Books and Publications of Interest to Astrobiology
- 2020
- Astrobiology: Current, Evolving and Emerging Perspectives
Caister Academic Press
Publication Date: February 2020
ISBN: 978-1-912530-31-1
Link to article
- 2019
- Assembling Life: How Can Life Begin on Earth and Other Habitable Planets?
Oxford University Press
Publication Date: February 2019
Book website - EXPOSE R-2 on the ISS: The BOSS and PSS Experiments Results
Mary Ann Liebert
Publication Date: July 2019
ISSN: 1531-1074
Link to article
Free access for the full special collection available through September 7, 2019. - Special Collection: BIOMEX (BIOlogy and Mars EXperiment)
Astrobiology
Publication Date: February 2019
ISSN: 1531-1074
Link to article - Biosignatures for Astrobiology
Springer
Publication Date: 2019
ISBN 978-3-319-96175-0
Book website
- 2017
- Thermodynamic Inversion: Origin of Living Systems
Springer International Publishing, Cham
Publication Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-53512-8
Link to article - Our Place in the Universe
Springer
Publication Date: 2017
ISBN 978-3-319-54172-3
Book website - Astrobiology Special Collection: STARLIFE
Astrobiology
Publication Date: February 2017
ISSN: 1531-1074
Link to article
Intercomparison Study of Astrobiological Model Systems in Their Response to Major Components of Galactic Cosmic Radiation
- 2016
- Special Issue on AstRoMap
Astrobiology
Mary Ann Liebert Inc.
Publication Date: March 2016
DOI: 10.1089/ast.2015.1441
Link to article - Astrobiology Primer 2.0
Astrobiology
Mary Ann Liebert Inc.
Publication Date: August 2016
DOI: 10.1089/ast.2015.1460
Link to article
- 2015
- Review of the MEPAG Report on Mars Special Regions
The National Academies Press
Publication Date: September 2015
ISBN: 978-0-309-37904-5
76 pages, Paperback
Link to free download
At NASA's request, the community-based Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) established the Special Regions Science Analysis Group (SR-SAG2) in October 2013 to examine the quantitative definition of a Special Region and proposed modifications to it, as necessary, based upon the latest scientific results. Review of the MEPAG Report on Mars Special Regions reviews the conclusions and recommendations contained in MEPAG's SR-SAG2 report and assesses their consistency with current understanding of both the Martian environment and the physical and chemical limits for the survival and propagation of microbial and other life on Earth. This report provides recommendations for an update of the planetary protection requirements for Mars Special Regions. - Generation and Applications of Extra-Terrestrial Environments on Earth
Ed. by Daniel A. Beysens and Jack J.W. A. van Loon
River Publishers Series in Standardisation
Publication Date: June 2015
ISBN: 9788793237537
Table of contents
More information:
http://www.riverpublishers.com/view_details.php?book_id=288 - Microbial Evolution under Extreme Conditions
Ed. by Bakermans, Corien
De Gruyter
Series: Life in Extreme Environments 2
Publication Date: March 2015
ISBN: 978-3-11-034071-6
See link:
http://www.degruyter.com/view/product/211345 - International Journal of Astrobiology Special Issue on EXPOSE-R
International Journal of Astrobiology, Volume 14(1), Pages 1-142 (January 2015), Cambridge Journals
Edited by Gerda Horneck and Corinna Panitz
Link to Special Issue
All articles of this special issue can be downloaded for free.
Read also the related Cambridge Journals Blog entry by Gerda Horneck.
- 2014
- Comets and their Origin
Uwe Meierhenrich
Wiley
Publication Date: December 2014
ISBN: 978-3-527-41281-5
352 pages
More information
As a result, the author elucidates highly topical and fascinating knowledge to scientists and students of various scientific backgrounds, allowing them to work with ROSETTA's data. - Special Collection of Papers from EANA 2013: The 13th European Workshop on Astrobiology
Special Issue: Papers from the 13th European Workshop on Astrobiology
“Through Cosmic Dust to DNA”,
22-25 July 2012, Szczecin, Poland
Volume 44, Number 3, September 2014
See link:
http://link.springer.com/journal/11084/44/3
Introduction to the Special Collection of Papers from EANA 2013: The 13th European Workshop on Astrobiology ("Through Cosmic Dust to DNA") by Franco Ferrari and Ewa Szuszkiewicz (open access). - Astrobiology: An Evolutionary Approach
Paperback: 504 pages
Publisher: CRC Press (October 9, 2014)
Language: English
Edited by Vera Kolb
ISBN-10: 1466584610, ISBN-13: 978-1466584617
Link to Flyer - PSS Special Issue: Planetary evolution and life
Planetary and Space Science, Volume 98, Pages 1-268 (August 2014), Elsevier
Edited by Tilman Spohn, Veronique Dehant, Lee Grenfell, Ernst Hauber, Helmut Lammer, Frank Sohl and Frances Westall
Link to Special Issue
- 2013
- Astrochemistry and Astrobiology
Series: Physical Chemistry in Action
Smith, Ian W. M.; Cockell, Charles S.; Leach, Sydney (Eds.)
