BIOL1907: Astrobiology: The science of the search for life on other planets

The field of Astrobiology is relatively new, and brings together concepts from many different scientific fields (including geology, chemistry, biology, astronomy, and planetary science) to help answer one of the most fundamental questions humankind has postulated looking up at the stars: Are we alone in the Universe? Building from a foundation of what we know about life today and what we know of past life preserved in the rock record on Earth, we have embarked on a quest to look for signs of life on habitable worlds in our solar system (including Mars, Europa, Ganymede, and Enceladus). Furthermore, with an ever increasing catalog of worlds detected around stars outside of our solar system, we are studying how to look for life on worlds beyond our solar system.This course will address questions that are fundamental to Astrobiology, including: What is life? What are the requisites for life as we know it? Were these requisites present on other worlds in the past, or are they present today? How do we look for signs of past or present life on other worlds? To help address these questions, students will be exposed to basic principles of astronomy (star formation, planetary accretion), geology (planetary composition, geologic time, plate tectonics, preservation of biosignatures), chemistry (elements and reactions essential to life, chemical signatures life produces), and biology (metabolism, chemotrophy, phototrophy, biological innovation).Students will leave this course with a deeper understanding of: how our solar system and planet formed; how life developed and evolved; planetary geology and geologic time; the types of life present in extreme environments; what conditions are necessary to make a world habitable; past, present, and future missions looking for life on other worlds; and the place of our planet in the universe.

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