formaldehyde, 76
Forster, Rick, 171
fossae, 92
Franklin, Benjamin, 183
Fujishita, Mitsumi, 164
Funes, José Gabriel, S.J., 181–82
Galileo Galilei, 1, 14, 137, 179, 181
genetic engineering, 61
genetics, 54, 60, 61
geomicrobiology, 98
Gibson, Everett, 108
Glaciers, 25–30, 91–92
Glavin, Danny:
and chirality, 68–69, 110
isovaline experiments of, 72
meteorite studies of, 72–74, 77, 110
and Miller-Urey, 62, 68, 74
Gliese 581G, 139, 140, 165, 175
Goddard Space Flight Center, 68, 80, 99, 144
gravity, 150, 153
green flash, 87
habitable zones, 11
Hat Creek Radio Observatory, 166–71
Hawaii, W. M. Keck Observatory, 89, 128
Hawking, Stephen, 155, 176–77
Heerden, Esta van, 16–17, 21
helium, discovery of, 86
homochirality, 71
Hoover, Richard, 90, 114–20, 124
Horowitz, Paul, 161–62, 163, 176
Howard, Andrew, 140, 187
Hoyle, Fred, 150
Hubble Space Telescope, 87, 133, 141, 143, 145
Huggins, Margaret Lindsay Murray, 86
Huggins, Sir William, 86
hydrochloric acid, 37
hydrogen sulfide, 66, 67–68
hydrothermal activity, 103
hyperthermophiles, 24
ice:
as habitat for life, 25–33, 90
on Mars, 93, 95, 109
ICIBASE, 27–30
iddingsite, 114
infrared band, 81
Inquisition, 137, 179
International Space Station (ISS), 76, 78
interplanetary dust, 72, 77
iodine absorption cell, 138
iron, 46–48
isovaline, 71–72
Ivuna meteorite, 118
James, William, 151
Japan, SETI observations in, 161–66
Jesus of Nazareth, 180, 183
Joyce, Gerald, 55–56
Jupiter, 10, 131, 135
Kant, Immanuel, 183
Käufl, Hans-Ulrich, 85
Keck Observatory, Hawaii, 89, 128
Kepler, Johannes, 137
Kepler spacecraft, 10–11, 142
Labeled Release, 40–43, 45, 122–24
Lamprecht, Werner, 22
Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA), 54, 57
Latham, David, 141
Lavoisier, Antoine, 37
Lazcano, Antonio, 61–62, 67, 68
Leakey, Louis and Mary, 1
Lechuguilla limestone cave, 47–48
left-handed formation, 8, 71, 72
Léna, Pierre, 180
Leslie, John, 151
Levin, Gilbert V., 39–45, 122–24
life:
alternate forms of, 156
attempts to define, see life, definitions of
beyond Earth, 98, 188–90
dividing and creating, 28
from divine creation, 55, 56, 59
in early solar system, 78
essentials for, 4, 45–46, 129–30, 143, 172, 189
inevitability of, 12
interaction with nonlife forms, 51
lighter chemical forms of, 94
Miller-Urey experiments, 59–65, 74
from nonlife, 75, 186
null hypothesis on, 112–13
origin of, 1, 8, 11, 52–56, 59–61, 68, 74–78, 157
spontaneous generation of, 59
synthesis in labs, 3, 55–56, 186–87
undersea, 75
“weird life” panel, 52, 53, 57
life, definitions of, 7, 35–57
and desert varnish, 46–51
extraterrestrial, 56–57
impossibility of, 37–39
NASA, 35–39, 46
and origin of life, 52–56
and shadow biosphere, 159
and Viking missions, 39–45
Lincoln, Tracey, 55
Litthauer, Derek, 21
Lockheed Martin, 145
Lockyer, Norman, 86
lunar eclipse, 146–47
magma, 90, 91
magnetites, 108, 109
Mahaffy, Paul, 101–2
manganese, 46–49
Marcy, Geoff, 129, 137–38, 140, 187
Mars:
Arsia Mons, 91
Beagle 2 probe to, 44–45, 101
fossae of, 92
glacier on, 91–92
habitability of, 101, 103
hydrothermal activity on, 103
ice on, 93, 95, 109
life on, 3–4, 9–10
liquid water on, 43, 81, 88–90, 93–95, 97, 102–3, 109, 123
magnetic field on, 89, 108, 123
meteorites from, 93–94, 106–7
methane on, 4, 6, 8–9, 13, 79–83, 88–95, 96, 102, 123, 144
Noachian age of, 81
Olympus Mons, 91
Phoenix mission to, 43
and SAM, 97, 102
sample return mission to, 13, 101–2
search for biology on, 83, 97
Syrtis Major volcano, 90
Viking missions to, 39–45
and volcanoes, 90, 91–92
Mars Astrobiology Explorer-Cacher (MAX-C), 101
Mars Global Surveyor, 89, 108
Marshall Space Flight Center, 114–15
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, 90
Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), 13, 42–43, 96–100, 101–2
Mather, John, 146
McKay, Christopher, 42, 48, 124
McKay, David, 106–14, 117, 119, 124
McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, 27, 96
McNutt, Steven, 64–66
M dwarf stars, 132
META (Megachannel Extra-Terrestrial Assay), 162
metabolism, 40, 44, 45, 54
meteorites:
Allan Hills 84001 (Mars), 93–94, 106–14, 124–25
Allende, 69, 115
amino acids in, 74
carbonaceous, 72, 77, 109, 115, 118–19
Ivuna, 118
micrometeorites, 72
Murchison, 69–74, 110, 112, 115, 117–18, 124
Orgueil, 69, 115, 118–19
Tagish Lake, 115
and “thermal shock” hypothesis, 108
meteoriticists, 73
methane:
on Earth, 4, 8, 80, 81–82
mapping for, 93, 95
on Mars, 4, 6, 8–9, 13, 79–83, 88–95, 96, 102, 123, 144
and serpentinization, 82
as sign of life, 143
and volcanoes, 66, 82
methanogens, 81–82
METI (messaging to extraterrestrial intelligence), 174–76
Meyer, Michael, 44, 45–46
Microgravity Science Glovebox, 76
Miller, Stanley, 77
material from original experiments of, 61–62
and origin of life, 54, 59; see also Miller-Urey experiment
and volcanic studies, 62–63, 66–68
Miller-Urey experiment, 59–65, 67, 74
basic logic of, 77
new incarnation of, 63–65, 68
and related research, 74–78
in space, 76–78
Mono Lake, California, 156, 158–60
Moore’s law, 165, 167
Morris, Dick, 106
Mountain, Matt, 145–46
Mount Redoubt, Alaska, 63–67
Mount St. Augustine, Alaska, 64, 65
multiverse theory, 151–53, 154, 155
Mumma, Michael:
and Martian water, 95
and methane on Mars, 79–83, 94, 102
at Paranal, 85–87, 89–95
Murchison meteorite, 69–74, 110, 112, 115, 117–18, 124
Nagy, Barthol
omew, 118
Narusawa, Shin-ya, 161–66, 177
NASA:
and Allan Hills meteorite, 93–94
Apollo program, 7, 41, 115
and astrobiology, 4, 12–14, 130, 158, 160, 181, 184
budget cuts in, 142, 143, 145
and definition of life, 35–39, 46
and desert varnish, 47
and European ExoMars, 83, 101
Goddard Space Flight Center, 68, 80, 99, 144
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 99
Kepler spacecraft, 10–11, 142
Marshall Space Flight Center, 114–15
and Mars Science Laboratory, 13, 42–43, 96–100
and Murchison meteorite, 73
and origin of life, 75
and politics, 169
and SETI, 12–13, 169, 171
and shadow biosphere, 156, 159–60
Terrestrial Planet Finder, 142–43, 144–45, 148
and Viking missions, 39–45, 97, 105, 122–24
National Academy of Sciences, 12, 52, 148
National Science Foundation, 47, 148
natural selection, cosmic, 152–54
Navarro-González, Rafael, 42, 124
nematodes, 19–21, 22–24
neutron, 150
Newton, Isaac, 154
Nickles, Tom, 49–51
Nishi-Harima telescope, 162–63, 165–66
nitric acid, 37
nitrites, 60–61
nitrogen, and volcanoes, 66
nitrous oxide, 30, 143
Northam Platinum mine, 17–24
Northrup Grumman, 145
nucleotides, 53
occulters, 6, 141–42, 144–48
Oliver, Bernard “Barney,” 171
olivine, 82
one-world view, 183
Onstott, Tullis, 5, 15–17, 22, 23–24, 48
Oremland, Ron, 157–58, 160
Orgueil meteorite, 69, 115, 118–19
oxygen, 6, 28, 143, 153, 172
Ozma project, 166
ozone, 143, 172
Paine, Thomas, 183
paleogenomics, 53
panspermia, 78
Paranal, Chile, Atacama Desert, 11, 83–85, 87–89, 93
particle physics, 151
Pasteur, Louis, 69
peridot, 82
petroglyphs, 46
Phoenix mission, 43
phosphorus, 158–59
physics, laws of, 149, 189
and cosmic natural selection, 152–54
evolution of, 152, 154
and gravity, 153
Pikuta, Elena, 119
Pizzarello, Sandra, 71
Planetary Society, 162
planets:
eccentric orbits of, 10, 131
gravitational force of, 131, 134–35
habitable, 132, 148
in other solar systems (exoplanets), 3, 5–6, 10, 143
terra-forming, 185
plurality of worlds, 183–84
Polkinghorne, John, 154