2013, IX, 349 p. 79 illus., 55 illus. in color. - Habitability of Other Planets and Satellites
Series: Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology, Vol. 28
J.-P. de Vera, Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, Germany; J. Seckbach, The Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel (Eds.)
Springer
Download: pdf-flyer.
- 2012
- Space research in Horizon 2020
A recommendation of the FP7 Space Advisory Group of the European Commission,
Brussels, 12 December 2012, European Commission
Download: pdf-version. - Planets and Life
Tilman Spohn
Spatium, October 2012, Volume 30: Planets and Life
Download: pdf-version. - SpringerBriefs in Astronomy booklet
H. Lammer, Austrian Academy of Sciences,
Graz, Austria
Origin and Evolution of Planetary Atmospheres
Implications for Habitability
More information on this publication can be found here:
SpringerBriefs-ProductFlyer_978-3-642-32086-6.pdf - Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons as Plausible Prebiotic Membrane Components
Joost Groen, David W. Deamer, Alexander Kros and Pascale Ehrenfreund,
Orig. Life Evol. Biosph. (2012) 42:295-306
(Open Access).
Please click here to obtain a copy of this paper. - Presentations given at the 11th
European Workshop on Astrobiology EANA’11 at Cologne, Germany
are now published in Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres
Special Issue: Papers from the 11th European Workshop on Astrobiology
“Planets and Life - Evolution and Distribution”,
11–14 July 2011, Köln, Germany;
Guest editors: Gerda Horneck and Ralf Moeller
Volume 42, Numbers 2–3, June 2012
Latest Impact factor is 2.660
See link:
http://link.springer.com/journal/11084/42/2/page/1
- EXPOSE-E Mission on the International Space Station
Exciting Results Are First Reported in Special Issue of Astrobiology Journal
Editor-in-Chief: Sherry L. Cady, Ph.D.
Current Volume: 12
Latest Impact Factor* is 2.362
ISSN: 1531-1074 • Published Monthly • Online ISSN: 1557-8070
- Photochemical organic chemistry relevant to comets, meteorites, Mars and Titan (Team leader: Hervé Cottin, UMR CNRS, France)
- Molecular adaptation strategies of microorganisms to different space and planetary UV climate conditions (Team leader: Petra Rettberg, DLR, Germany)
- Resistance of spacecraft isolates to outer space for planetary protection purposes (Team leader: Gerda Horneck, DLR, Germany);
- Resistance of lichens and lithic fungi at space conditions (Team leader: Silvano Onofri, University of Tuscia, Italy)
- Plant seed as a terrestrial model for a Panspermia vehicle and as a source of universal UV screens (Team leader: D. Tepfer, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, France)
“The results from the EXPOSE-E mission’s astrobiology experiments are exciting in that they test life’s capacity to survive the harsh environment of outer space,” says Sherry L. Cady, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief of Astrobiology and Professor in the Department of Geology at Portland State University. “The EXPOSE-E science will undoubtedly serve as a benchmark for all future low-Earth orbit investigations. These kinds of activities are critical to the success of future missions for Solar System exploration.”
These results from EXPOSE-E are first presented in a special issue of Astrobiology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com). The issue is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/ast.
