - Enceladus which contribute to E ring of Saturn
Credits- astronet.edu
Image impression showing DNA and RNA would be a fundamental in universe
The connection between space exploration and astrobiology was highlighted and given early legitimacy by molecular biologist turned exo -biologist Joshua Lederberg. Even before NASA was formally established, he was reaching out to colleagues about the possibilities of finding life beyond Earth. He won the Nobel Prize (at age 33, for discoveries about the genetics of bacteria) the same year NASA was founded.
By 1960 he was writing in the journal Science that: “Exobiology is no more fantastic than the realization of space travel itself, and we have a grave responsibility to explore its implications for science and for human welfare with our best scientific insights and knowledge.”
Researchers have also found all the chemicals needed for life in space, and many of the key building blocks in meteorites and even comets. Amino acids, for instance, were found in samples of the comet Wild 2 after NASA’s Stardust spacecraft passed through the comet’s dusty coma in 2004, and nucleotides have been discovered by NASA scientists in meteorites. These results from the field of “astrochemistry” have told scientists that the ingredients presumed to be needed for life are actually falling on planets, moons, and asteroids everywhere.
The first humans to walk on another world - Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin - flying the ascent stage of their Lunar Module back to the Moon-orbiting Command and Service Module. Apollo photographs of Earth, such as this one taken by Command Module pilot Michael Collins, helped launch the environmental movement and got us wondering about the habitability of other worlds.
Credits: Apollo 11 / NASA
So the nation’s ability to reach into space came at a time when people were open, eager even, to learn more about the dynamics and origins of life on Earth… and possibly beyond.
NASA DEPICTION TO JOURNEY TO MARS
HUBBLE TELESCOPE ORBITING EARTH
credits - newsscientist.com
A tubeworm at a hydrothermal vent on the ocean floor. Chemosynthetic bacteria living inside the tubeworms derive energy from chemicals emitted in the hot water of hydrothermal vents.
Credits: NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program, MCR Expedition 2011, NOAA-OER
Earth-based research has been essential to astrobiology and has significantly changed our understanding of Earth and what might be possible on other worlds. But NASA and European robotic missions and space telescopes have most often been the engines that drive the field.
GIF OF EARTH
Credits- giphy.com
Credits - Carl Sagan research institute
Carl Sagan's lines from he book " The Pale Blue Dot " . This image was capture by Voyager 1 probe when it was passing Heliopause
DISCLAIMER
The content is compiled and curated to the best of our ability and from the resources accessible to us at time of compilation. We do not claim that it is comprehensive and exhaustive. Appropriate reference and citation has been given for the resources. We continually look towards updating it with inputs from your side, if any.
Department of Microbiology, VESASC
Page designed and maintained by -Mr. Tejas Thombare (TYBSc Micro 2022-23)
Page updated
Report abuse