Searching for Life on Other Planets
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.
Astrobiology is not pure conjecture and unbounded speculation as is found in some science fiction and fantasy, which is nowadays often the same thing. Dr. McKay looks closely at the planets and their moons to discover the hallmark conditions of their harsh environments: extreme cold, little or no water, and poisonous atmospheres. Then he looks for locations that are most similar on earth. Scraping rocks and sampling the atmosphere, he searches for forms of life can exist in those habitats. From this basis he then can speculate which locations in our solar system might also harbor life.
Dr. McKay lives a life of scientific adventure, exploring the frozen lakes of Antarctica and the nearly waterless deserts of Chile, where he finds microscopic organisms and other simple life forms that withstand the harsh environments, and occasionally even thrive. On Earth, he seems to find a simple key: water. Where there is water, he finds life. In its absence, he finds no life.
Where else in the solar system do we find water? Both Mars and Jupiter’s moon Europa have signs of its presence. Mars is now arid, though the signs of more abundance of water in its past exist. Can we find life or its remnants on Mars? A thick shield of ice covers Europa. Underneath this shell of ice, astronomers believe there is liquid water, heated by Europa’s hot internal core. How might life exist in this watery environment? Dr. McKay carefully explores these questions.
Author Pamela S. Turner has done a marvelous job of showing us the life of a real scientist, the questions he poses and the methods he follows as he investigates life on earth and the conditions it requires. She clearly explains what the science is about. Her book is partly biography of Dr. Chris McKay, telling us how he came to be interested in astronomy and then astrobiology, and how he pursued his goals of discovering whether there is life in outer space. Turner has detailed his fascinating life of exploration with the challenges of his forays into the Earth’s most extreme habitats.
I heartily recommend this book. It’s a great read for anyone of about fourth or fifth grade and up. And I expect adults will enjoy this book every bit as much as children or young adult science readers.
Other books by Pamela S. Turner, all of which look very fascinating, are
- Gorilla Doctors: Saving Endangered Great Apes (Scientists in the Field Series)
- A Life in the Wild: George Schaller’s Struggle to Save the Last Great Beasts
- Hachiko: The True Story of a Loyal Dog
- The Frog Scientist (Scientists in the Field Series)
- Prowling the Seas: Exploring the Hidden World of Ocean Predators
I’m adding each of these to my Search for and Read list. If you’ve read any of these, or other great science books that inform and encourage kids to engage their brains, add your thoughts, please.
