Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of extraterrestrial life. This interdisciplinary field takes up the search for habitable environments in our Solar System and habitable planets outside our Solar System, the search for evidence of prebiotic chemistry, laboratory and field research into the origins and early evolution of life on Earth, and studies of the potential for life to adapt to challenges on Earth and in outer space. Astrobiology addresses the question of whether life exists beyond Earth, and how humans can detect it if it does.
Astrobiology makes use of physics, chemistry, astronomy, biology, molecular biology, ecology, planetary science, geography, and geology to investigate the possibility of life on other worlds and help recognize biospheres that might be different from the biosphere on Earth. Astrobiology concerns itself with interpretation of existing scientific data; given more detailed and reliable data from other parts of the universe, the roots of astrobiology itself—physics, chemistry and biology—may have their theoretical bases challenged. Although speculation is entertained to give context, astrobiology concerns itself primarily with hypotheses that fit firmly into existing scientific theories.
Selected article
In
planetary astronomy and
astrobiology, the
Rare Earth hypothesis argues that the
emergence of complex
multicellular life (
metazoa) on
Earth required an improbable combination of
astrophysical and
geological events and circumstances. The term "Rare Earth" comes from
Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe (2000), a book by
Peter Ward, a geologist and paleontologist, and
Donald E. Brownlee, an astronomer and
astrobiologist.
The rare earth hypothesis is the contrary of the widely accepted principle of mediocrity (also called the Copernican principle), advocated by Carl Sagan and Frank Drake, among others. The principle of mediocrity concludes that the Earth is a typical rocky planet in a typical planetary system, located in a non-exceptional region of a common barred-spiral galaxy. Hence it is probable that the universe teems with complex life. Ward and Brownlee argue to the contrary: planets, planetary systems, and galactic regions that are as friendly to complex life as are the Earth, the solar system, and our region of the Milky Way are very rare.
By concluding that complex life is uncommon, the Rare Earth hypothesis is a possible solution to the Fermi paradox: "If extraterrestrial aliens are common, why aren't they obvious?"
Selected biography
Dirk Schulze-Makuch is currently a professor at the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at
Washington State University. He is best known for his publications on
extraterrestrial life, being coauthor of four books on the topic:
A One Way Mission to Mars: Colonizing the Red Planet (2011),
We Are Not Alone: Why We Have Already Found Extraterrestrial Life (2010),
Cosmic Biology: How Life could Evolve on Other Worlds (2010), and
Life in the Universe: Expectations and Constraints (2004). In 2012 he published with
David Darling Megacatastrophes! Nine Strange Ways the World Could End.
Schulze-Makuch's research interests and publications range from astrobiology, hydrobiology, archaeology, to cancer. To the viewer he may be best known for his work in astrobiology, in particular the possible existence of life on Venus, Mars, Titan, Europa and Io. His book Life in the Universe (with L. N. Irwin) considers alternative physiologies for extraterrestrial life.