Update on Astrobiology

Just three weeks before E.T. flew back into movie theaters to celebrate his 20th anniversary, a group of interdisciplinary scientists, science fiction authors, teachers, and others interested in the real quest for extraterrestrial life assembled in the Silicon Valley for the 19th annual CONTACT conference (www.cabrillo.cc.ca.us/contact). This year, as part of the conference, 12 scientists from various fields coalesced around the theme "Is life rife in the Universe?" in a day-long symposium at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif. They offered up the most recent discoveries, analyses, and thoughts emanating from the frontiers of astrobiology, the field that studies—as Nobel laureate Baruch S. Blumberg, director of NASA's Astrobiology Institute, puts it—"biology elsewhere." Interdisciplinary by nature, the basic science of astrobiology, Blumberg notes, is collaborative and conducted by widely distributed investigators exploring different approaches with new technologies. Although "biology elsewhere" remains elusive, Blumberg, 1975 winner of the Nobel prize in medicine and member of The Scientist's editorial advisory board, and the other presenters covered a good part of the recent findings and techniques now in use to carry out the search. The knowledge gained in the last decade and the sheer scope of the preparations and the effort currently in progress explain, in part, why the theory that life must be prevalent is gaining ground in many disciplines and why astrobiology has become suddenly, scientifically trendy. Entwined around the idea that life must be rife in the universe is the notion that some of it is intelligent. "The real point [of the quest] is can we find thinking beings afar?" says Frank Drake, director of the SETI Institute. "That is what most of us are interested in—other intelligent creatures, not pond scum." Where are They? "People have been communicating with E.T. since the time of paintings on cave walls," notes Jim Funaro, an anthropologist at Cabrillo College, Aptos, Calif., and conference organizer. Since then, the idea of extraterrestrial intelligence existing elsewhere has gone in and out of scientific vogue. In 1961, Drake pondered the plausibility of intelligent life elsewhere and created a mathematical formula to estimate the number of extraterrestrial civilizations. The Drake Equation indicates, among other things, there are at least 4,000 planets in the Milky Way galaxy alone that are potential home bases for intelligent life. The recent discoveries of 80 additional solar planets seem to only strengthen the equation. Optimism is as high as it has ever been that some form of extraterrestrial life will be found sooner rather than later if NASA's exploratory missions can continue to get funding. 'Where are they,' however, may better be rephrased 'Where is it?' Chances are, many of the speakers agree, the first life found will be microbial, or, in other words, a lot closer to pond scum than E.T. Nevertheless, researchers in the various fields that make up astrobiology are searching on all fronts to uncover the full spectrum of biology that may be encountered. The timing and support for some kind of extraterrestrial discovery is apparently good. The field has survived an era of disillusionment from 1976 to -1991, according to psychologist Albert Harrison, University of California, Davis. Science and humanity are currently experiencing a period of "cautious optimism." Funaro adds that the word "alien" is, once again, "scientifically and politically correct." Out There, Somewhere Because water is believed essential to life, it has been the primary focus of most recent planetary searches, such as the current Mars Odyssey mission. Chris Chyba, reviewed the latest data on Europa that is giving scientists reason to believe the icy Jovian moon holds "the second great ocean in the solar system." Although the evidence for a liquid and possibly warm ocean on Europa is strong, it will "not be absolutely decisive until another mission is accomplished," says Chyba, chair of the Science Definition Team for NASA's Europa Orbiter mission, and director for the Study of Life in the Universe Center for the SETI Institute. A prime objective for the Europa mission is to send a probe through one of the cracks and below the surface of the icy covering, where water or convected ice or whatever is beneath the crust can be accessed. The hope, of course, is that something alien will be found. Although the latest NASA budget did not schedule the Europa mission and its fate remains undetermined, plans were recently approved for the Kepler mission, a search for earth-like planets to launch in 2005. Meanwhile, preparations for exploratory missions and studies of extreme life forms in the most unlikely places on Earth continues at a steady pace. NASA Ames planetary scientist Chris McKay, one of the symposium organizers, for example, has been conducting polar research since 1980 to help design the plans for future Mars missions and human settlements. Is It Alive? Microbiologist Penelope 'Penny' Boston, research associate professor, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and colleagues have been on the hunt for extremophile life in caves all over North America, investigating everything from cave bacteria and actinomycetes to goo that has yet to be identified. While the inclination is, as renowned microbiologist Norman Pace has been quoted, to search for life as we "imagine life to be," Boston contends that the first life encountered on other planets may not look like life at all. In fact, she says, the first question these explorers will have to consider when encountering something is whether it is alive. Biologically, life may not be so easy to identify, cautions Boston, who formed the non-profit Complex Research Systems, Inc. in Longmont Co., to further life detection strategies and research. "Of all the various lists of the characteristics of life, all may be relevant and none may be adequate," she says. Researchers on other planets, Boston maintains, will have to stretch their imagination, trust their intuition, and remain skeptical. Despite the sophistication of tests available to detect elements of life, biologists may ultimately have to look at systems over time. Life can exist and metabolize at a pace so slow as to appear dead, she notes, and only close analysis will yield a correct answer. From a strict life sciences perspective, the most intriguing implication is that biologists will develop the capability for terraforming Mars and creating life that can exist there. New information regarding possible subterranean water reported by the Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey may make that eminently possible. That, in turn, can help prepare the planet for human habitability. Where Did It Come From? The primary questions always of interest to life scientists were major focal points of the symposium—where and how did life originate? The most talked about theory of the day was panspermia, the notion that Earth was seeded with the elements that gave rise to life. Although Francis Crick was criticized for even suggesting the concept several decades ago, the concept is now gaining popularity. "Bacteria are immigrants," asserts engineer Robert Zubrin, author of The Case for Mars, and founder of Pioneer Astronautics, a space exploration firm. "While bacteria could not have been the first life, both fossil records and current biological surveys support the conclusion that bacteria was the first life on Earth," he says. This, of course, poses the conundrum well worn in the pages of science fiction: that life arose on Mars then somehow came to Earth, or that Earth and Mars were seeded simultaneously. "Most stellar systems are probably seeded at birth," Zubrin opined. But the search for life on Mars could hold the answer. "If we find pre-bacteria, it would show life originated there and moved to Earth, and if we found the same elements as we have found on Earth, that is strong evidence for panspermia." The Search Continues At the end of the day, one thing was clear: the search will continue no matter the struggle for funding. From the human perspective, Funaro suggests, "We have a primate insecurity about being alone." Scientifically speaking, "it's about testing the hypothesis that life exists elsewhere, and increasing the sample size of life," says Blumberg. Astrobiologists are in it for the long haul, even if that haul outlives them. Research getting underway is designed to be "multigenerational," he adds, and experiments initiated now may be realized and concluded decades down the line by future generations. This is a construct that is "revolutionary" to the scientist of today who asks a question, proposes a hypothesis, and reaches a conclusion in a short time rather than eons, he relates. In any case, Blumberg concludes, "it will be a long time before we make the decision that life does not exist out there." A.J.S. Rayl (ajsrayl@anet.net)is a contributing editor.

Update on Astrobiology

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