- 2011
- Asztrobiológia
Kereszturi Akos
Asztrobiológia
Magyar Csillagászati Egyesület
ISBN 978-963-87597-3-3
- Origins of Life: The Primal Self-Organization
R. Egel, D.-H. Lankenau, A.Y. Mulkidjanian,
Origins of Life: The Primal Self-Organization
Springer, Publisher
http://www.springer.com/life+sciences/evolutionary+%26+developmental+biology/book/978-3-642-21624-4 - From Dying Stars to the Birth of Life
Series: From Dying Stars to the Birth of Life
ISBN: 978-1-907284-79-3
Price £24.99
Publisher Nottingham University Press
-
The editor in chief of OLEB, Alan Schwartz,
draws your attention to the fact, that the following link to OLEB shows accepted manuscripts:
www.springerlink.com/content/102974/?Content+Status=Accepted
A number of those shown are freely available, including a short editorial comment on the recent arsenic DNA issue. - Water in the Universe
Series: Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Vol. 368
Hanslmeier, Arnold
1st Edition., 2011, XIV, 239 p., Hardcover
ISBN: 978-90-481-9983-9
Due to its specific chemical and physical properties, water is essential for life on Earth. And it is assumed that this would be the case for extraterrestrial life as well. Therefore it is important to investigate where water can be found in the Universe. Although there are places that are completely dry, places where the last rainfall happened probably several 100 million years ago, surprisingly this substance is quite omnipresent. In the outer solar system the large satellites of Jupiter and Saturn are covered by a thick layer of ice that could be hiding a liquid ocean below. This of course brings up the question of whether the recently detected extrasolar planets could have some water on their surfaces and how we can detect this. Water molecules are also found in interstellar gas and dust clouds. This book begins with an introductory chapter reviewing the physical and chemical properties of water. Then it illuminates the apparent connection between water and life. This is followed by chapters dealing with our current knowledge of water in the solar system, followed by a discussion concerning the potential presence and possible detection of water on exoplanets. The signature of water in interstellar space and stars are reviewed before the origin of water in the Universe is finally discussed. The book ends with an appendix on detection methods, satellite missions and astrophysical concepts touched upon in the main parts of the book. The search for water in the Universe is related to the search for extraterrestrial life and is of fundamental importance for astrophysics, astrobiology and other related topics. This book therefore addresses students and researchers in these fields. - Searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
SETI Past, Present, and Future
Series:
The Frontiers Collection
Shuch, H. Paul
Jointly published with Praxis Publishing, UK
1st Edition., 2011, XXI, 320 p. 10 illus., Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-642-13195-0
This book is a collection of essays written by the very scientists and engineers who have led, and continue to lead, the scientific quest known as SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Divided into three parts, the first section, ‘The Spirit of SETI Past’, written by the surviving pioneers of this then emerging discipline, reviews the major projects undertaken during the first 50 years of SETI science and the results of that research.
In the second section, ‘The Spirit of SETI Present’, the present-day science and technology is discussed in detail, providing the technical background to contemporary SETI instruments, experiments, and analytical techniques, including the processing of the received signals to extract potential alien communications.
In the third and final section, ‘The Spirit of SETI Future’, the book looks ahead to the possible directions that SETI will take in the next 50 years, addressing such important topics as interstellar message construction, the risks and assumptions of interstellar communications, when we might make contact, what aliens might look like and what is likely to happen in the aftermath of such a contact. - Cosmic Heritage
Evolution from the Big Bang to Conscious Life
Shaver, Peter
1st Edition., 2011, 240 p., Softcover
ISBN: 978-3-642-20260-5
- Offers a popular account of the big questions of life and modern science
- Explains in an accessible way our understanding of the origin and evolution of the universe, the formation and evolution of life, why we die and what we know about consciousness
- Begins with the Early Universe, zooms in on life, evolution and consciousness on Earth, and finally zooms out into the distant future
- Discusses the possibility of life elsewhere in the Universe
This book follows the evolutionary trail all the way from the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago to conscious life today. It is an accessible introductory book written for the interested layperson – anyone interesting in the ‘big picture’ coming from modern science. It covers a wide range of topics including the origin and evolution of our universe, the nature and origin of life, the evolution of life including questions of birth and death, the evolution of cognition, the nature of consciousness, the possibility of extraterrestrial life and the future of the universe. The book is written in a narrative style, as these topics are all parts of a single story. It concludes with a discussion on the nature and future of science.
“Peter Shaver has written engagingly for anyone curious about the world we inhabit. If you'd like to know how the Universe began, where the chemical elements originated, how life may have started on Earth, how man, ants and bacteria are related to each other, or why we humans think, you will enjoy this panoramic book and its clear presentation” – Martin Harwit, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy, Cornell University, NY, and former Director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington.
"Who is not interested in the big questions "How did it all start? Where do we come from? Where do we go? Are we alone?" This book addresses theses questions in an entertaining way based on our knowledge of modern science. It opens our horizons towards understanding the history of the universe and the origin and evolution of life in the context of cosmic evolution." Dr. Gerda Horneck, DLR German Aerospace Center, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Cologne, Germany.
"A very elegant, open-minded book that opens the door for informed discussion of the continuity of evolutionary processes from the big bang to the emergence of the mind... stimulating and highly engaging reading" – Ryszard Maleszka, Professor of Molecular Genetics, Australian National University, Canberra.
