Number of potentially habitable planets, universal evolutionary biomarkers and what Mars would look like with water

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Abodes - Chances are you haven't spent a whole lot of time wondering how many Jupiter-like planets exist in our galaxy. But Charley Lineweaver has, because it bears on a more important question: How many potentially habitable planets are there? See article. Note: This article is from 2002.
gLife - In view of the substantial challenges ahead in instrumentation and trials on Earth analogs, we must now begin to plan a second generation of feasible evolutionary experiments with whole microorganisms. In those new experiments universal evolutionary biomarkers should be searched for. See http://www.ictp.trieste.it/~chelaf/ss5.html.
g Cosmicus - At the Astrobiology Science Conference last year, scientists and science fiction writers faced off in front of a packed audience to debate the promise and pitfalls of terraforming Mars. In part 3 of this 7-part series, David Grinspoon says we have an ethical imperative to bring a dead planet to life. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1020.html. And here’s a bonus: A NASA animation of what Mars would look like with water: Animation: Large Areas of Mars Covered by Water (Requires QuickTime or other MPEG player).
g Learning - Book alert: Sure, you’ve heard of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. But do you really know what it means? And even if you do there’s a lot more to be learned about this eccentric genius. Did you know he worked to develop hearing aids? Or that a student actually spotted a mistake in one of his papers? And you’ll never guess what happed to Einstein’s brain after he died. Find out in “101 Things You Didn't Know About Einstein: Sex, Science, And the Secrets of the Universe,” by Cynthia Phillips and Shana Priwer. See http://www.seti.org/site/pp.asp?c=ktJ2J9MMIsE&b=1160541.

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Candidate stars for extrasolar life, how to best conduct the hunt for ET and the Drake Equation

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Quote of the Day: “When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,/the moon and the stars which thou hast established;/What is man that thou art mindful of him,/and the son of man that thou dost care for him?” — Psalms 8: 3-4
g Abodes -The list of candidates in our solar system most likely to harbor life or show signs of past life has narrowed in recent months. A hot debate now rages, inside NASA and throughout the science world, over where and how best to conduct the hunt. See article. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Life - One of the fundamental requirements for life as we know it is the presence of liquid water on (or below) a planet’s surface. See http://astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov/palebluedot/abstracts/kasting.html.
g Message - Is there life "out there"? If so, is it intelligent life? One way we can address the issue is to make a reasoned guess, based upon everything we know about astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, and a host of other disciplines. Many years ago the radio astronomer Frank Drake did just this, combining all the "knowledge" in the form of a mathematical equation now named for him: The Drake Equation. See article.
g Cosmicus - In an exclusive SPACE.com interview with NASA’s Michael Coats, the newly appointed Johnson Space Center director detailed the challenges he faces in the new post. See http://space.com/news/051116_coats_jsc.html.
g Learning - Theorizing and model building are one thing; it is another to go out and get data that will support science and the acquisition of new knowledge. For this purpose, NASA has instituted its Astrobiology Program to study the origin, evolution, distribution, and destiny of life in the universe. Existing programs and new endeavors will be brought together in a multidisciplinary fashion to tackle the questions surrounding life's place in the organization of the universe. In so doing, NASA has adopted six canonical questions to use as guideposts as its programs are developed. See http://www.astrobiology.com/asc2002/. Note: This article is from 2002.

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Hot on ET’s trail, life on extrasolar planets and ‘Astroventure’

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars -Quote of the Day: "We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them and discuss about whether they were made or only just happened." - Mark Twain
g Abodes - If "E.T." is out there, whether in the form of intelligent beings or much simpler organisms, we may soon be hot on its trail. For the first time in history, the dream of searching for signs of life in other solar systems belongs not only on the philosopher's wish list, but on the list of doable and planned human endeavors. See http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/10jan_exo-atmospheres.htm?list505529. Note: This article is from 2002.
gLife - Could life exist on discovered extra-solar planets? See http://www.astro.rug.nl/~onderwys/sterIIproject97/kleefman/.
g Message - Book alert: In “Faint Echoes, Distant Stars: The Science and Politics of Finding Life Beyond Earth,” Ben Bova proffers a good general history of astrobiology, or the history and structure of life in the cosmos--one of the newest fields of scientific research. He covers astronomy briefly and gives more detail about the political and technological history of NASA, showing the effects of politics and accidents on the field. He also notes what we have discovered about the history of life on this planet, what we are looking for beyond Earth and the solar system, and how we are presently going about it. With so much to cover, this is hardly an in-depth account, but it is a very good introduction for the general reader and even the specialist who wants a look at the larger picture. Bova seasons his account with entertaining and illustrative historical anecdotes, so that, as a bonus, we get an idea of what NASA has been doing since the end of the Apollo program and something about what it hopes to do in the future that many readers will live to see. See http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/038097519X/002-6016826-5406462?v=glance&n=283155&v=glance.
g Cosmicus - At the Astrobiology Science Conference last year, scientists and science fiction writers faced off in front of a packed audience to debate the promise and pitfalls of terraforming Mars. In part 2 of this 7-part series, John Rummel predicts that in our search for life on Mars, we probably won't find cows. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1018.html. Here’s a bonus for you: A gallery of images depicting what Mars would like as a waterworld; see http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?imgid=1263&gid=99&index=0.
g Learning - Here’s a cool set of classroom lessons courtesy of NASA: Astroventure, in which students search for and design a habitable planet. See http://astroventure.arc.nasa.gov/.

