What Is Astrobiology And Why Do We Care?
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What Is Astrobiology And Why Do We Care?
Bruce JakoskyLaboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
University of Colorado at Boulder
9 February 2010
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Earth
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ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS NECESSARYFOR LIFE
Liquid water
Access to biogenic elements
Source of energy to drive chemical disequilibrium
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Mars
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Venus
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Europa
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Enceladus
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Places that meet/met requirements for life
• Meet/met all requirements:– Earth
– Mars
– Europa
• Meet some/most requirements and may meet all of them:– Enceladus
– Ganymede
– Callisto
– Titan
• May have met them in the past:– Venus
– Io
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Particularly Relevant Spacecraft Missions
• Ongoing– Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter– Spirit and Opportunity– Phoenix– Cassini– New Horizons– MESSENGER
• Upcoming– Mars Science Laboratory– MAVEN– JUNO
• Possible future missions– Outer Planet Flagship– Mars Sample Return– Comet sample return– Asteroid sample return– Lunar South Pole / Aitken Basin
sample return
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The MAVEN Spacecraft
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Potential Importance of the Role of Loss to Space
• The history of liquid water and of the atmosphere determine Mars’ potential for life throughout time.
• There is abundant evidence for climate change and atmospheric evolution.
• Loss of atmospheric CO2, N2, and H2O to space has been an important mechanism for atmospheric evolution, and may have been the dominant mechanism.
Only by understanding the role of escape to space will we be able to fully understand the history of the atmosphere, climate, and water, and thereby understand Martian habitability.
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MAVEN Will Measure the Drivers, Reservoirs, and Escape Rates
• MAVEN will determine the present state of the upper atmosphere and today’s rates of loss to space.
• Essential measurements allow determination of the net integrated loss to space through time.
Solar Input
Neutral Processes
Plasma Processes
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Launch: November 18, 2013
Ten Month Ballistic Cruise to Mars
Orbit Insertion:16 Sept 2014
One Year of Science Operations
MAVEN Mission Architecture
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CU/LASP, GSFC, UCB/SSL, LM, JPL
Launch Year
MROMRO
Mars ExpressCoop
Mars ExpressCoop
OdysseyOdyssey
MERMER
2013 2016 2018 & Beyond20112009Operational
MAVEN MAVEN
PhoenixPhoenix
Mars Science LabMars Science Lab
Trace Gas Orbiter
Trace Gas Orbiter
NASA’s Mars Exploration Program
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Why do we care?
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Student perspectives on finding life elsewhere (1 of 2):
• Finding bacteria elsewhere would be scientifically interesting, but only finding extraterrestrial intelligence would be truly profound.
• It won’t make much difference to most people; their lives would go on pretty much as before.
• We should solve our own problems here on Earth before we even go looking for life elsewhere.
• Extraterrestrial intelligence will help us to save the world by solving all of our current problems.
• Extraterrestrial life will destroy our civilization, either by intent or by accident.
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Student perspectives on finding life elsewhere (2 of 2):
• The existence of extraterrestrial life or intelligence would be inconsistent with the view of modern religions.
• Modern religions have dealt with scientific discoveries and societal changes in the past, and they probably can adapt to deal with a discovery of life elsewhere (if there’s even a conflict).
• We’ve already discovered extraterrestrial life and the government is hiding it, probably in a hangar in New Mexico.
• We may not have discovered it yet, but the government is covering up anyway.
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Searching for life elsewhere:
Mars sample return
Europa surface and ocean
Earth-like planets
Extraterrestrial intelligence?
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“There are two possibilities. Maybe we’re alone. Maybe we’re not. Both are equally frightening.” Arthur C. Clarke
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“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” T. S. Eliot