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A non-anthropocentric solution to the Fermi paradox Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2024-03-07 Vojin Rakić
A few dozens of solutions to the Fermi paradox have been proposed in the past. The most relevant ones will be concisely discussed in this paper. They will be classified as follows: exceptionality solutions, annihilation solutions and communication barrier solutions. The argument will be advanced that all existing resolutions to the Fermi paradox are in their essence anthropocentric. The epistemological
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Astrobiological applications of μ-mapping X-ray fluorescence spectrometry Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2024-03-04 David Frederick Blake, Richard C. Walroth, Thomas F. Bristow, Philippe Sarrazin, Marc Gailhanou, Kathleen Thompson, Robert Terrance Downs, Albert Shi-Yuen Yen, Franck Marchis, Samuel Webb, Clement Chalumeau, Vincente Armando Solé, Philippe Walter, Jianxin Chen, Roger Henderson, Barbara Lafuente
In situ elemental imaging of planetary surface regolith at a spatial resolution of 100s to 1000s of microns can provide evidence of the provenance of rocks or sediments and their habitability, and can identify post-depositional diagenetic alteration affecting preservation. We use high-resolution elemental maps and XRF spectra from MapX, a flight prototype in situ X-ray imaging instrument, to demonstrate
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Transdisciplinary contributions in undergraduate university students through a stratospheric balloon project with an astrobiological focus Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2024-02-22 Octavio Alfonso Chon-Torres, Diego Antonio Macassi Zavala, Julio Cesar Ramos Ramirez, Ofelia Carmen Santos Jimenez, Saby Evelyn Lazarte Oyague, César Andreé Murga-Moreno
In a rapidly changing academic-scientific context, it is essential to adapt new learning strategies that foster the acquisition of new knowledge and the development of skills in future professionals, such as interacting synergistically with disciplines outside their own to execute projects successfully and comprehensively. The adaptation is only possible thanks to the inter and transdisciplinarity
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Astrobiocentrism: reflections on challenges in the transition to a vision of life and humanity in space Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2024-02-08 Octavio Alfonso Chon-Torres, Julian Chela-Flores, David Dunér, Erik Persson, Tony Milligan, Jesús Martínez-Frías, Andreas Losch, Adam Pryor, César Andreé Murga-Moreno
Astrobiocentrism is a vision that places us in a scenario of confirmation of life in the universe, either as a second genesis or as an expansion of humanity in space. It manages to raise consistent arguments in relation to questions such as what would happen to knowledge if life were confirmed in the universe, how would this change the way we understand our place in the cosmos? Astrobiocentrism raises
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Succession of the bacterial community from a spacecraft assembly clean room when enriched in brines relevant to Mars Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-12-22 Meris E. Carte, Fei Chen, Benton C. Clark, Mark A. Schneegurt
Interplanetary spacecraft are built in a spacecraft assembly facility (SAF), a clean room designed to reduce microbial contamination that could confound life detection missions or influence native ecosystems. The frigid hyperarid near-surface environment of Mars has ample hygroscopic Mg and Na salts of chloride, (per)chlorate and sulphate that may deliquesce to form dense brines, liquids with low water
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Astroecology: bridging the gap between ecology and astrobiology Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-12-14 Juliana Campos Meurer, Jacob Haqq-Misra, Milton de Souza Mendonça
Although astrobiology studies how life functions and evolves, ecology is still largely overlooked in astrobiology research. Here we present an argument for astroecology, a merger of ecology and astrobiology, a self-aware scientific endeavour. Ecology is rarely mentioned in influential documents like the NASA Astrobiology Strategy (2015), and terms such as ‘niche’ can end up being used in a less precise
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Psychological aspects in unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) witnesses Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-12-11 Gabriel G. De la Torre
In this study, we surveyed a total of 245 people about unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), 93 who directly witnessed UAP. Paying special attention to the psychological impact of UAP, our study survey covered different aspects, including opinions on official UAP releases, the scientific approach to the phenomena and the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence. This study found that UAP had a clear
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Children of time: the geological recency of intelligence and its implications for SETI Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-12-01 Giovanni Mussini
Of all species on Earth, only one – Homo sapiens – has developed a technological civilization. As a consequence, estimates of the number of similar civilizations beyond Earth often treat the emergence of human-like intelligence or ‘sophonce’ as an evolutionary unicum: a contingent event unlikely to repeat itself even in biospheres harbouring complex brains, tool use, socially transmitted behaviours
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Breakthrough results in astrobiology: is ‘high risk’ research needed? Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-11-06 Cyrille Jeancolas, Cat Gillen, Sean McMahon, Martin Ward, Peter John Vickers
