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What Is Astrobiology?

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Astrobiology and Cuatro Ciénegas Basin as an Analog of Early Earth

Part of the book series: Cuatro Ciénegas Basin: An Endangered Hyperdiverse Oasis ((CUCIBA))

Abstract

Astrobiology is an inherently multidisciplinary field that is focused on the origins, evolution, and distribution of life throughout the Universe. The question of whether life extends beyond Earth was a question that used to be answered mostly based on human imagination reflecting our passions and fears. Philosophers, scientists, and even politicians, such as Winston Churchill, have argued about the existence (or nonexistence) of alien life in the Universe. For scientists, this ambitious endeavor begins with Earth, as it represents the only known example of life in the Universe. Understanding Earth is, therefore, the first step to understanding the requirements for life to emerge and make a habitable world. In this book, with the collaboration of scientists from many disciplines, we gather the knowledge about the requirements, diversification, and characteristics of terrestrial life, as well as the characteristics of potentially habitable worlds in our Solar System and beyond. In this chapter, we describe the objectives and strategies of this dynamic field that has emerged with a multidisciplinary approach, leading us to one of the most exciting goals: the search for extraterrestrial life.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have different atomic masses due to the number of neutrons in their nuclei. For example, carbon has two stable isotopes 12C with six neutrons and 13C with seven neutrons.

  2. 2.

    An athalassohaline lake is a saline lake not of marine origin, but from evaporation of freshwater in a system dominated by calcium, magnesium, and sulfate (as opposed to sodium and chloride in the ocean).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico

    Antígona Segura

  2. Centro de Investigaciones Químicas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

    Sandra Ignacia Ramírez Jiménez

  3. Interdisciplinary Center for Bioinformatics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

    Irma Lozada-Chávez

Authors
  1. Antígona Segura
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  2. Sandra Ignacia Ramírez Jiménez
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  3. Irma Lozada-Chávez
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Antígona Segura .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico

    Valeria Souza

  2. Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico

    Antígona Segura

  3. Space Life Sciences Lab, University of Florida, Merritt Island, FL, USA

    Jamie S. Foster

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Segura, A., Ramírez Jiménez, S.I., Lozada-Chávez, I. (2020). What Is Astrobiology?. In: Souza, V., Segura, A., Foster, J. (eds) Astrobiology and Cuatro Ciénegas Basin as an Analog of Early Earth. Cuatro Ciénegas Basin: An Endangered Hyperdiverse Oasis. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46087-7_1

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