Worlds discovered where they shouldn’t be, Spirit passing once volcanic Mars and message vs. random noise

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - University of Texas at Austin astronomers have discovered a system of two Jupiter-like planets orbiting a star whose composition might seem to rule out planet formation. This NASA-funded study has implications for theories of planet formation. See article.
g Abodes - NASA's Spirit rover has found that the plateau it's cruising across was the site of long-past explosive volcanic activity. In addition, the rover has collected data indicating that water once existed at or beneath the planet's surface. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name
=News&file=article&sid=2332mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Life - A paleo-bully of sorts, a Tyrannosaurus rex could chomp down on prey with the force needed to lift a semi-trailer, tearing apart a victim's bones. Now researchers have discovered the dino's secret weapon: it was hard-headed. See http://www.livescience.com/animals/070518_dino_nose.html.
g Intelligence - Free will and true spontaneity exist ... in fruit flies. This is what scientists report in a groundbreaking study in the May 16, 2007 issue of the open-access journal PLoS ONE. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070516071806.htm.
g Message - If ET ever phones us, would we recognize the call as anything other than random noise or a star? See http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=110145. Note: This article is a couple of years old.
g Cosmicus - Despite stringent restrictions, international regulations do allow for living terrestrial organisms to be sent to Mars – and for martian rocks that may contain life to be returned to Earth. In this exclusive Astrobiology Magazine interview, NASA’s acting planetary protection officer, Dr. Cassie Conley, explains how it could be done. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name
=News&file=article&sid=2345mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Learning - Here’s a neat Web site in which Monica Grady, head of petrology and meteoritics in the department of mineralogy at the Natural History Museum, presents a comprehensive introduction to astrobiology: http://www.fathom.com/course/10701047/index.html/.
g Imagining - Could Star Trek’s Guardian of Forever — the ancient portal that does not know if it’s a machine or a life form (go to http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TOS/episode/68716.html and click on "The Guardian of Forever) — evolve? The Guardian likely is an intelligent, self-aware machine. Presuming that time travel to the past is even possible, the enormous energy required to accomplish this task likely wouldn’t arise in a naturally evolving organic creature. Instead, it probably would be done mechanically (though organic elements might be incorporated into the machine’s components). Of course, a significant motif of science fiction is the question if artificial constructs that gain self-awareness then also “life” (as in The Next Generation android Data). A civilization capable of creating a stable time portal almost certainly also would be capable of creating an intelligent, self-aware machine. In short, the Guardian didn’t evolve via survival of the fittest but was built.
g Aftermath - Though an older Web posting, “After Contact, Then What?” (http://www.setileague.org/askdr/whatnext.htm) shows how little we’ve thought about this matter.

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Bright disc surrounding our solar system, earliest events of the solar system and moons of Jupiter and

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - The European Space Agency’s Markus Landgraf and his colleagues have found the first direct evidence that a bright disc of dust surrounds our Solar System, starting beyond the orbit of Saturn. Remarkably, their discovery gives astronomers a way to determine which other stars in the galaxy are most likely to harbor planets and allows mission planners to draw up a 'short-list' of stars to be observed by future planet-search missions, such as Eddington and Darwin. See article. Note: This article is from 2002.
g Abodes - A University of Toronto scientist has found unexpectedly young material in meteorites — a discovery that breaks open current theory on the earliest events of the solar system. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name
=News&file=article&sid=1688mode
=thread&order=0&thold=0. Note: This story is from 2005.
g Life - A reconstruction of the skeleton of the first four-legged land animal suggests that it didn’t move too nimbly on land – it either shuffled along or crept like an inchworm. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/050831_four_legs.html. Note: This story is from 2005.
g Intelligence - When first we meet those aliens in outer space, will we and they be able to converse? Yes, we will–provided they are motivated to cooperate–because we'll both think similar ways. Though arguments for this are very weak, let's pretend, for brevity, that things are clearer than they are. There then are two reasons why aliens will think like us, in spite of different origins. All problem-solvers, intelligent or not, are subject to the same ultimate constraints–limitations on space, time, and materials. In order for animals to evolve powerful ways to deal with such constraints, they must have ways to represent the situations they face, and they must have processes for manipulating those representations. See http://web.media.mit.edu/~minsky/papers/AlienIntelligence.html.
g Message - The search for extraterrestrial intelligence could be taking the wrong approach. Instead of listening for alien radio broadcasts, a better strategy may be to look for giant structures placed in orbit around nearby stars by alien civilizations. See http://www.newscientist.com/channel/space/mg18624944.800.
g Cosmicus - If you could salvage all of the material that human beings have left on the moon, you could open a fairly substantial junkyard. See http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/070515_technovelgy.html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity: “Moons of Jupiter.” In this lesson plan, students build model rovers to learn about engineering and evidence of alien life. See http://www.adlerplanet/
arium.org/education/teachers/plans/alien/Lesson_Plan.pdf.
g Imagining - What will an alien look like? If you follow the viewpoint of most television sci-fi, then all aliens will be men in rubber alien suits. The producers of “Star Trek” seem to think aliens are just like humans with little latex ridges on the noses or foreheads. The reason for this anthropomorphism on TV is that it’s cheap. The alien in the movie “Alien” was gross and ugly, and we surely would never be able to discuss our New Age feelings with such a creature. It cost the movie producers much more than a little latex on the bridge of an actors nose. The truth is that we are much more likely to meet Sigourney Weavers’s alien than a Bajorran. See http://www.cthreepo.com/cp_html/physed1.htm.
g Aftermath - The scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence is accelerating its pace and adopting fresh strategies. This increases the likelihood of successful detection in the near future. Humanity's first contact with alien intelligence will trigger extraordinary attention from the media, from government authorities, and from the general public. By improving our readiness for contact, especially for security during the first 30 days, we can avoid the most negative scenarios — and also enhance humanity's benefits from this first contact with an alien intelligence. Six potential problem areas include communicating with the media and the public, communicating with scientific colleagues, government control, an assassin or saboteur, well-meaning officials and lawsuits. See http://ieti.org/articles/security.htm.