Astrobiology is a scientific endeavour involving great uncertainties. This could justify intellectual risk-taking associated with research that significantly deviates from the mainstream, to explore new avenues. However, little is known regarding the effect of such maverick endeavours. To better understand the need for more or less risk in astrobiology, we investigate to what extent high-risk / high-impact
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Black holes as tools for quantum computing by advanced extraterrestrial civilizations Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-10-16 Gia Dvali, Zaza N. Osmanov
We explain that black holes are the most efficient capacitors of quantum information. It is thereby expected that all sufficiently advanced civilizations ultimately employ black holes in their quantum computers. The accompanying Hawking radiation is democratic in particle species. Due to this, the alien quantum computers will radiate in ordinary particles such as neutrinos and photons within the range
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Hydrocarbons on Mars Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-09-21 Jaroslav Klokočník, Jan Kostelecký, Aleš Bezděk, Václav Cílek
Providing evidence for possible oil-type occurrences on Mars means providing an indication for the past life on Mars. We do this via analysis of the combed (aligned) gravity strike angles, one of the gravity (gravitational) aspects (descriptors) derived from one of the recent gravitational field models of Mars, currently having the highest accessible precision and resolution. After intensive testing
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Planetary biotechnospheres, biotechnosignatures and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-09-08 Irina K. Romanovskaya
The concept of planetary intelligence as collective intelligence is used to consider possible evolutionary paths of biotechnospheres that emerge on the intersection of the technosphere with the biosphere and support coupling of the technosphere with the biosphere, thus affecting planetary evolution. In mature biotechnospheres, the intelligence of technologies and the intelligence of life forms, including
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Detection of dsrAB operon expression in Desulfotalea psychrophila cells subjected to simulated Martian conditions of temperature and regolith's sulphate minerals composition Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-09-07 Sergio Mosquera, Mack Ivey, Vincent F. Chevrier
Discoveries of transient liquid water in the Martian polar caps and the presence of liquid lakes and subsurface oceans in icy satellites have increased the interest of scientists in the capabilities of terrestrial extremophiles to grow and remain metabolically active in these extreme environments. The principal goal of this research is to understand the metabolic capacity of the anaerobic psychrophile
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Astrobioethical reflections on humanity and its consideration as multi- and interplanetary Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-08-07 Octavio A. Chon-Torres, Julián Chela-Flores
We discuss in the context of astrobiology three aspects of the possible evolution of humanity. In addition, from astrobioethics -the study of the moral implications in astrobiology- we ask whether it is necessary to develop new concepts. Thus, it is concluded that we have already started our transition towards an interplanetary humanity; that our actions in the face of the discovery of extraterrestrial
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Information gain as a tool for assessing biosignature missions Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-08-04 Benjamin Fields, Sohom Gupta, McCullen Sandora
We propose the mathematical notion of information gain as a way of quantitatively assessing the value of biosignature missions. This makes it simple to determine how mission value depends on design parameters, prior knowledge and input assumptions. We demonstrate the utility of this framework by applying it to a plethora of case examples: the minimal number of samples needed to determine a trend in
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The challenging history of other Earths Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-08-03 Christopher M. Graney
This paper provides an overview of recent historical research regarding scientifically-informed challenges to the idea that the stars are other suns orbited by other inhabited earths – an idea that came to be known as ‘the Plurality of Worlds’. Johannes Kepler in the 17th century, Jacques Cassini in the 18th and William Whewell in the 19th each argued against ‘pluralism’ based on what in their respective
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Iron reduction as a viable metabolic pathway in Enceladus’ ocean Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-07-06 Matthew J. Roche, Mark G. Fox-Powell, Rachael E. Hamp, James M. Byrne
Recent studies postulated the viability of a suite of metabolic pathways in Enceladus’ ocean motivated by the detection of H2 and CO2 in the plumes – evidence for available free energy for methanogenesis driven by hydrothermal activity at the moon's seafloor. However, these have not yet been explored in detail. Here, a range of experiments were performed to investigate whether microbial iron reduction
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Dehydrated thin film media to rapidly estimate bioburden for planetary protection flight implementation Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-07-03 Zachary S. Dean, Kristina Stott, Wayne Schubert, Emily P. Seto, Sailaja Chandrapati
