Goldschmidt Session on Exobiology

January 29, 2009 / Posted by: Shige Abe

Exobiology: Are any Terrestrial Extremophiles Plausible Proxies for Hypothesized Microbial Life on Venus, Mars, or the Jovian Planets and their Satellites (E.g., Titan, Europa, Callisto, Enceladus)?

Convenors: Anna-Louise Reysenbach, David DesMarais

Investigations of contemporary microbial communities can guide our exploration of Earth’s early biosphere as well as our search for life elsewhere in the solar system. Life as we know it requires liquid water. Evidence for the presence or past activity of water has been detected on several planetary bodies besides Earth. Accordingly our search for signs of past or present life elsewhere in the Solar System is enhanced by studies of the biogeochemistry, microbiology and biosignatures of extreme environments on Earth such as those in the subsurface, in hot springs and in frozen deposits. Recent Mars missions are providing additional clues to help focus such Earth-based studies. This session explores a broad range of topics including prebiotic chemical evolution, quantifying the habitability of environments, biogeochemical cycles, biosignatures, and the roles played by mineralization in biological evolution and the preservation of biosignatures.

Source: [Link]