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Hydrogen in Earth’s core, what Yellowstone can tell us about alien worlds and Stanley Miller passes

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Abodes - A Swedish research team headed by Professor Börje Johansson has used theoretical calculations to show that hydrogen is soluble in iron under the special conditions that prevail in the core of the earth. See article.
g Life - Stanley Miller, whose famous laboratory experiments in 1952 demonstrated how the simple organics considered necessary for the origin of life could have been synthesized on the primitive Earth, has died. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name
=News&file=article&sid=2343mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - A recent study at the University of Minnesota suggests that ceiling height affects problem-solving skills and behavior by priming concepts that encourage certain kinds of brain processing. See http://www.livescience.com/health/070507_high_ceilings.html.
g Cosmicus - In his book, "Space on Earth," microbiologist Charles Cockell urges space scientists and environmentalists to work together for the future for humanity. See http://www.astrobio.net/amee/spring_2007/features_03.htm.
g Learning - Here’s a great classroom resource guide, courtesy of NASA: NAI's team at NASA Ames Research Center has created Chapter 4 of the Yellowstone Resources and Issues Guide which tells all about thermophiles, their habitats in the park, and their relationship to both the history of life on Earth, and the search for life elsewhere. The guide is used to train park naturalists and rangers, and it can also serve as a valuable resource when teaching about extremophiles and astrobiology in the classroom. Download your copy at: http://www.nps.gov/yell/publications/pdfs/handbook/ch4.pdf.
g Imagining - What should science fiction writers consider when creating a new alien species? Here’s a list of some important considerations as part of a lesson from a class on “world building”: http://curriculum.calstatela.edu/courses/builders/lessons/less2/%0BLes11/Vles11.html.
g Aftermath - As we begin the new millennium, large elements of both the scientific and lay communities are sensitive to the possibility of intelligent life elsewhere. Whereas it is sensible to be cautious as to when unmistakable evidence of ETI will be acquired, some searchers expect this discovery to occur in the near future. From the perspective of our descendants 1,000 years hence, initial contact will be part of history and their attention will be directed somewhere else. At that time, any difficulties or dislocations that occurred during first contact will be long past. Interacting with other civilizations will be no more unusual than interacting with human colonies that will be sprinkled throughout our solar system. A thousand years from now people will be quite different than they are today. Human interaction with ETI could account for only some of these differences. See http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:WWP5W8vC1zYJ:www.bigelowaerospace.com/fff-galactic-club.doc+consequences+of+contacting+%22extraterrestrial+intelligence%22&hl=en&start=5.

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Infant stars hatching, atmospheric details of Venus and how the ingredients of life are processed in space

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - A new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows infant stars "hatching" in the head of Orion, the famous hunter constellation visible from northern hemispheres during winter nights. Astronomers suspect that shockwaves from a 3-million-year-old explosion of a massive star may have initiated this newfound birth. See article.
g Abodes - An exciting new series of videos from ESA’s Venus Express has been capturing atmospheric details of day and night areas simultaneously, at different altitudes. See article.
g Life - Astronomers may be one step closer to understanding how the ingredients of life are processed in space, thanks to NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. On Earth, the elements carbon and hydrogen dominate the chemistry of all life. Because molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, contain both of these elements and are abundant all over the universe, many astronomers suspect that they may be among life's building blocks. PAHs are also especially hardy molecules - typically found in hot, chaotic regions of space - leading some to believe that they could have survived the harsh environments of the planet's early days. See http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0705/17carbon/.
g Intelligence - When male primates tussle and females develop their social skills it leaves a permanent mark – on their brains. According to research published in the online open access journal BMC Biology, brain structures have developed due to different pressures on males and females to keep up with social or competitive demands. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070510121418.htm.
g Message - Here’s a neat classroom activity courtesy of NASA: “The Rare Earth.” How special are the circumstances that have allowed complex life, like animals and plants, to develop on Earth? In this activity, students systematically investigate the time frame for complex life to develop on Earth. See http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/Rare/rareearth.htm.
g Cosmicus - Is solar power from space a better strategy for America and the world than relying on fossil fuels? See http://www.space.com/adastra/070517_adastra_solarpowersats.html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity, courtesy of NASA: “The Drake Equation.” Students estimate the number of civilizations in the galaxy by first estimating the number of craters on the Moon and then by performing estimates of multiple-variable systems culminating in the use of the Drake Equation. See http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/DrakeEquation/Drake.htm.
g Imagining - Like stories about communicating with aliens? Then be sure to read Jack Vance’s "The Gift of Gab” (1955), which involves “talking” with intelligent cephalopods. See http://www.jackvance.
com/dbase/viewstory.phplang=1&title=Gift+of+Gab+(The.
g Aftermath - Reactions to the announcement that scientists had found evidence for primitive life in a meteorite from Mars have been intense. Some concerned the scientific evidence, some the implications of extraterrestrial life, especially if intelligent. Underlying these reactions are assumptions, or beliefs, which often have a religious grounding. The two divergent beliefs, for and against the plurality of life in the universe, are examined historically and through religious traditions, particularly the Judeo-Christian. This examination guides the formulation of the right relation between science and religion as one that respects the autonomy of each discipline, yet allows for each to be open to the discoveries of the other. Based on this relationship, perspectives from scientific exploration are developed that can help individuals to respect and cope with the new phenomena that science brings, whether these imply that we might be alone in the universe or co-creatures of God with the ancient Martians. See http://www.aaas.org/spp/dser/cosmos/perspectives/corbally.shtmlcosmos/perspectives/corbally.shtml.