Planetary Protection (PP) is the practice of safeguarding solar system bodies from terrestrial biological contamination and screening the Earth against potentially harmful extraterrestrial biological contamination. On Earth, cleanrooms and spacecraft surfaces are assayed using swabs and wipes that are then heat shocked for 15 min at 80°C to select for spores. The samples are further processed using
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Houston, we have a problem…or do we? The trajectory of astrobioethics and Indigenous thought Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-06-26 Ried Mackay
Background At the 2022 meeting of the American Society for Bioethics and Medical Humanities, a new affinity group was formed: astrobioethics. This is the branch of bioethics for space exploration, extraterrestrial environments and possible extraterrestrial organisms. Bioethics has traditionally operated from Western/Global North dominated thought structures and it is difficult to introduce alternative
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Astrobiology: resolution of the statistical Drake equation by Maccone's lognormal method in 50 steps Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-06-14 E. Mieli, A. M. F. Valli, C. Maccone
The authors use the mathematical tool of Maccone's lognormal distribution to further factor the Drake equation, which calculates the number of advanced civilizations in the galaxy, from the seven original levels of the Drake equation to 49 levels of overall analysis. The Maccone approach, in fact, supported by the central limit theorem, becomes more reliable the more levels are introduced. The resulting
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The future of intelligence in the Universe: a call for humility Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-06-01 Simon Friederich, Sylvia Wenmackers
Recent astrophysical findings suggest that the era during which the Universe is habitable has just begun. This raises the question whether the entire Universe may at some point in the future be filled with intelligent life. Hanson et al. (2021, The Astrophysical Journal 922, 182) argued that we can be confident that the Universe will, by cosmic standards, soon be dominated by imperialist civilizations
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Role of horizontal gene transfers and microbial ecology in the evolution of fluxes through the tricarboxylic acid cycle Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-04-12 Tymofii Sokolskyi, Shiladitya DasSarma
The origin of carbon fixation is a fundamental question in astrobiology. While the Calvin cycle is the most active on the modern Earth, the reductive tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle (rTCA) pathway for carbon fixation has been proposed to have played an important role in early evolution. In this study, we examined the evolution of key enzymes in the rTCA, which are rare in extant organisms, occurring
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Astrovirology: how viruses enhance our understanding of life in the Universe Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-04-05 Gareth Trubl, Kenneth M. Stedman, Kathryn F. Bywaters, Emily E. Matula, Pacifica Sommers, Simon Roux, Nancy Merino, John Yin, Jason T. Kaelber, Aram Avila-Herrera, Peter Anto Johnson, John Christy Johnson, Schuyler Borges, Peter K. Weber, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Penelope J. Boston
Viruses are the most numerically abundant biological entities on Earth. As ubiquitous replicators of molecular information and agents of community change, viruses have potent effects on the life on Earth, and may play a critical role in human spaceflight, for life-detection missions to other planetary bodies and planetary protection. However, major knowledge gaps constrain our understanding of the
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The Noonday argument: fine-graining, indexicals, and the nature of Copernican reasoning Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-03-22 Brian C. Lacki
Typicality arguments attempt to use the Copernican Principle to draw conclusions about the cosmos and presently unknown conscious beings within it, including extraterrestrial intelligences (ETI). The most notorious is the Doomsday Argument, which purports to constrain humanity's future from its current lifespan alone. These arguments rest on a likelihood calculation that penalizes models in proportion
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Solid grains ejected from terrestrial exoplanets as a probe of the abundance of life in the Milky Way Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-03-22 Tomonori Totani
Searching for extrasolar biosignatures is important to understand life on Earth and its origin. Astronomical observations of exoplanets may find such signatures, but it is difficult and may be impossible to claim unambiguous detection of life by remote sensing of exoplanet atmospheres. Here, another approach is considered: collecting grains ejected by asteroid impacts from exoplanets in the Milky Way
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Presence of liquid water during the evolution of exomoons orbiting ejected free-floating planets Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-03-20 Giulia Roccetti, Tommaso Grassi, Barbara Ercolano, Karan Molaverdikhani, Aurélien Crida, Dieter Braun, Andrea Chiavassa
Free-floating planets (FFPs) can result from dynamical scattering processes happening in the first few million years of a planetary system's life. Several models predict the possibility, for these isolated planetary-mass objects, to retain exomoons after their ejection. The tidal heating mechanism and the presence of an atmosphere with a relatively high optical thickness may support the formation and
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Planetary geodynamics and age constraints on circumstellar habitable zones around main sequence stars Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-03-14 Fernando de Sousa Mello, Amâncio César Santos Friaça
