Marais, D. J. et al. (2008). The NASA Astrobiology Roadmap. Astrobiology. Vol 8, number 4. Ed. Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
“NASA Astrobioly Roadmap” és un full de ruta que ha de servir com a guia per a planificar la recerca que ha de tenir lloc a l’espai, a la Terra i a les ciències biològiques. Aquest full de ruta esta adreçat per a contestar tres qüestions bàsiques: Com va començar la vida? Hi ha vida a altres llocs de l’Univers? Quin és el futur de la vida a la Terra?
Es donen a conèixer set línies prioritàries de treball amb els seu objectius corresponents per a acomplir-los entre els propers tres i cinc anys.
Aquest document es pot baixar en format PDF ( http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/index.php?s=file_download&id=21) de la web de la NASA Astrobiology. Life in the universe. Aquesta web és un punt de referència important per les qui estigui interessat en temes d’astrobiologia, on trobarà enllaços actualitzats.
Índex:
- Introduction
- Goal 1. Understand the nature and distribution of habitable environments in the universe. Determine the potential for habitable planets beyond the Solar System, and characterize those tha are observable.
- Goal 2. Determine any past or present habitable environments, prebiotic chemistry, and signs of live elsewhere in our Solar System. Detemine the history of any environments having liquid water, chemical ingredients, and energy sources that migth have sustained living systems. Explore crustal materials and planetary atmospheres for any evidence of past and/or present life.
- Goal 3. Understand how life emerges from cosmic and planetary precursors. Perfom observational, experimental, and theoretical investigations to understand the general physical and chemical principles underlying the origins of live.
- Goal 4. Understand how life on Earth and its planetary environment have co-evolved through geological time. Investigate the evolving relationships between Earth and its biota by integrating evidence from the geosciences and biosciences that shows how life evolved, responded to environmental change, and modified environmental conditions on a planetary scale.
- Goal 5. Understand the evolutionary mechanisms and environmental limits of life. Determine the molecular, genetic, and biochemical mechanisms that control and limit evolution, metabolic diversity, and acclimatization of life.
- Goal 6. Understand the principles that will shape the future of life, both on Earth and beyond.Elucidate the drivers and effects of microbial ecosystem change as a basis for forecasting future changes on time scales ranging from decades to millions of years, and explore the potential for regarding aspects revelant to US Space Policy.
- Goal 7. Determine how to recognize signatures of life on others worlds ad on early Earth. Identify biosignatures that can reveal and characterize past or present life in ancient samples from Earth, extraterrestrial samples measured in situ or returned to Earth, and remotely measured planetary atmospheres and surfaces. Identify biosignatures of distant technologies.