Searching for Life on Other Planets
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
Life on Earth – And Beyond: An Astrobiologists Quest
by Pamela S. Turner
The question of the existence of life elsewhere in the universe has always fascinated people. Writers use it as a means of examining our own prejudices, scientists find it a puzzle, Hollywood makes millions from it. There are all sorts of ideas on the subject. And thanks to Star Trek, we know it is likely that they all speak with better English accents than either Checkov or Scotty. What’s with that?
If there is life in space, what does it look like? Where should we look? Evolutionary biology suggests that life may exist elsewhere. Astrobiology gives us clues to what this life may look like.
In her excellent book, Life On Earth – and Beyond: An Astrobiologist’s Quest, author Pamela S. Turner follows NASA scientist Dr. Chris McKay as he looks for life in the most extreme environments on Earth. By searching for life in these environments, the most arid and the most frigid, he discovers clues that lead us further in our search for life in the extreme environments of space.