Planetary geodynamics may have an important influence over planetary habitability and the boundaries of the circumstellar habitable zone (CHZ) in space and time. To investigate this we use a minimal parameterized model of the co-evolution of the geosphere and atmosphere of Earth-like planets around F, G, K and M main sequence stars. We found the CHZ for the present Solar System located between 0.92
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Feminism and gender in thinking about extraterrestrial intelligence Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-02-24 Konrad Szocik, Rakhat Abylkasymova
In this paper, we offer an outline of a feminist approach to considering the issue of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI). Dominant ways of discussing ETI, particularly first-contact scenarios and protocols, are characterized by what feminism terms male bias. As with other cultural texts and disciplines, ETI studies can also be enriched by a feminist perspective. In this paper, we propose two possible
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Heat-induced changes in molecular biosignatures and the influence of Mars-relevant minerals Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-02-20 Bettina Haezeleer, Stefan Fox, Henry Strasdeit
The search for signs of life is a major objective in the exploration of Mars. Of particular interest are chemical biosignatures such as biomolecules. However, molecular biosignatures are susceptible to extreme environmental conditions such as heat, ionising radiation and strong oxidants. Therefore, a knowledge of the stability of possible biosignature molecules under present and past conditions on
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Frontiers of astrobiology and the humanities Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-01-31 Julian Chela-Flores
One of the main objectives of astrobiology is to understand the distribution of life in the universe, for microbial life, as well as for the search of extra-terrestrial intelligence, both of which would force upon us new problems in philosophy, including ethics and theology. The question of astrobiology and the humanities being such a broad topic, in the present paper we have limited our discussion
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A philosophical perspective about the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the Universe Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-01-25 Bruno Leonardo do Nascimento-Dias
The main idea is to present the general aspects of the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the Universe from a Philosophy of Science perspective. The methodology used to develop this paper was through the intersection of favourable and unfavourable arguments from practitioners of science in the field of modern Astrobiology. The results were quite interesting and the historical crossover between
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Particle motion determines the types of bioaerosol particles in the stratosphere Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2023-01-09 Kenji Miki
Bioaerosol particles in the stratosphere are topics of interest for aerobiological and astrobiological studies. Although various studies have succeeded in sampling bioaerosol particles in the stratosphere, limited research has been conducted to evaluate how and why these bioaerosol particles can lift up to as high as the stratospheric level. This study tested different driving forces acting on particles
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Alien technology, conjunction and ergodicity Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-12-15 Milan M. Ćirković
In a recent refreshing paper, Cowie (2022, The Philosophical Quarterly) analyses the hypothesis of artificial origin of the mysterious interstellar object 1I/2017 U1 ʻOumuamua, as well as the wider question of justification of the artefactual origin explanation for anomalous astronomical phenomena. This highly commendable philosophical project should be further developed in order to establish more
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On the first probe to transit between two interstellar civilizations Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-12-06 Graeme H. Smith
If a space-faring civilization embarks on a program to send probes to interstellar destinations, the first probe to arrive at such a destination is not likely to be one of the earliest probes, but one of much more advanced capability. This conclusion is based on a scenario in which an extraterrestrial civilization (ETC) embarks upon an interstellar program during which it launches increasingly sophisticated
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Communicating extraterrestrial intelligence (CETI) interaction models based on the Drake equation Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-12-02 Reginald D. Smith
The Drake equation has proven fertile ground for speculation about the abundance, or lack thereof, of communicating extraterrestrial intelligences (CETIs) for decades. It has been augmented by subsequent authors to include random variables in order to understand its probabilistic behaviour. However, in most cases, the emergence and lifetime of CETIs are assumed to be independent of each other. In this
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Radiation-induced reactions in comet analogues Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-12-01 A. López-Islas, A. Negrón-Mendoza
Comets are a source of prebiotic molecules that likely enriched the early Earth during the Late Heavy Bombardment period. Laboratory experiments that replicate cometary conditions may facilitate understanding of the chemical reactions and supplement observational studies of these icy bodies. Prebiotic compounds, such as formic acid and formaldehyde, have been observed in comets. Furthermore, these