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 76, 77–78
Pontifical Academy of Sciences, 179–80
Popa, Radu, 36
precision Doppler velocity, 135
proof of principle, 55
proteins, and amino acids, 35, 56, 60, 67, 70, 72
proton, 150
quantum theory, 155
Quran, 180
Race, Margaret, 185
Raman, C. V., 98
Raman spectrometer, 98–100
“Rare Earthers,” 187
Rees, Lord Martin, 150
religion, and first contact, 179–85
Renno, Nilton, 36
respiration, 45
cellular, 28
ribose, 54
right-handed formation, 8
Rio Tinto, Spain, 24
RNA, preformed, 56
RNA enzyme, 55–56
robot, submersible, 31–32
Rozanov, Alexi, 119
Russell, Mark, 75
Russia, Lake Vostok, 30–31, 33
Sagan, Carl, 12, 37, 57
and Allan Hills 84001 paper, 124–25
on extraordinary proof, 9, 124
and Miller-Urey, 60
and SETI, 161–62, 163
and Viking, 122
Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM), 97, 102
Schrödinger, Erwin, 36
Seager, Sara, 6, 140–44
sea ice, 26
Second Law of Thermodynamics, 36
serpentinization, 82
SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence):
Allen Telescope Array, 167, 169, 170
assumptions about the “other,” 175–77
and astrobiology, 173
Cosmic Water Hole, 171
and Dyson spheres, 174
at Hat Creek, 166–71
in Japan, 161–66
and METI, 174–76
and NASA, 12–13, 169, 171
project Ozma, 166
SETI Institute, 168, 171–72, 175
Shostak, Seth, 170
silicon, 52
single-cell organisms, 188
61 Virginis, 128–29
Skidmore, Mark, 27, 29
Smolin, Lee, 152–54
sodium, discovery, 141
solar systems:
architecture of, 128, 130, 132
life support in, 11, 98, 131
origin of life in, 78
Soummer, Remi, 146–48
space, organic compounds in, 76–78
spectroscopy:
adaptive optics of, 92–93
CRIRES, 85–86, 88, 93
and deuterium, 94
development of, 86–87
GCMS, 41
and Hubble telescope, 87
and infrared band, 81
and Mumma, 80–81, 87, 94
Raman, 98–100
and SAM, 102
SPIE, 115
Spielberg, Steven, 162
Squyres, Steve, 103
star, central, 174
star bacteria, 15–16, 22
star creation, 153
stargazing, 88
Steele, Andrew “Steelie,” 110–14, 120, 124
Stone, Bill, 31
Strecker, Adolph, 63
stromatolite, 121
strong anthropic principle, 152
sugars, right-handedness of, 8, 71
sulfur dioxide, 82
sulfur oxide, 66
Svalbard, Norway, 100–102, 112, 120
Syrtis Major volcano, 90
tagatose, 43
Tagish Lake meteorite, 115
Talmud, 180
tartaric acid, 69
Tarter, Jill, 168, 171
Taylor Glacier, Antarctica, 27–30
tectonic plates, 91, 92
terra-forming, 185
“thermal shock” hypothesis, 108
Thomas, Ronald, 63–66
Thomas-Keprta, Kathie, 108
Treiman, Allan, 108–9, 112
Trent, Jonathan, 121
universe:
bubble universe theory, 152
and cosmic natural selection, 152–54
evolution of, 153–54
fine-tuning, 149–53, 155–56
multiverse theory, 151–53, 155
strong anthropic principle, 152
Urey, Harold, 59, 118
Vakoch, Doug, 175
Vatican Observatory, 181–82
Ventura, Laura, 84
Vesuvius, Mount, 64
Viking missions, 39–45, 97, 105, 122–24
Villanueva, Geronimo, 85, 94–95
viruses, 53
Vogt, Steven, 139–40
volcanoes:
in Alaska, 63–67
amino acids at mouths of, 62–63, 65, 67
lightning, 63–66, 67
on Mars, 90, 91–92
and methane, 66, 82
and Miller-Urey, 62–63, 66–68
Vostok, Lake (Russia), 30–31, 33
Voytek, Mary A., 119–21
Ward, Peter, 186
water:
definitions of, 37
deuterium, 93, 94
hydrothermal activity, 103
on Mars, 43, 81, 88–90, 93–95, 97, 102–3, 109, 123
necessary for life, 172
as sign of life, 143, 148
Watson, James, 59–60
Webb Space Telescope, 142–43, 145–46, 148
Weiler, Ed, 144, 159
Welch, Jack (astronomer), 168–69, 170, 171
Welzenbach, Linda, 73
Whewell, William, 184
Whitman, William “Barny,” 25
Wolfe-Simon, Felisa, 157–60
Yellowstone National Park, 11, 24
zero gravity, 77, 78
zoo hypothesis, 176