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Static universe in 3 trillion years, Earth’s carbon burps and bug breath

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Physicists predict that trillions of years into the future, the information that currently allows us to understand how the universe expands will have disappeared over the visible horizon. What remains will be "an island universe" made from the Milky Way and its nearby galactic Local Group neighbors in an overwhelmingly dark void. See article.
g Abodes - A University of Colorado at Boulder-led research team tracing the origin of a large carbon dioxide increase in Earth's atmosphere at the end of the last ice age has detected two ancient "burps" that originated from the deepest parts of the oceans. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070510164044.htm.
g Life - X-rays that effectively peel away the opaque outer-cover off beetles have revealed the bugs have a more complex breathing apparatus at work than previously suspected. See http://www.livescience.com/animals/070517_beetle_breath.html.
g Intelligence - A new study is the first to explore how questioning can affect our behavior when we have mixed feelings about an issue. The study, forthcoming in the June issue of the Journal of Consumer Research, found that asking people questions, like how many times they expect to give in to a temptation they know they should resist, increases how many times they will actually give in to it. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070510123531.htm.
g Message - Searches for extraterrestrial intelligence are about to expand into new realms, thanks to new advances in technology — and new thinking. See http://skyandtelescope.com/resources/seti/article_249_1.asp.
g Cosmicus - A powerful Nigerian satellite was launched by a Chinese rocket Sunday to deliver a broad assortment of communications services to customers across Africa. See http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0705/14nigcomsat1/.
g Learning - Are you a future SETI scientist? See http://www.
space.com/searchforlife/devore_seti_sleuths_010228.html. Note: This article is from Feb. 2001.
g Imagining - In popular fiction and conspiracy theories, life forms, especially intelligent life forms, that are of extraterrestrial origin, i.e. not coming from the Earth are referred to as alien and collectively as aliens. Prime examples of how aliens are viewed are found in the movies Alien, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Signs, Independence Day, and The War of the Worlds. This usage is clearly anthropocentric: When humans in fictional accounts accomplish interstellar travel and land on a planet elsewhere in the universe, the local inhabitants of these other planets are usually still referred to as "alien," even though they are the native life form and the humans are the intruders. In general they are seen as unfriendly life forms. This may be seen as a reversion to the classic meaning of "alien" as referring to "other," in contrast to "us" in the context of the writer's frame of reference. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterrestrial_life_in_popular_culture.
g Aftermath - One of our natural tendencies when we make contact with strangers is to try to impress them. Sloppy dressers might polish their shoes for a job interview, hopeful suitors will wash their cars for a first date and prospective children-in-law will be on their best behavior in the presence of the parents of their intended. Wouldn’t we want to do the same in our first contact with ET? Lewis Thomas, in his book “Lives of a Cell,” suggests that if we want to impress an alien civilization, we should send "Bach, all of Bach, streamed out into space, over and over again." See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_vakoch_err_020516.html.

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When galaxies collide, potential for life on 40 Eridani and dark abysses of the Southern Ocean

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - New calculations are helping scientists understand what will happen to the Earth and the Sun when our Milky Way galaxy collides with the neighboring Andromeda galaxy. The findings show that the collision is set to take place within the Sun's lifetime and will leave our Solar System on the outer fringes of the newly merged galaxy. See article.
g Abodes - Astronomers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have recently concluded that the upcoming planet-finding mission, SIM PlanetQuest, would be able to detect an Earth-like planet around the star 40 Eridani, a planet familiar to "Star Trek" fans as "Vulcan." 40 Eridani, a triple-star system 16 light-years from Earth, includes a red-orange K dwarf star slightly smaller and cooler than our sun. Vulcan is thought to orbit that dwarf star, called 40 Eridani A. See article. For related story, see “Viewing Vulcan”.
g Life - Carnivorous sponges, blind creepy-crawlies adorned with hairy antennae and ribbed worms are just some of the new characters recently found to inhabit the dark abysses of the Southern Ocean, an alien abode once thought devoid of such life. See http://www.livescience.com/animals/070516_alien_abode.html.
g Intelligence - Researchers at the Universities of Glasgow and Exeter have found that eating certain plant substances can slow down the rate of aging - and that females prefer mates that will be long-lived. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070510105549.htm.
g Message - Want to help SETI discover alien life? If you haven’t already done so, download the free SETI at Home software. Using Internet-connected computers, the program downloads and analyzes radio telescope data on your desktop when it is idle. The program has been so successful in plowing through data that other scientific researchers, especially in medicine, are adopting it to their fields. See http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ for the program.
g Cosmicus - Here’s a neat Web site that advocates space exploration. It takes its name from a famous quote by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the first great advocate of space exploration and creator of the concept “homo cosmicus.” It’s called “Out of the Cradle.” See http://www.outofthecradle.net/.
g Learning - Here’s a neat new set of afterschool activities for elementary school students: “Astrobiology.” This new resource guide from the American Museum of Natural History brings astrobiology activities to the afterschool arena. As part of an 18-month project, AMNH collected NASA materials originally developed for the formal education setting, and adapted them for use in afterschool programs for participants aged 5-12. Members of NAI's NASA Ames Research Center Lead Team served as science advisors to the guide. See http://www.amnhafterschool.pdf/.
g Imagining - Like stories about alien biologies/environments? Be sure to scour your favorite used bookstores for Larry Niven’s “Ringworld” (1970) and the sequel, “Ringworld Engineers” (1980).
g Aftermath - For some provocative reading, pick up “Sharing the Universe,” by Seth Shostak, at your local bookstore. SETI scientist Shostak almost single-handedly is outlining social and political issues that will arise once we make contact with extraterrestrials. For reviews, see http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/09653
77431/10232743405947363.

Titan’s tholins, how Martians might have existed in an atmosphere of nitric oxide