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Extraterrestrial nature reserves (ETNRs) Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-11-24 Paul L. Smith
If human population growth is not controlled, natural areas must be sacrificed. An alternative is to create more habitat, terraforming Mars. However, this requires establishment of essential, ecosystem services on a planet currently unamenable to Terran species. Shorter term, assembling Terran-type ecosystems within contained environments is conceivable if mutually supportive species complements are
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Brief review about history of astrobiology Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-10-19 Bruno Leonardo do Nascimento-Dias, Jesús Martinez-Frias
The main idea of this work is to develop a chronological and descriptive historical review in a summarized form about content on astrobiology, which is a research area considered as an emerging science. This is exploratory research that was developed from document review from scientific articles and books, that related to the themes of astrobiology, exobiology and the search for life outside the Earth
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Formalizing the Fermi paradox and combining consistent explanatory hypotheses Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-10-18 Alexandre Costa-Leite
A formalization of Fermi paradox inside the environment of classical propositional logic is proposed. The notion of Silentium Universi set is launched in order to establish that the Fermi paradox is truly paradoxical. Combining consistent explanatory hypotheses is taken into consideration and discussed inside this framework explaining what would count as a solution to the paradox. By the end, it is
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Microbial protocols for spacecraft: 2. Biocidal effects of Delrin and nylon in sealed compartments may enhance bioburden reductions in planetary spacecraft Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-09-29 Andrew C. Schuerger, Petra Schwendner, Rachel T. Tucker
Interplanetary spacecraft are assembled with thousands of parts composed of many diverse materials. Little is known on whether any of the spacecraft materials are biocidal to the typical microbiomes that develop on spacecraft during pre-launch processing. During ongoing experiments to examine the interactive effects of solar UV irradiation, solar heating, ionizing radiation, and vacuum, we observed
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Abiogenesis: the Carter argument reconsidered Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-09-23 Daniel P. Whitmire
The observation of life on Earth is commonly believed to be uninformative regarding the probability of abiogenesis on other Earth-like planets. This belief is based on the selection effect of our existence. We necessarily had to find ourselves on a planet where abiogenesis occurred, thus nothing can be inferred about the probability of abiogenesis from this observation alone. This argument was first
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Stromatolite photomorphogenesis: lighting up their shape Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-09-06 Gregory W. Ojakangas, Stanley M. Awramik, Michael C. Storrie-Lombardi
Most stromatolites are built by photosynthetic organisms, for which sunlight is a driving factor. We examine stromatolite morphogenesis with modelling that incorporates the growth rate of cyanobacteria (the dominant stromatolite-builder today, and presumably through much of the past), as a function of the amount of irradiance received. This function is known to be non-monotonic, with a maximum beyond
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Extraterrestrial intelligence and moral standing Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-09-01 Milan M. Ćirković, Ana Katić
We consider the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence (SETI) activities from a bioethical standpoint. In particular, we argue that there is a moral duty to search for other intelligent beings in the Universe. Some of them could – and are likely to be – morally enhanced in the sense that they are not only capable of unmistakable moral reasoning but are also capable of consistently acting upon the
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Biomarkers in the Atacama Desert along the moisture gradient and the depth in the hyperarid zone: Phosphatase activity as trace of microbial activity Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-08-26 Kensei Kobayashi, Philippe Nauny, Yoshinori Takano, Chiho Honma, Taihei Kurizuka, Yuto Ishikawa, Shusuke Yogosawa, Yumiko Obayashi, Takeo Kaneko, Yoko Kebukawa, Hajime Mita, Mari Ogawa, Keigo Enya, Yoshitaka Yoshimura, Christopher P. McKay
Microbiological activities can be detected in various extreme environments on Earth, which suggest that extraterrestrial environments, such as on Mars, could host life. There have been proposed a number of biomarkers to detect extant life mostly based on specific molecules. Because terrestrial organisms have catalytic proteins (enzymes), enzymatic activity may also be a good indicator to evaluate biological
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Prebiotic decluttering: the thermodynamic tail-wind to asymmetric autocatalysis Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-08-17 Slobodan Perović
I outline a general thermodynamic condition for the earliest steps in the origin of life based on fluctuation theorems developed in the last two decades. I argue that the exponentially developing loop of asymmetric autocatalysis and thermodynamic tail-wind condition (TTC) in the prebiotic clutter was a key to a particular trajectory of decluttering via a sequence of early symmetry breaking events.
