What is Astrobiology?
Last revised: 30/1/01
Astrobiology is the study of all living things within the universe, where
they might be found and how they were formed. Astrobiology is a relatively
young field; in May 1998 NASA formed the Astrobiology Institute at the
Ames Research Centre.
There is no real agreed definition of astrobiology - it is a collection
and merging of several different scientific disciplines. The most recognisable
parts might be the search for life outside Earth - exobiology, the study
of other planets both in our Solar System and those orbiting around other
stars - planetary biology, human spaceflight and how life first came into
existence.
Only with recent scientific discoveries has the field of astrobiology
properly come into the fore. In the past decade, our knowledge of the
universe and of biology has increased hugely with the use of space telescopes,
interplanetary probes and an improved understand of how life was first
formed on Earth. This knowledge has allowed us to relate these discoveries
to each other. An excellent example would be from exobiology. The high
profile Mars Pathfinder mission gave us large amounts of data about conditions
on Mars - chemicals, temperatures, conditions.
Research into extremophiles, organisms that exist at extremes of temperature,
pressure or depth has yielded startling information on the versatility
of life, and how life can exist almost anywhere. Combining these two disciplines
together, it was discovered that certain microbes could actually survive
on Mars quite easily - so while we might not have discovered life on Mars
as yet, we now know that it can exist. This is the essence of astrobiology;
co-operation and sharing of knowledge between previously independent scientific
fields.
Astrobiology also looks at the place of life in the universe, and isn't
simply restricted to science. It asks important questions; was life forming
on Earth a fluke? Why is there no life on Mars? Is there life scattered
across the universe, or are we truly alone? If we are, why?
We've produced four different sections in Astrobiology along those lines.
Exobiology, Planetary
Biology, Origins of
Life, Astrobiology in Science Fiction and Humans in
Space.
Under these sections you'll be able to find subtopics related those fields.
Since the point of astrobiology is that it isn't a distinct field, you'll
find tables of links pointing to related information and articles both
inside this Astrobiology site and outside.
Please note that neither we, nor Thinkquest, are responsible for the
content of any external websites.