"Peter Shaver has produced a remarkable book. He covers an immense range, offering a splendid overview of the intricate processes that connect us to the universe, and which allowed complex life to emerge from simple beginnings" – Martin Rees, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge and Astronomer Royal.
“Where did the universe come from? What is life and how did it begin? How did complex life-forms evolve? How did consciousness arise? Are we alone in the universe? Questions don't get any bigger than these. In this beautifully concise account, astrophysicist Peter Shaver asks these questions and more and assesses how far modern science has come to providing answers. Anyone who has ever wondered who we are and where we came from should read this book” – Stephen Simpson, Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney.
“This is a well written, marvellous book for a very broad audience which covers much of current scientific thought in a concise way. The author successfully shows how many of the great philosophical issues that have fascinated humanity for centuries from the origin of the world, the evolution of life to the nature of consciousness are gradually being shifted from the domain of philosophy or speculation to that of rigorous science.” – Lodewijk Woltjer, former Director General of the European Southern Observatory and former President of the International Astronomical Union. - The Wondrous Universe - Creation without Creator?
Series: Astronomers' Universe
Börner, Gerhard
1st Edition., 2011, 170 p. 63 illus., 13 in color., Softcover
ISBN: 978-3-642-20103-5
The author, an experienced scientist and teacher, presents the knowledge that we have about our world for non-experts. He takes us on a journey through cosmology and the quantum world of elementary particles. And he sketches the impact of the insights gained into philosophical assumptions and religious beliefs in these disciplines. In the end he asks the speculative question whether there is something beyond the limits of the natural sciences.
Gerhard Börner is a Professor of Physics at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich and conducts research on the early universe and dark matter at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching near Munich. He received his PhD for a thesis on particle physics under the supervision of Werner Heisenberg and Hans-Peter Dürr. Professor Börner is the author of the successful graduate textbook "The Early Universe" (published by Springer and now in its 4th edition), as well as of several popular science books on cosmology. In 2009 he received the Chinese Academy of Sciences Award for International Cooperation in Science and Technology (together with Prof. Maurice-Roger Bonnet). In 2010 he received the "Friendship Award," and in January 2011 the Chinese government’s National Award for Cooperation in Science and Technology, the highest honor bestowed on foreigners.
- Encyclopedia of Astrobiology
Editor-in-chief: Gargaud, Muriel
Amils, R.; Cernicharo, J.; Cleaves II, H.J.; Irvine, W.M.; Pinti, D.; Viso, M. (Eds.)
Version: print (book)
1st Edition., 2011, 1816 p. In 3 volumes, not available separately., Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-642-11271-3
Online version:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/978-3-642-11271-3/#section=918164&page=1- Constitutes The reference resource of the remarkably interdisciplinary field Astrobiology
- Serves as the key to understanding technical terms from the different areas of astrobiology: astronomy, biology, chemistry, geosciences and space sciences
- Comprehensively treats the important topics from a global perspective and each subfield
- Assembles and organizes the key citations to the literature for this nascent but high-profile field
The interdisciplinary field of Astrobiology constitutes a joint arena where provocative discoveries are coalescing concerning, e.g. the prevalence of exoplanets, the diversity and hardiness of life, and its increasingly likely chances for its emergence. Biologists, astrophysicists, biochemists, geoscientists and space scientists share this exciting mission of revealing the origin and commonality of life in the Universe. The members of the different disciplines are used to their own terminology and technical language. In the interdisciplinary environment many terms either have redundant meanings or are completely unfamiliar to members of other disciplines.
The Encyclopedia of Astrobiology serves as the key to a common understanding. Each new or experienced researcher and graduate student in adjacent fields of astrobiology will appreciate this reference work in the quest to understand the big picture. The carefully selected group of active researchers contributing to this work and the expert field editors intend for their contributions, from an internationally comprehensive perspective, to accelerate the interdisciplinary advance of astrobiology. - "Planets, Stars and Stellar Systems"
Editor-in-chief: Oswalt, T.D
McLean, I.S.; Bond, H.E.; French, L.; Kalas, P.; Barstow, M.; Gilmore, G.F.; Keel, W. (Eds.)
Version: print (book)
1st Edition., 2011, 4760 p. 2400 illus., 240 in color. In 6 volumes, not available separately., Hardcover
ISBN: 978-90-481-8817-8
- A six-volume compendium of modern astronomical research covering subjects of key interest to the main fields of contemporary astronomy and astrophysical cosmology
- Provides essential background and leads the reader to other seminal literature on the topics it covers
- Serves lecturers and students as material for advanced courses in astronomy
Planets, Stars and Stellar Systems is a compendium of modern astronomical research covering subjects of key interest to the main fields of contemporary astronomy. The six volumes of the set edited by Terry Oswalt (Editor-in-Chief) comprise:
Volume 1: Telescopes and Instrumentation – Ian McLean (Ed.)
