THE HISTORY OF ASTROBIOLOGY

History of Astrobiology

Astrobiology is an ancient science

Metrodorus of Chios It would be strange if a single ear of corn grew in a large plain, or there were only one world in the infinite 4th Century BC

Early remarkable speculations

In space there are countless constellations, suns and planets; we see only the suns because they give light; the planets remain invisible, for they are small and dark. There are also numberless earths circling around their suns G. Bruno, 1584 On the Infinite Universe and Worlds.

The telescope - seeing planetary bodies

Optimism went wild in the Enlightenment

William Herschel (1738-1822)
By reflecting a little on this subject I am almost convinced that those numberless small Circuses we see on the moon are the works of the Lunarians and may be called their Towns.

Optimism went wild in the Enlightenment

Christian Huygens (16291695), after observing spots on Venus, Mars and Jupiter, concluded that there are clouds and water. The taste of music with the inhabitants of Venus and Jupiter is at a high level, similar to that of Frenchmen or Italians

Even in the 20 th Century

Every opposition has added to the assurance that the canals are artificial; both by disclosing their peculiarities better and better and by removing generic doubts as to the planet's habitability. Percival Lowell, 1909, Mars as the Abode of Life.

Aliens still grip the human imagination

The Space Age and new views

Mariner 4, Mars, 1965

Venera 13, Venus, 1982

The Space Age and new views

Experiments on the Origin of Life

The experiment, conducted in 1952, showed that molecules, from which life is made, could be created from basic constituents of an atmosphere.

Experimental insights on early life

Experiments on Other Worlds

Experiments in Communication with ET

More experiments on Mars

Liquid water on other worlds

Moons covered in interesting chemistry

Experimental search for other Earths

What have we learned?

Astrobiology is an ancient science Only recently has it become more scientifically constrained Several planetary bodies in our Solar System have become of interest in the search for life We can now hunt for Earth-like planets around other stars The future will hold many remarkable discoveries and surprises