New Frontiers in Astrobiology presents a simple and concise overview of the emerging field of astrobiology. Astrobiology studies the evolution, origin, and future of life on Earth and beyond. This book provides a brief overview of the current research and future status of this fascinating field. The book covers a wide range of topics from the history of astrobiology, the big bang, prebiotic chemistry, theories of the origin of life, extreme environments on Earth, and the quest for intelligent life in space. Currently, there is a critical gap in knowledge related to the future scope of astrobiology and its applications in science and society. The hallmark of the book is that it takes critical perspectives to analyze the new frontiers in astrobiology post Mars 2020/ExoMars missions that encompass the latest developments in the detection of biosignatures and habitability beyond our Solar System (exomoons, exoplanets). The book will be a valuable resource for students, researchers, and scientists who seek greater insights into understanding the current status and future of astrobiology.
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Table of Contents
1. Standards of evidence in the search for extra-terrestrial life 2. Prebiotic chemistry: From dust to molecules and beyond 3. Astrochemistry: Ingredients of life in space 4. Water and organics in meteorites 5. From building blocks to cells 6. Microbial life in space 7. Habitability in the Solar System beyond the Earth and the search for life 8. Habitable exoplanets 9. Applications of omics in life detection beyond Earth 10. Life detection in space: Current methods and future technologies 11. Future of life in the Solar System and beyond 12. Planetary protection: Scope and future challenges 13. Universal constraints to life derived from artificial agents and games
Authors
Rebecca Thombre Healthcare Scientist at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), United Kingdom.. Dr. Rebecca?Thombre has worked as Research Scientist at Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Washington, USA, Visiting Researcher at University of Kent, UK and an?Assistant Professor in Biotechnology at?Modern?College, Pune, India. She has an experience of more than 18 years in Microbiology, Space microbiology and Molecular Biology. She has an undergraduate and postgraduate degree in Microbiology from University of Mumbai. Her doctoral research focused on studying?the extremozyme CGTase from alkaliphiles isolated from Lonar?lake, a meteorite impact crater. Her postdoctoral research was on Astrobiology studies related to the physiology and response of extremophiles to space-related stress and simulated Mars conditions like perchlorate, salinity, hypergravity, microgravity and impact stress. She received the European Union - Europlanet Transnational Access (TA) travel award for studying extremophiles from salt lagoons in Spain. She was the Principal Scientific Investigator for projects on Astrobiology funded by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) - SPPU Space Technology cell. She has published more than 50 papers, 12 book chapters, 3 books and worked as an Editor and Reviewer for many journals published by Frontiers, Springer, Taylor and Francis?CRC Press and Elsevier. Parag Vaishampayan Space Biology Portfolio Scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, USA.. Parag Vaishampayan is the Space Biology Portfolio Scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. He providesoverall scientific leadership and direction to maintain the scientific integrity of projects within the ARC Space Biology Portfolio. He
supports more than 70 active space biology projects to better understand how spaceflight affects living systems in simulated groundbased
experiments, the International Space Station (ISS), and preparing future human exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit (BLO).
Before joining Ames, he worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) since 2008. He has successfully managed several multi-year,
multi-institutional research projects. He has supported planetary protection implementation for several NASA missions, including Mars
Science Laboratory (Curiosity rover), InSight, Mars2020 (Perseverance rover), Mars Cube One or MarCO, and Psyche. His research
work has appeared in more than 60 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and more than 50 presentations. He was instrumental
in developing and implementing several novel molecular approaches, instruments, and bioinformatics analysis tools widely used by
microbial ecologists. He is a leading microbial ecologist and bioinformatician working in the field of space biology, astrobiology, and
planetary protection. He is the recipient of several prestigious honors and awards, such as the NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal
(2017), JPL Explorer Award (2016), Voyager Award (2015, 2016), and Mariner Award (2012).