Volume 2: Astronomical Techniques and Standards – Howard Bond (Ed.)
Volume 3: Solar and Planetary Systems – Linda French, Paul Kalas (Eds.)
Volume 4: Solar/Stellar Structure and Evolution -- Martin Barstow (Ed.)
Volume 5: Stellar Systems and Galactic Structure -- Gerry Gilmore (Ed.)
Volume 6: Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology – Bill Keel (Ed.)
Each of the approximately 20 chapters per volume is written by a practicing professional within the appropriate sub-discipline. They include sufficient background material and references to the current literature to allow one to learn enough about a specialty within astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology to get started on a practical research project. In the spirit of the series Stars and Stellar Systems published by Chicago University Press in the 1960s and 1970s each chapter of Planets, Stars and Stellar Systems stands on its own as a fundamental review of its respective sub-discipline and each volume can be used as a text or recommended reference for advanced undergraduate or postgraduate courses. Advanced students through professional astronomers in their roles as both lecturers and researchers will welcome Planets, Stars and Stellar Systems as comprehensive and pedagogical reference to astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology.
- 2010
- Abstracts from the 9th European Workshop on Astrobiology
Abstracts from the 9th European Workshop on Astrobiology, Brussels, October 12–14, 2009,
are now published in
Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres, Special Issue
Guest editor: Gerda Horneck, Volume 40, 499-607, 2010, see link:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/m8rk16v58863/ - Origin of Life
Recent Contributions to a Scientific Model
Hernani L.S. Maria,Keith G. Orrell and Ildaa V.R. Dias
Is accessible free of charge on
http://www.archive.org/stream/OriginOfLife?ui=embed - Toward a Global Space Exploration Program:
A Stepping Stone Approach, PEX report of the Committee On Space Research
(COSPAR)
Ehrenfreund P. et al. (2010)
available under: http://cosparhq.cnes.fr/PEX_Report2010_June22a.pdf -
Towards a European vision for space exploration: Recommendations of the space advisory group of
the European Commission
Horneck G., Coradini A., Haerendel G., Kallenrode M.-B., Kamoun P., Swings J- P., Tobias A., Tortora J.-J. (2010)
Space Policy, 26, 109-112, doi:10.1016/j.spacepol.2010 -
Survival of lichens and bacteria exposed
to outer space conditions – Results of the Lithopanspermia experiments
de la Torre R., Le. G. Sancho, G. Horneck, A. de los Ríos, J. Wierzchos, K. Olsson-Francis, C. S. Cockell, P. Rettberg, T. Berger, J,-P. P. de Vera, S. Ott, J. Martinez Frías, P. G. Melendi, M. M. Lucas, M. Reina, A. Pintado, René Demets, 2010,
Icarus, 208, 735-748.
doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2010.03.010 - Space microbiology
Horneck, G., D.M. Klaus, and R.L. Mancinelli (2010)
Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 74, 121-156
For a copy contact gerda.horneck (at) dlr.de - Habitability Primer, Special Issue of Astrobiology 2010
Volume: 10, Number: 1 January 2010
This issue is available online from Liebert Online at:
www.liebertonline.com/toc/ast/10/1?ai=sw&ui=11z5y&af=H
- The Fate of Amino Acids during Simulated Meteoritic Impact
Bertrand, M., van der Gaast, S., Vilas, F., Hörz, F., Haynes, G., Chabin, A., Brack, A., Westall, F.
Astrobiology. December 2009,
Vol. 9(10): 943-951.
-
Titan from Cassini-Huygens
Volume package: Cassini-Huygens
Brown, Robert; Lebreton, Jean Pierre; Waite, Hunter (Eds.)
2010, VIII, 535 p. With CD-ROM., Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-4020-9214-5
This book reviews our current knowledge of Saturn's largest moon Titan featuring the latest results obtained by the Cassini-Huygens mission. A global author team addresses Titan’s origin and evolution, internal structure, surface geology, the atmosphere and ionosphere as well as magnetospheric interactions. The book closes with an outlook beyond the Cassini-Huygens mission. Colorfully illustrated, this book will serve as a reference to researchers as well as an introduction for students. - The Earth as a Distant Planet
A Rosetta Stone for the Search of Earth-Like Worlds
Series: Astronomy and Astrophysics Library
Vázquez, M., Pallé, E., Montañés Rodríguez, P.