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Scientists have pinpointed the precise locations of a pair of supermassive black holes at the centers of two colliding galaxies 300 million light-years away. See article.
g Abodes - Scientists have long known that the lower atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan contains organic aerosols, or tholins, formed from simple organic molecules, such as methane and nitrogen. But Cassini spacecraft has shed new light on where and how the molecule formation happens. See http://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/070510tholin.html. For related stories, see “Cassini finds that storms power Saturn's jet streams” at http://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/070508saturnjets.html and “Frictional heating explains plumes on Saturn moon” at http://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/070516enceladus.html.
g Life - Molecular studies recently revealed new genetic information concerning the long-disputed origin of the "European potato." Scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of La Laguna, and the International Potato Center used genetic markers to prove that the remnants of the earliest known landraces of the European potato are of Andean and Chilean origin. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070515074810.htm.
g Intelligence - Scientists report a genetic mutation, appropriately called "after-hours" (Afh), which affects our internal body clock and might help explain why some of us are “evening people”, only falling asleep in the early hours of the morning. The research has important implications for human health in an increasingly 24/7 culture, where shift work and continental travel (and the associated jet lag problems) are already linked to several diseases. It can also be important for the many brain disorders, such as dementia, bipolar disease and mental retardation, which are associated to disruptions in the sleep/awake cycle. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070510120713.htm.
g Message - Book alert: In “Beyond Contact: A Guide to SETI and Communicating with Alien Civilizations,” author Brian McConnell examines the science and technology behind the search for intelligent life in space, from the physics of inter-stellar laser and radio communication to information theory and linguistics. If you've ever wondered whether it really would be possible to communicate with other civilizations, you'll want to read this book. For more reviews and sample chapters, see http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/alien/.
g Cosmicus - Quote of the Day: “The universe belongs to those who, at least to some degree, have figured it out.” – Carl Sagan
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity courtesy of NASA: Who Can Live Here? Students explore the limits of life on Earth to extend their beliefs about life to include its possibility on other worlds. See http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/ExtremeEnvironment/Extreme.htm.
g Imagining - Like short stories about alien biology? Larry Niven’s “Eye of an Octopus” examines how Martians might have existed in an atmosphere of nitric oxide. The story is collected in Niven’s “Tales of Known Space: The Universe of Larry Niven.” See http://www.google.com/searchhl=en&q=E2809CTales+of+Known+
Space3A+The+Universe+of+Larry+Niven.
g Aftermath - The job of a planetary protection officer is to make sure that humans don’t contaminate other worlds, and that Earth is kept safe from the potential harmful effects of extraterrestrial life. For NASA, Dr. Cassie Conley currently holds that job. Astrobiology Magazine recently interviewed Conley to find out what she actually does. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name
=News&file=article&sid=2338mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.

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Exoplanet mapped, extinction rates and estimating the frequency for communicating with an extrasolar civilization

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Like a sea anchor slacking the pace of a wind-driven ship, helium may be the drag that slows the solar wind in its million-mile-per-hour rush across the cosmos. And because the ordinary solar wind just can't pull hard enough, the helium may build up in the solar atmosphere, until massive amounts of it are explosively expelled during eruptive solar events. See article.
g Abodes - For the first time, astronomers have created a rough map of a planet orbiting a distant sun-like star, employing a technique that may one day enable mapping of Earth-like worlds. See article.
g Life - The slower their reproductive cycle, the higher the risk of extinction for large grazing animals such as deer and antelope that are hunted by humans.
g Intelligence - A new study reveals the existence of a different anatomy in small areas of the brain which could help explain why one same stimulus triggers anxiety in some people and not in others. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070510115420.htm.
g Message - Estimating the frequency for communicating with an extrasolar civilization is a multi-dimensional challenge. The answer, according to two scientists at the Hungarian Astronomical Association, is less like an equation, and more like a matrix. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/article512.html. Note: This article is from 2003.
g Cosmicus - It is misleading to think of today’s "space program" as a single-source activity with NASA as the center of the universe. First of all, the multi-nation character of space exploration has long dethroned that notion. See http://www.space.com/adastra/adastra_isdc2006_060425.html.
g Learning - The challenge to communicate both the breadth and depth of astrobiology is discussed by Carol Oliver, of the Australian Centre for Astrobiology. As a researcher in communicating science, she considers how best to tell a busy public what it means to explore other worlds for signs of life elsewhere. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/article678.html.
g Imagining - Could extraterrestrials exist in conditions of extreme gravity, as they do in Hal Celement’s “A Mission of Gravity”? see http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/G/gravlife.html.
g Aftermath - Book alert: As many Earthlings already know —including more than 2 million computer users with firsthand experience — our best hope for finding extraterrestrial intelligence might just lie with an ingenious little screensaver. So it's not surprising that Brian McConnell’s “Beyond Contact: A Guide to SETI and Communicating with Alien Civilizations,” an introduction to searching for and communicating with intelligent life, begins with some of the details behind the University of California-Berkeley's groundbreaking, massively distributed SETI@home project, which processes intergalactic noise for pennies on the teraflop. But that's just the start of the story. Inventor and software developer McConnell continues with an overview of whether and why we might find something out there, who's doing what to look for it (including the folks at Berkeley), and — once some ET picks up on the other end — what we might say and how we might say it.

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Exoplanet’s temperature measured, life’s slimy beginnings and early concepts of ET

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - For decades, astronomers have known that the Milky Way galaxy is on a collision course with the neighboring Andromeda spiral galaxy. What was unknown until now: the fate of the Sun and our solar system in that melee. See http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0705/17collide/.
g Abodes - A team of researchers have measured the hottest temperature ever recorded on a planet at 3700 Degrees Fahrenheit. The steamy planet is HD 149026b, which orbits a star about 260 light years away. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name
=News&file=article&sid=2328mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Life - From Astrobiology Magazine, European Edition is a podcast interview with Frances Westall of the Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire in France. She discusses her search for traces of life in the Earth’s most ancient rocks, and explains how fossilized microbial mats provide a vast amount of information about life’s slimy beginnings. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name
=News&file=article&sid=2334mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - Most people don't appreciate an angry look, but a new University of Michigan psychology study found that some people find angry expressions so rewarding that they will readily learn ways to encourage them. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070511095337.htm.
g Cosmicus - Here is a transcript of the remarks given by John Marburger during the Keynote Address of the 44th Robert H. Goddard Memorial Symposium in Greenbelt, Md. See http://space.com/adastra/adastra_marburger_vision_060420.html. Note: This article is from 2006.
g Learning - The threat to our students’ science education continues: A Kansas Republican who is an open opponent to evolution theory is the sole candidate for a top National Association of State Boards of Education post.
g Imagining - What about the invading aliens from the X-Files: Are they plausible? A book released a few years ago that addresses the topic is “The Science of the X-Files,” by Jeanne Cavelos. There’s a review of the book (look near the end for a discussion on the extraterrestrial biology) at http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/reviews/science-of-the-x-files/.
g Aftermath - It was not suggested outside of science fiction — and there only after the 1890s — that extraterrestrials might come to Earth, except for a few believers in interplanetary spirit travel by mortals (an idea now well established among occultists). Among these was the well-known Belgian writer Maurice Maeterlinck, who, in what was perhaps the earliest conception of ETs as “gods from outer space,” reasoned that since no beings from other worlds have used their advanced science to abolish suffering on Earth, “Is there not reason to fear that we are for ever alone in the universe, and that no other world has ever been more intelligent or better than our own?” But this, the first serious “Where are they?” argument, was not known to the general public and in any case would not have carried weight, since it depended on the concept of disembodied spirits. Physical contact between worlds was not thought possible outside of fiction. See http://www.sylviaengdahl.com/space/myth12.htm.

