Abstract
There are strong links between astrobiology and environmental concern. Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the universe—including Earth. Understanding life, and in particular the basic conditions for life, is important for our ability to create a sustainable future on Earth. The connection goes both ways, however. The preservation of biodiversity and of pristine environments on Earth is of the greatest importance for our ability to study life, its origin, distribution and future. Of special interest from an astrobiology perspective is the preservation of areas with conditions that can serve as analogues to extraterrestrial environments, areas with conditions similar to those under which life originated on Earth, and in general environments where extreme adaptations can be studied. Astrobiology also presents some direct environmental challenges that need to be considered, namely in the form of forward and back contamination (discussed above in 2.3). Both issues need to be approached from a technical perspective, but also from a societal perspective. And both must be understood within a broader context of ensuring the sustainability of practices, both scientific and commercial.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Persson, E., Martínez-Frías, J., Milligan, T., Arnould, J., Kminek, G. (2018). Environment and Sustainability. In: Capova, K., Persson, E., Milligan, T., Dunér, D. (eds) Astrobiology and Society in Europe Today. SpringerBriefs in Astronomy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96265-8_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96265-8_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-96264-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-96265-8
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)