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Nucleic acids may not be the only biomolecules in the universe capable of coding for life processes. [1]Astrobiology (also xenology or exobiology) is a scientific field within the life and environmental sciences that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe by investigating its deterministic conditions and contingent events. [2]
ASTEP is one of four elements of NASA's Astrobiology Program, which falls under the Planetary Science Division of the Science Mission Directorate. According to the formal description from NASA, "The ASTEP program sponsors the development of technologies that enable remote searches for, and identification of, life in extreme environments, including planetary surfaces and subsurfaces."
The biological and geological future of Earth can be extrapolated based on the estimated effects of several long-term influences. These include the chemistry at Earth's surface, the cooling rate of the planet's interior, gravitational interactions with other objects in the Solar System, and a steady increase in the Sun's luminosity.
NASA began its autonomous science experiment (ASE) on Earth Observing-1 (EO-1), which is NASA's first satellite in the millennium program, Earth-observing series launched on November 21, 2000. The autonomy of these satellites is capable of on-board science analysis, re-planning, robust execution, and model-based diagnostic.
In 1975, NASA's Viking program launched two identical landers to the surface of Mars, each carrying scientific instruments. Their biological experiments included gas chromatography–mass spectrometry to identify the components of Martian soil, analysis of gas exchange with the Martian environment, pyrolytic release of radioactive 14 C to check if carbon fixation occurred, and labelled release ...
New research is providing insight into how planets form around these small stars, called very low mass stars (VLMS), showing how the chemistry in the planet-forming disks of gas and dust ...
The term "comparative planetology" was coined by George Gamow, who reasoned that to fully understand our own planet, we must study others. Poldervaart focused on the Moon, stating "An adequate picture of this original planet and its development to the present earth is of great significance, is in fact the ultimate goal of geology as the science leading to knowledge and understanding of earth's ...
Planetary habitability in the Solar System is the study that searches the possible existence of past or present extraterrestrial life in those celestial bodies. As exoplanets are too far away and can only be studied by indirect means, the celestial bodies in the Solar System allow for a much more detailed study: direct telescope observation, space probes, rovers and even human spaceflight.