1st Edition., 2010, XV, 422 p. 272 illus., 181 in color., Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-4419-1683-9
From that perspective, the authors describe how the Earth, the third planet in distance to the central star, can be catalogued as having its own unique features and as capable of sustaining life. The knowledge gained from this original perspective is then applied to the ongoing search for planets outside the solar system, or exoplanets.
Since the discovery in 1992 of the first exoplanet, the number of known planets has increased exponentially. Ambitious space missions are already being designed for the characterization of their atmospheres and to explore the possibility that they host life. The exploration of Earth and the rest of the rocky planets in our Solar System will help us in classifying and understanding the multiplicity of planetary systems that exist in our galaxy. In time, statistics on the formation and evolution of exoplanets will be available and will provide vital information for solving some of the unanswered questions about the formation, as well as the evolution, of our own world.
The authors provide an introductory but also very much up-to-date referenced text, making this book useful not only for the layman, but also for researchers and advanced students in Astrophysics and Earth Sciences.
- 2009
- Habitability and Cosmic Catastrophes
Series: Advances in Astrobiology and Biogeophysics
Hanslmeier, Arnold
2009, XIV, 248 p. 155 illus., 4 in color., Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-540-76944-6
The solar system has a rather well-known history. Looking at the present situation, one might get the impression that it was a rather stable and well-defined system: the orbits of the planets appear to be stable, climate and atmospheres on the planets have been determined, the risk of collision with other bodies (comets, asteroids, meteorites) seems to be small. However it is known today that the evolution of life on Earth was neither a steady progression nor uniform. There were several periods of mass extinction. These catastrophic events played a crucial role in the rise of new species. Events of astrophysical origin include:
- Asteroid impacts
- Major solar variabilty (space weather)
- Nearby supernovae
- The passage of the solar system through dense interstellar clouds
Catastrophic cosmic events of this type appear in the range of some 100 million years. The author discusses whether and how such events could have occurred in the solar system as well as in recently found extrasolar planetary systems.
In this text, which addresses readers in the field of Astrophysics and Astrobiology but also Geophysics and Biology these cosmic catastrophic events are described at an intermediate student's level. - Saturn from Cassini-Huygens
Volume package: Cassini-Huygens
Dougherty, Michele; Esposito, Larry; Krimigis, Stamatios (Eds.)
2009, VIII, 805 p. With CD-ROM., Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-4020-9216-9
This book reviews our current knowledge of Saturn featuring the latest results obtained by the Cassini-Huygens mission. A global author team addresses the planet’s origin and evolution, internal structure, composition and chemistry, the atmosphere and ionosphere, the magnetosphere, as well as its ring system. Furthermore, Saturn's icy satellites are discussed. The book closes with an outlook beyond the Cassini-Huygens mission. Colorfully illustrated, this book will serve as a reference to researchers as well as an introduction for students.
- 2008
- Amino Acids and the Asymmetry of Life - Caught in the Act of Formation
Uwe Meierhenrich
Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-540-76885-2
Written in an engaging style, this book describes how the basic building blocks of life, the amino acids, formed. After a comprehensible introduction to stereochemistry, the author addresses the inherent property of amino acids in living organisms, namely the preference for left-handedness. What was the cause for the violation of parity of amino acids in the emergence of life on Earth? All the fascinating models proposed by physicists, chemists and biologist are vividly presented including the scientific conflicts. The author describes the attempt to verify any of those models with the chirality module of the ROSETTA mission, a probe built and launched with the mission to land on a comet and analyse whether there are chiral organic compounds that could have been brought to the Earth by cometary impacts.
A truly interdisciplinary astrobiology book, "Amino Acids and the Asymmetry of Life" will fascinate students, researchers and all readers with backgrounds in natural sciences.
With a foreword by Henri B. Kagan. - Cold Aqueous Planetary Geochemistry with FREZCHEM
From Modeling to the Search for Life at the Limits
Marion, Giles M., Kargel, Jeffey S
2008, Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-540-75678-1
This book explicitly investigates issues of astrobiological relevance in the context of cold aqueous planetary geochemistry.
At the core of the technical chapters is the FREZCHEM model, initially developed over many years by one of the authors to quantify aqueous electrolyte properties and chemical thermodynamics at subzero temperatures. FREZCHEM, of general relevance to biogeochemists and geochemical modelers, cold planetary scientists, physicochemists and chemical engineers, is subsequently applied to the exploration of biogeochemical applications to solar systems bodies in general, and to speculations about the limits for life in cold environments in particular.