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Searching for biosignatures by their rotational spectrum: global fit and methyl group internal rotation features of dimethylsulphoxide up to 116 GHz Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-08-12 Assimo Maris, Laura B. Favero, Wentao Song, Dingding Lv, Luca Evangelisti, Sonia Melandri
The identification and quantification of molecules in interstellar space and atmospheres of planets in the solar systems and in exoplanets rely on spectroscopic methods and laboratory work is essential to provide the community with the spectral features needed to analyse cosmological observations. Rotational spectroscopy in particular, with its intrinsic high resolution, allows the unambiguous identification
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Early taphonomic processes in a microbial-based sedimentary system from a temperate salt-pan site (Cervia salterns, Italy) Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-08-02 Roberto Barbieri, Barbara Cavalazzi
In the only salt evaporation pond retaining its natural setting of the historic Salina di Cervia (Italy), the northernmost salterns of the Mediterranean area, a number of potentially preservable textures derive from the interactions between photosynthetic mat producers and the sedimentary substrate. These morphologies occur at the beginning of the taphonomic processes when repeated emerged-submerged
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The Fermi paradox: impact of astrophysical processes and dynamical evolution Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-07-15 Dominik R.G. Schleicher, Stefano Bovino
The Fermi paradox has given rise to various attempts to explain why no evidence of extraterrestrial civilizations was found so far on Earth and in our Solar System. Here, we present a dynamical model for the development of such civilizations, which accounts for self-destruction, colonization and astrophysical destruction mechanisms of civilizations including gamma-ray bursts, type Ia and type II supernovae
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Curbing the fruitfulness of self-replicating machines Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-07-08 Alex Ellery
The self-replicating machine has high utility by virtue of its universal construction properties and its productive capacity for exponential growth. Their capacity is unrivalled. They can be deployed to the Moon to industrialize it using local in-situ resources in the short term to open up the solar system and thence deployed on interstellar spacecraft to explore the entire Galaxy by exploiting in-situ
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Self-replicating probes are imminent – implications for SETI Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-07-08 Alex Ellery
In the early 1980s, the Sagan-Tipler debate raged regarding the interpretation of the Fermi paradox but no clear winner emerged. Sagan favoured the existence of ETI on the basis of the Copernican principle and Tipler favoured the non-existence of ETI on the basis of the Occam's razor principle. Tipler's stance was an expansion of the similar but earlier Hart declaration. However, crucial to the Tipler
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AbGradCon 2021: lessons in digital meetings, international collaboration, and interdisciplinarity in astrobiology Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-07-06 Tony Z. Jia, Kristin N. Johnson-Finn, Osama M. Alian, Irene Bonati, Kosuke Fujishima, Natalie Grefenstette, Thilina Heenatigala, Yamei Li, Natsumi Noda, Petar I. Penev, Paula Prondzinsky, Harrison B. Smith
The Astrobiology Graduate Conference (AbGradCon) is an annual conference both organized for and by early-career researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and students as a way to train the next generation of astrobiologists and develop a robust network of cohorts moving forward. AbGradCon 2021 was held virtually on 14–17 September 2021, hosted by the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) of Tokyo Institute
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Nucleic acids and melanin pigments after exposure to high doses of gamma rays: a biosignature robustness test Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-07-06 A. Cassaro, C. Pacelli, M. Baqué, A. Maturilli, U. Boettger, R. Moeller, A. Fujimori, J-P.P. de Vera, S. Onofri
The question about the stability of certain biomolecules is directly connected to the life-detection missions aiming to search for past or present life beyond Earth. The extreme conditions experienced on extraterrestrial planet surface (e.g. Mars), characterized by ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, CO2-atmosphere and reactive species, may destroy the hypothetical traces of life. In this context
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Protecting ocean worlds: Europa Clipper planetary protection inputs to a probabilistic risk-based approach Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-07-05 Alvin L. Smith, Ryan C. Hendrickson
