Looking for Life, Searching the Solar System

Description

How did life begin on Earth? Is it confined to our planet? Will humans one day be able to travel long distances in space in search of other life forms? Written by three experts in the space arena, Looking for Life, Searching the Solar System aims to answer these and other intriguing questions. Beginning with what we understand of life on Earth, it describes the latest ideas about the chemical basis of life as we know it, and how they are influencing strategies to search for life elsewhere. It considers the ability of life, from microbes to humans, to survive in space, on the surface of other planets, and be transported from one planet to another. It looks at the latest plans for missions to search for life in the Solar System, and how these are being influenced by new technologies, and current thinking about life on Earth.

Paul Clancy is a senior strategic planning manager in the Human Spaceflight Directorate of the European Space Agency, in Paris. Andre Brack is Director of Research Emeritus at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre de Biophysique Moleculaire, Orleans. Gerda Horneck is Head of the Radiation Biology Section, and Deputy Director of the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, at the German Aeospace Center.

'The authors of Looking for Life, Searching the Solar System have pooled their expertise to produce an accurate, up-to-date and highly readable survey of the field.' New Scientist '... serious students will find it very useful indeed.' Sky at Night 'The information within - the whole sweet mystery of life in the solar system - is enough to make you want to go into orbit with them.' The Guardian '...a fascinating and thorough round-up of present research and future hopes for one of humankind's most fundamental quests.' Astronomy Now '... when I read the book, I was very pleased to find that it tackled the subject from a different angle, giving a new perspective on the material, and hence is a valuable addition to the astrobiology canon ... the book is an informative and well-written account of astrobiology from the perspective of a contribution from human exploration of the Solar System.' The Observatory '... on the essentials of space exploration, Looking for Life couldn't be better ... Perhaps most interesting for those of us sitting on a decaying planet Earth and wondering how humanity might ever escape from it, is the section on "The cosmic biological imperative'. Its chapters outline the sort of spacecraft we might need to embark on our exploration, how many crew, their physical and psychological needs.' Cosmos '...the book is an informative and well written account of astrobiology from the the perspective of a contribution from human exploration of the solar system.' The Observatory