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Our perpendicular solar system, where rocky planets form and signs of alien intelligence

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Our solar system is hurtling through space while angled nearly perpendicular to the plane of the Milky Way, new computer models suggest. See article.
g Abodes - The most detailed measurements to date of the dusty disks around young stars confirm a new theory that the region where rocky planets such as Earth form is much farther away from the star than originally thought. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0505/28planetform/.
g Life - Two new studies, detailed in the March 22 issue of the journal Nature, suggest predator-prey relationships, as well as the timing and relative order of a species' arrival into a new environment, can greatly affect how rapidly this branching process occurs. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/070321_
adaptive_radiation.html.
g Intelligence - According to a new brain study, even people who seemed resilient but were close to the World Trade Center when the twin towers toppled on Sept. 11, 2001, have brains that are more reactive to emotional stimuli than those who were more than 200 miles away. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070506213646.htm.
g Message - What would be a sign of alien intelligence? Forget mathematics — try a simple, pure-tone radio signal. See http://
www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_artificiality_part2_030220.html.
g Cosmicus - The concept of solar power satellites, or SPS, first put forward in the 1960s, is still not widely known by the general public. For example at many public exhibitions about Energy, SPS is not even mentioned. This is mainly because very little funding has been spent on SPS research to date - about 1/1000 of 1 percent of the about $1 trillion that governments have spent subsidizing the development of nuclear power over the past 50 years. See http://www.spacefuture.com/power/introduction.shtml. For related story, see “SPS 2000” at http://www.spacefuture.com/power/sps2000.shtml (Note: this latter article is from the mid-1990s).
g Learning - Over and over again, science teachers at a recent convention remarked that their students are always asking about SETI and astronomy. Kids have a keen interest in astronomy, space sciences, and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. What's out there? Are we alone? Ironically, this interest is not uniformly reflected in the state science education standards across the USA and these state standards drive textbook content. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_devore_astro_030403.html. Note: This article is from April 2003.
g Imagining - Scientists at the SETI Institute have long considered what life might be like on other worlds. You can join in this quest through a game-like science lesson, "Inventing Life Forms." It’s suitable for inventors of all ages. Using one of a pair of dice, you work through the selection of characteristics for your life form. Then, you apply this data and your imagination to invent a life form and develop a world where your creature could live. Download the instructions for "Inventing Life Forms" from the SETI Institute website. It’s the PDF lesson featured with our teaching guide, "How Might Life Evolve on Other Worlds?"
g Aftermath - Scientists should pay greater attention to discussing the social implications of discovering extraterrestrial life - even though many researchers shy away from the subject because they don't consider it "hard" science. See http://www.astrobio.net/ news/article163.html.

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Ghostly return of dark matter, cores of supergiant planets and ‘Life signs’

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - An international team of astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has discovered a ghostly ring of dark matter that was formed long ago during a titanic collision between two massive galaxy clusters. It is the first time that a dark matter distribution has been found that differs substantially from the distribution of ordinary matter. See article.
g Abodes - Combining diamond anvils and powerful lasers, laboratory researchers have developed a technique that should be able to squeeze materials to pressures 100 to 1,000 times greater than possible today, reproducing conditions expected in the cores of supergiant planets. This technique can also help researchers better understand the processes of Earth's core. See article.
g Life - Quote of the Day: “The search for extraterrestrial life must begin with the question of what we mean by life." — Carl Sagan
g Intelligence - Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered to their surprise that nerves in the mammalian brain's white matter do more than just ferry information between different brain regions, but in fact process information the way gray matter cells do. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070507100328.htm.
g Message - Let us assume that civilizations enjoy a long stay on their parent planet once their initial technological teething problems are past. In that case, they are likely to be plentiful in the galaxy. How might we become aware of their existence? See http://astronomy.nju.edu.cn/astron/at3/AT32804.HTM.
g Cosmicus - Space shuttle program officials have affirmed a new launch schedule to accomplish six flights over the next 12 months that will expand the space station to include the international science laboratory modules. See http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts117/070416shuttlesked/. Note: This article is from early 2007.
g Learning - During the past several years, evolutionary biologists have proved that the disparate creatures of our planet are, at a fundamental genetic level, very similar to one another. The genes that differentiate the top and the bottom of a bug, for instance, are the same ones that differentiate our fronts from our backs. According to the paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould, this new understanding is among "the most stunning evolutionary discoveries of the decade," and is clearly "a dominant theme in evolution." The same law applies, it appears, to the extraterrestrial creatures that come out of Hollywood. See http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/
popcult/handouts/alienorig/aliens.html. Note: This article is from 1997.
g Imagining - Book alert: Get thee to a used bookstore if you haven’t read “Life Signs: The Biology of Star Trek,” by Susan and Robert Jenkins. The Jenkinses focus on the biological logic (or illogic) behind the alien ecologies in Star Trek — the original TV series and all of its sequels and movie spinoffs. The best parts are the biological bloopers, even though only a fan will truly appreciate them. For instance, how did the Klingons evolve forehead ridges between the original and the new series ... and why do all the planets look like California? The science in the book helps the authors hypothesize about how humanoid life might have evolved throughout the universe (panspermia revisited). They offer simple evolutionary theories to explain the various head shapes and behaviors of fictional alien species. See http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/
0060929243/ref=pd_sxp_elt_l1/104-1152114-8738327.
g Aftermath - While formal principles have been adopted for the eventuality of detecting intelligent life in our galaxy, no such guidelines exist for the discovery of non-intelligent extraterrestrial life within the solar system. Current scientifically based planetary protection policies for solar system exploration address how to undertake exploration, but do not provide clear guidance on what to do if and when life is detected. Considering that Martian life could be detected under several different robotic and human exploration scenarios in the coming decades, it is appropriate to anticipate how detection of non-intelligent, microbial life could impact future exploration missions and activities, especially on Mars. See http://www.seti.org/atf/cf/%7BB0D4BC0E-D59B-4CD0-9E79-113953A58644%7D/m_race_guidelines.pdf.