There is increased interest in exploring planetary bodies that have ocean worlds, and planetary protection (PP) practices for spacecraft are important to avoid harmful biological contamination of these sensitive environments. In the autumn of 2018 a diverse set of subject matter experts were assembled to examine the environmental input parameters (e.g. space radiation, Europa surface turnover) and
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Database on mineral mediated carbon reduction: implications for future research Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-06-30 Medha Prakash, Jessica M. Weber, Laura E. Rodriguez, Rachel Y. Sheppard, Laura M. Barge
Carbon reduction is an important process for Earth-like origins of life events and of great interest to the astrobiology community. In this paper, we have collected experimental results, field work and modelling data on CO and CO2 reduction in order to summarize the research that has been carried out particularly in relation to the early Earth and Mars. By having a database of this work, researchers
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Hype, skin in the game, and the stability of cooperative science Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-06-24 Adrian Lenardic, Johnny Seales, Anthony Covington
We address a recently posed question: ‘Why Do So Many Astronomy (and Astrobiology) Discoveries Fail to Live Up to the Hype?’ We expand it to cover hype within science in general. Our answer relies on working definitions of hype and skin in the game, as applied to research science, and a game theory model for the stability of cooperative science. Low skin in the game allows internal feedbacks, within
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Astrophysical existential threats: a comparative analysis Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-06-17 Niamh Burns, William T. Parsons
Using a simple, coarse-grained Poisson process model, we calculate – for seven types of astrophysical catastrophe – both their individual and combined threat to complex lifeforms (extraterrestrial intelligences (ETIs)) throughout the Milky Way Galaxy. In terms of cumulative effects, we calculate that ETIs are likely to be astrophysically driven extinct on timescales of roughly once every 100 million
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Megatsunamis and microbial life on early Mars Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-06-15 Hadi Veysi
It is currently believed that early Mars had a vast and shallow ocean, and microbial life may have formed in it, albeit for a short geological time. The geological evidence indicates that during the existence of this ocean, large collisions occurred on the surface of Mars, which led to the formation of megatsunamis in its palaeo-ocean. Previous research has reported on the effects of tsunami waves
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Atmospheric entry of sub-millimetre-sized grains into Mars atmosphere: white soft mineral micrometeoroids Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-06-01 Gaia Micca Longo, Savino Longo
In this work, we study the passage through the Martian atmosphere of micrometeorites with a white soft mineral (WSM) composition, which have been proposed as transporters of organic molecules in the solar system. The atmospheric entry model includes the dynamics of the atmospheric entry and the physico-chemical aspects of the thermal decomposition process. The results show that, due to the reduced
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If extraterrestrial intelligence exists, it is unable to recognize humans as intelligent beings Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-05-24 Konrad Szocik, Rakhat Abylkasymova
In this paper we consider a scenario in which Carl Sagan's Copernican principle is more likely than its negation. Thus, assuming that the existence of an extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) is reasonably likely, the paper considers the possibility of an ETI that is unable to recognize humans as intelligent beings. The paper presents the rationale for such an assumption. It also discusses the possible
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Life detection in Martian returned samples: correlation between analytical techniques and biological signatures Int. J. Astrobiol. (IF 1.7) Pub Date : 2022-05-24 Andrea Meneghin, John Robert Brucato, Teresa Fornaro, Giovanni Poggiali
As soon as samples collected from Mars will be brought back to Earth, the samples will be placed inside a receiving facility to check for the presence of life. There is a large number of approaches that were proposed on the techniques to be used to investigate the presence of life and any biological risk in the returned samples. Another interesting approach was reported by Kminek in which suggestions