At a conference held at the end of May in Italy, European experts discussed issues related to the search for extraterrestrial life
Three important lines of discovery are strengthened by the growing faith
That we are, after all, not alone in the universe. Many molecules and organisms
Discovered in space, this discovery proves that the building blocks of life are
very common. The planets found orbiting other stars raise the
The possibility that some of them could serve as a place for life (at least on moons
their); Living things have been found to thrive in hostile environments on Earth
The earth, so much so that the conditions of Mars are easy for them.
Europe enters the field of astrobiology
The European workshop on astro and exo-biology that ended this weekend
In Italy, she noted the summary of the latest findings in the three areas
What they have in common is the progress on the way to finding extraterrestrial life.
Over 120 different organic molecules have been found so far in space and all time
New molecules continue to be discovered," said Pascal Ehrenfreud
(Pascale Ehrenfreund) from Leiden University in the Netherlands. adding that
There is widespread agreement that much organic matter landed on Earth, although
The role he played in settling Earth alive remains unknown.
The discovery of planets outside the solar system is no less dramatic than
The discovery of organic molecules. The first of them was discovered in 1995 until April
2001 67 objects were detected in orbits around other stars. 63 of them are
Planets. That's what Stéphane Audrey of the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland said.
All these planets are large and more like Jupiter than a sphere
Country.
Moreover, new satellites such as the European Space Agency's Darwin,
will be sensitive enough to detect and even discover Earth-like planets
their spectral signature to detect if there is life in them. Darwin
Look for the spectral signatures of ozone, which are hard to believe exist
in any amount over time in the atmosphere of a star that has no life.
"It is unlikely that it will be possible to launch Darwin before 2014
And in the meantime, astrobiologists will have to rely on calculations to estimate
the number of Earth-like planets. Such estimates are a source
for mistakes "The number of Earth-like planets in the Milky Way is estimated
at 2.4 million in the morning, but dropped to 48 in the afternoon." Malcolm said
Friedland, researcher at the Darwin Project.
One factor in the calculations includes estimates of the size of the surrounding "life strip".
the stars, this is the volume of space in which the planets can form a type
certain of an environment suitable for life like that of the Earth. the concept
Our understanding of the "strip of life" changes as we find life
in extreme places on Earth.
We are constantly surprised and breathless when we discover environments in them
Can bacteria live.” says David Wynn Williams of the research institute
The British in Antarctica. Life was found in such inhospitable places
Like rock crevices in dry valleys in Antarctica and hydrothermal springs
At the bottom of the ocarinos. These hostile environments offer temperatures,
pressures, acidity, salinity or exposure to radiation that were previously considered
as unfit for life. "We need to expand our view on
the normality. There could be habitable environments on Europa (Jupiter's moon)
Or Mars that will seem strange to us, but they are certainly reasonable for
germs." Williams said.
Identifying these environments were at the center of one of the separate discussions at the conference.
The main candidates are Mars, Europa, Titan, comets and asteroids
and even in interstellar dust particles. Several sites on Mars have been proposed.
Among them is the Arctic environment (when the ice melts and refreezes according to
season), and which creates permanent frost below the surface (such areas
on earth are identified with microscopic life). can also
to exist life on Mars in hot springs swords.
"We need to look for neat chemical biomarkers and so on
Fossils.” said Gerda Horneck of the DLR Institute from Germany. Biomarkers
There could be pigments used by bacteria to protect themselves
themselves from stress factors in the environment, such as ultraviolet radiation. the devices
To discover these signatures can reach Mars by a series of small landers,
Like Aurora whose fate is currently under discussion at the European Space Agency, or
In the hands of all-terrain vehicles designed by NASA.
The research efforts could also lead to a mission to return materials from Mars.
"It will be very important to obey the laws of interstellar defense. My son's landing
A person could cause a refutation of the goal of robotic cells to search for life."
Grana Hornek said.
The meeting ended and the participants remained in eager anticipation for the next workshop
to be held in Graz, Austria in September 2002