Black hole masses, how life got started on Earth and radio signals for ET

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Two astrophysicists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., have successfully tested a new method for determining the masses of black holes. See http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0705/16blackhole/.
g Abodes - Astrobiologists have a strong interest in understanding the conditions on the early Earth, but the record for the first 700 million years of Earth history is gone. The stages that made our planet fit for life are not recorded in the rocks we have today. See http://www.astrobio.net/amee/spring_2007/features_05.htm.
g Life - One of the biggest puzzles in biology is also one of the principal challenges for astrobiology. Just how did life emerge on Earth and under what conditions might it arise on other planetary bodies?
g Intelligence - The possibility of losing money stresses young adults out, but it doesn’t seem to faze the elderly. New research reveals that while both young and old adults had similar levels of brain activity when anticipating rewards, certain brain regions in older adults didn’t activate when responding to a potential financial loss. Published in the April 29 online edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience, the results add to the understanding of how age affects mental processes. It could also explain why older people are more susceptible to monetary scams. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/070430_money_brains.html.
g Message - Researchers writing in an issue of Nature from a couple of years ago argue that radio signals are not the most efficient way of alerting an extraterrestrial intelligence to our existence — and that anyone out there who is trying to send out a similar message is likely to have reached the same conclusion. Here’s a downloadable NPR report on the conclusions: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3883754. Note: The radio report is from 2004.
g Cosmicus - NASA scientists are studying ways to improve space medicine to tackle space travel's medical challenges. One effort is to develop 'image fusion.' In this process, clear, sharp x-rays and other high-resolution, scanned images of astronauts taken on Earth will be combined with less sharp sonograms taken onboard spacecraft to enhance those images. These improved images will enable doctors to better see the condition of major organs in astronauts. See http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0704/05heart/. Note: This article is from early 2007.
g Learning - Here’s a neat Web site from NASA: A curriculum framework for comparing Earth to other planets with regard to life. See http://www.resa.net/nasa/.
g Imagining - Here’s a neat Web site that examines the life cycle of the Alien — the extraterrestrial from said movie: http://www.brian-oshaughnessy.com/alien/life.html. It’s a little light on evolutionary speculation and discussing plausibility, but the life cycle is thoroughly described.
g Aftermath - The statement that extraterrestrial intelligence exists or doesn’t can have the parallel statement that God exists or doesn’t. Some people say there’s already sufficient evidence of existence for both. If you set aside abductions and miracles, it’s true that the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence for either. However, if and when one ever detects evidence of an extraterrestrial intelligence, it will break the symmetry of these two statements and, in fact, that evidence will be inconsistent with the existence of God or at least organized religions. See http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/tartar_20_3.htm.

Longer days ahead, bonobo and chimp communications and planning for ways to reply to extraterrestrial transmissions

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Abodes - Global warming could cause the days to lengthen. See article.
g Life - Some Caribbean lizards' strong sexual dimorphism allows them to colonize much larger niches and habitats than they might otherwise occupy, allowing males and females to avoid competing with each other for resources and setting the stage for the population as a whole to thrive. The finding, reported in the journal Nature, suggests sex differences may have fueled the evolutionary flourishing of the Earth's wildly diverse fauna in a way not previously appreciated by scientists. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070509161224.htm.
g Intelligence - Our closest primate relatives, the bonobos and chimps, are more versatile when communicating with their hands, feet and limbs than with their facial expressions and voices. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/070430_ape_gestures.html.
g Message - While some scientists cautiously plan for ways to reply to extraterrestrial transmissions, others haven't waited for a signal to start talking. Sending messages from Earth into space to announce the existence of the human race is somewhat rare and controversial. Digital transmissions have been beamed into space from radio telescopes, and four spacecraft currently leaving the solar system bear messages for anyone who finds them. See http://www.spacedaily.com/news/seti-02b.html. Note: This article is from 2002.
g Cosmicus - The concept of dispatching low-cost spacecraft to repair and refuel more expensive troubled satellites took a step closer to reality this week when two first-of-a-kind orbiting testbeds began operations to validate autonomous in-space servicing techniques. See http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0704/03orbitalexpress/. Note: this article is from early 2007.
g Learning - Here’s a good primer to astrobiology that discusses what is astrobiology, lists the types of questions astrobiology seeks to answer, describes how one can become an astrobiologist, and recommends some books in the field. See http://www.astrobiology.com/how.to.html#culture.
g Imagining - Think of your favorite alien on TV or in the movies. Do you have the image in mind? I'd bet that your alien is pretty darn smart. However, despite what we see in “Star Wars” and “Star Trek,” the author of “The Science of Aliens” doesn't expect intelligence to be an inevitable result of evolution on other worlds. See http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/pickover/alienscp.html.
g Aftermath - What happens if the next signal turns out to be the real thing? What happens if the sender wants to talk? Will we know what to say? See http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20041013-9999-lz1c13worlds.html for this astrobiology primer.