Written for: Researchers, scientists
- Life in the Universe
Expectations and Constraints
Series: Advances in Astrobiology and Biogeophysics
Schulze-Makuch, Dirk, Irwin, Louis N.
2nd ed., 2008, XVI, 252 p. 49 illus., 10 in color., Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-540-76816-6
The second edition thoroughly updates this text in view of the rapid progress in the field and a substantial amount of new material has been added, in particular sections and chapters on adaptation to extreme environments, the future and fate of living systems, life detection concepts based on the thorough analysis of the Viking missions and the issue around the meteorite ALH 84001, and - last but not least - recommendations for the optimization of future space exploration missions.
From the reviews of the first edition:
"[...] I know of no other book that reassesses the fundamentals of astrobiology in such way. This book is a tacit lesson in open-mindedness tempered with thorough scientific analysis. This is a very important book for all professional astrobiologists."
A Ellery, International Journal of Astrobiology, 6 (2007) 182-183 - Chemical Evolution and the Origin of Life
Rauchfuss, Horst
2008, XXIV, 340 p. 163 illus., 12 in color., Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-540-78822-5
Horst Rauchfuss is comparing the different theories from the view of the latest results and is giving an exciting and easy understandable insight into the present state of research.
- 2007
- Life in the Universe: A Beginner's Guide
Lewis Dartnell, Oneworld Publication 2007
"This book is an excellent introduction into the newly emerging and exciting field of astrobiology. The lively writing makes it a pleasure to read for experts in the field and likewise it will encourage newcomers to learn more about astrobiology, the fascinating story of life in its cosmic context."
Gerda Horneck, German Aerospace Centre DLR in Cologne, Germany
For more information:
http://www.astrobiologysociety.org -
"Planets & Life: The Emerging Science of Astrobiology"
Woodruff Sullivan & John Baross (eds.). Cambridge Univ. Pr. (2007)
Twenty-eight chapters (650 pp) by experts on all aspects of astrobiology; designed for advanced undergraduates and postgraduate students in the sciences, as well as professionals who want to learn the basics outside their own field; also appropriate as a textbook for astrobiology courses.
For more information:
http://www.cambridge.org - "Complete Course in Astrobiology"
Gerda Horneck (Editor), Petra Rettberg (Editor)
Wiley 2007
This up-to-date resource is based on lectures developed by experts in the relevant fields and carefully edited by the leading astrobiologists within the European community. Aimed at graduate students in physics, astronomy and biology and their lecturers, the text begins with a general introduction to astrobiology, followed by sections on basic prebiotic chemistry, extremophiles, and habitability in our solar system and beyond. A discussion of astrodynamics leads to a look at experimental facilities and instrumentation for space experiments and, ultimately, astrobiology missions, backed in each case by the latest research results from this fascinating field. Includes a CD-ROM with additional course material.
For more information:
http://eu.wiley.com/
Book review:
http://www.astrobiologysociety.org -
Response of organisms to the Martian Environment
ESA SP 1299, European Space Agency, ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
"This is the final report of the ESA Topical Team ROME"
Cockell, C.S. and Horneck, G. (Scientific Editors) (2007) ROME - Lectures in Astrobiology
Volume II
Volume package Lectures in Astrobiology
Gargaud, Muriel; Martin, Hervé; Claeys, Philippe (Eds.)
2007, Hardcover,
ISBN: 978-3-540-33692-1
Volume II gathers another set of extensive lectures covering topics so diverse as the formation and the distribution of elements in the universe, the concept of habitability from both the planetologists' and the biologists' point of view and artificial life. The contributions are held together by the common goal to understand better the origin of life, its evolution and possible existence outside the Earth's realm. The volume ends with 120 pages of a very useful appendix comprising "Some Astrophysical Reminders", "Useful Astrobiological Data" and "An Astrobiological Glossary".
Written for: Advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students, nonspecialist and specialist researchers
For more information: http://www.springer.com/series/7565
- Until 2006
- Looking for Life. Searching the Solar System
Clancy, P., Brack, A., and Horneck, G.
Cambridge University Press. - In the series Advances in Astrobiology and Biogeophysics of Springer, Heidelberg, the following books have been issued:
- Peter Ulmschneider: Intelligent Life in the Universe
- Radu Popa: Searching for the Definition and Origin of Life
- Dirk Schulze-Makuch und Louis N. Irwin: Life in the Universe
- Tetsuya Tokano (Editor): Water on Mars and Life
- More Information under: http://www.springer.com/series/5118
- The book Astrobiology, the Quest for the Conditions of Life
edited by Gerda Horneck und Christa Baumstark-Khan, Springer Publisher. - In German language: Telepolis Special, Wie Forscher und Raumfahrer Aliens aufspüren wollen
01/2005, Heise Zeitschriften Verlag, Heidelberg, www.telepolis.de. - Lectures in Astrobiology
Volume I
Volume package Advances in Astrobiology and Biogeophysics
2005, Hardcover
Gargaud, M.; Barbier, B.; Martin, H.; Reisse, J. (Eds.)
ISBN: 978-3-540-22315-3
Written for: Advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students, nonspecialist and specialist researchers
For more information: http://www.springer.com/series/5282 - Micrometeorites and the Mysteries of Our Origins
Maurette, M.
2006, Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-540-25816-2
Micrometeorites played an essential role in the formation of the atmosphere of the Early Earth and also served as a significant source of activation for organic prebiotic chemistry on mineral surfaces. The present book gives a coherent account of this scenario, embedding the more specific results within a broader framework that considers the creation and evolution of the Early Earth. It thus addresses students and nonspecialist researchers in the fields of planetary atmospheres, biogeophysics and astrobiology. The experienced researcher will find this volume to be a modern and compact reference, as well as a source of material for lectures in this field.
Written for: Students, specialist and nonspecialist researchers
- Between Necessity and Probability
Searching for the Definition and Origin of Life
Popa, Radu
2004, Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-540-20490-9
This study investigates the major theories of the origins of life in the light of modern research with the aim of distinguishing between the necessary and the optional and between deterministic and random influences in the emergence of what we call 'life'. Life is treated as a cosmic phenomenon whose emergence and driving force should be viewed independently from its Earth-bound natural history. The author synthesizes all the fundamental life-related developments in a comprehensive scenario, and makes the argument that understanding life in its broadest context requires a material-independent perspective that identifies its essential fingerprints.
Written for: Specialist and nonspecialist researchers - Life in the Universe
Expectations and Constraints
Schulze-Makuch, Dirk, Irwin, Louis N.
1st ed 2004. 2nd printing, 2006, Softcover
ISBN: 978-3-540-30708-2
Energy, chemistry, solvents, and habitats - the basic elements of living systems - define the opportunities and limitations for life on other worlds. This study examines each of these parameters in crucial depth and makes the argument that life forms we would recognize may be more common in our solar system than many assume. It also considers, however, exotic forms of life that would not have to rely on carbon as the basic chemical element, solar energy as the main energy source, or water as the primary solvent. Finally the question of detecting bio- and geosignature of such life forms is discussed, ranging from earth environments to deep space. While speculative considerations in this emerging field of science cannot be avoided, the authors have tried to present their study with the breadth and seriousness that a scientific approach to this issue requires. They seek an operational definition of life and investigate the realm of possibilities that nature offers to realize this very special state of matter and avoid scientific jargon wherever possible to make this intrinsically interdisciplinary subject understandable to a broad range of readers.
Written for: Graduate students in the natural and life sciences - Comets and the Origin and Evolution of Life
Thomas, P.J.; Hicks, R.D.; Chyba, C.F.; McKay, C.P. (Eds.)
Originally published as a monograph
2nd ed., 2006, Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-540-33086-8
Nine years after the publication of Comets and the Origin and Evolution of Life, one of the pioneering books in Astrobiology, this second edition revisits the role comets may have played in the origins and evolution of life. Recent analyses of Antarctic micrometeorites and ancient rocks in Australia and South Africa, the continuing progress in discovering complex organic macromolecules in comets, protostars and interstellar clouds, new insights into organic synthesis in comets, and numerical simulations of comet impacts on the Earth and other members of the solar system yield a spectacular wealth of new results.
This second edition is thus actually a new book. As the first edition it is intended as a comprehensive review of current research, accessible to graduate students and others new to the field. Each chapter was prepared by experts to give an overview of an aspect of the field, and carefully revised by the editors for uniformity in style and presentation.
Written for: Astronomers, geophysicists, biologists - Water on Mars and Life
Tokano, Tetsuya (Ed.)
2005, Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-540-20624-8
Growing evidence, based on observations from orbiters, landers and telescopes, indicates that Mars may still have numerous hidden water reservoirs. Moreover, from the point of view of habitability, Mars is a prime target for astrobiologists in search of extant or extinct microbial life because we know that life exists in earth's permafrost regions, such as parts of Siberia and the Antarctic, which are the closest terrestrial analogues to Mars. Water on Mars and Life surveys recent advances made in research into water on Mars together with its astrobiological implications. This volume addresses not only scientists working in the field but also nonspecialists and students in search of a high-level but accessible introduction to this exciting field of research.
Written for: Graduate students, researchers