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New pictures of Jovian system, canine evolution and the potential for life around Tau Ceti

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - The universe may be filled with shining stars, but nearly 85 percent of all matter can't be seen, calculations show. In the hunt for the invisible, astrophysicists have turned up a small but new hiding place for mysterious dark matter: "recycled" dwarf galaxies produced from nasty galactic collisions. See article.
g Abodes - NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has provided new data on the Jupiter system, stunning scientists with never-before-seen perspectives of the giant planet's atmosphere, rings, moons and magnetosphere. See http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0705/01jupiterflyby/.
g Life - It may be hard to see that the Chinese crested dog is descended from the wolf, but it’s easier to grasp that two poodles of different sizes are related. In her dissertation presented on May 3, Susanne Björnefeldt, at the Department of Evolution, Genomics, and Systematics at Uppsala University, shows that dogs of the same breed differ more genetically than was previously thought. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070510090442.htm.
g Intelligence - Early humans might have turned to plant roots and underground storage organs when fruit was scarce, a new study suggests. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/070501_hominin
_diet.html.
g Message - It's possible to split up the methods of finding extraterrestrial life into two categories; humans trying to discover extraterrestrial life, and humans trying to be discovered by extraterrestrial life. See http://www.ibiblio.org/astrobiology/index.php?page=findlife01. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Cosmicus - The priority of the space community must be bringing the Moon-Mars focus back to the near-term. The focus must be on programs that proceed in stages, each with its own perceivable goal and associated cost estimates. Because those estimates will be near-term they will be easier for Congress to ascertain and periodically review. See http://www.space.com/adastra/adastra_moon_050215.html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity: “Moons of Jupiter.” In this lesson plan, students build model rovers to learn about engineering and evidence of alien life. See http://www.adlerplanet/arium.org/education/teachers/plans
/alien/Lesson_Plan.pdf.
g Imagining - Could alien life evolve on the nearest Sun-like star, Tau Ceti, as is suspected it will in many science fiction tales? See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name
=News&file=article&sid=1053mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0. Note: This article is from 2002.
g Aftermath - Would dutiful American citizens trust the government to handle first contact with extraterrestrials and rush to get information to the public? See http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/1999/Jun-11-Fri-1999/news/11331065.html. Note: This article is from 1999.

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Nature of ‘vacuum’ of space, most massive exoplanet yet found and asphalt-eating microorganisms

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - The problems in understanding the true nature of the “vacuum” of space were discussed by theoretical physicist Alvaro de Rújula from CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, and a professor of physics at Boston University at the EPL symposium, “Physics In Our Times” held Thursday at the Fondation Del Duca de l’Institut de France, Paris. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070510111445.htm.
g Abodes - astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announced that they have found the most massive known transiting extrasolar planet. The gas giant planet, called HAT-P-2b, contains more than eight times the mass of Jupiter, the biggest planet in our solar system. Its powerful gravity squashes it into a ball only slightly larger than Jupiter. See http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0705/02superplanet/.
g Life - Environmental scientists at UC Riverside have discovered that the Rancho La Brea tar pits in downtown Los Angeles house hundreds of new species of bacteria with unusual properties, allowing the bacteria to survive and grow in heavy oil and natural asphalt. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070510151916.htm.
g Intelligence - Whether you are an anxious type, or a fearless person - such individual differences in personality could be partly due to the genes you carry. In humans, it is hard to prove the existence of such "personality genes" - there are simply too many factors that influence human behavior and these factors are hard to control experimentally. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070502111527.htm.
g Message - Book alert: In “Is Anyone Out There?,” by Frank Drake, Dava Sobel, University of California astronomy and astrophysics professor Drake, aided by science journalist Sobel, responds to the title's classic question with an account of his career-long quest to gamer hard scientific data that might point to some answers. One of America's pioneer radio astronomers, Drake provides firsthand descriptions of breakthrough moments in the past 30 years of astrophysics - no encounters of any kind, just straightforward astrophysics with inconclusive experimental results. Drake's medium is science, his theory technical and his slightly anthropocentric conclusions more modest than those of the average UFO abductee. See http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385311222/qid=/sr=/ref=cm_lm_asin/103-9154374-8730217?v=glance.
g Cosmicus - Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have discovered a tiny biological structure that is highly electrically conductive. This breakthrough helps describe how microorganisms can clean up groundwater and produce electricity from renewable resources. It may also have applications in the emerging field of nanotechnology, which develops advanced materials and devices in extremely small dimensions. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/06/050622232529.htm.
g Learning - How are key concepts of astrobiology treated in science fiction? See http://www.ibiblio.org/astrobiology/index.php?page=lesson05. Note: This article is from 2001 and intended to be used as part of a classroom lesson.
g Imagining - Ben Bova, the prolific author of science fiction novels such as "Mars" and "Jupiter," studies the science and politics of astrobiology in his book, "Faint Echoes, Distant Stars." In this exclusive interview with Astrobiology Magazine, Bova shares his thoughts about astrobiology, space travel, and the discoveries of the future. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/article933.html. Note: This article is from 2004.
g Aftermath - While formal principles have been adopted for the eventuality of detecting intelligent life in our galaxy (SETI Principles), no such guidelines exist for the discovery of non-intelligent extraterrestrial life within the solar system. Current scientifically based planetary protection policies for solar system exploration address how to undertake exploration, but do not provide clear guidance on what to do if and when life is detected. Considering that Martian life could be detected under several different robotic and human exploration scenarios in the coming decades, it is appropriate to anticipate how detection of non-intelligent, microbial life could impact future exploration missions and activities, especially on Mars. This paper discusses a proposed set of interim guidelines based loosely on the SETI Principles and addresses issues extending from the time of discovery through future handling and treatment of extraterrestrial life on Mars or elsewhere. Based on an analysis of both scientific and ethical considerations, there is a clear need for developing operating protocols applicable at the time of discovery and a decision making framework that anticipates future missions and activities, both robotic and human. There is growing scientific confidence that the discovery of extraterrestrial life in some form is nearly inevitable. If and when life is discovered beyond Earth, non-scientific dimensions may strongly influence decisions about the nature andscope of future missions and activities. It is appropriate to encourage international discussion and consideration of the issues prior to an event of such historical significance. See http://www.seti.org/atf/cf/{B0D4BC0E-D59B-4CD0-9E79-113953A58644}/m_race_guidelines.pdf.