scholarly journals The search for life in our Solar System and the implications for science and society

2011 ◽  
Vol 369 (1936) ◽  
pp. 594-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher P. McKay
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Tree Of Life ◽  
Science And Society ◽  
The Comparative Study ◽  
Diversity Of Life ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Second Genesis

The search for another type of life in the Solar System addresses the fundamental question of life in the Universe. To determine if life forms we discover represent a second genesis, we must find biological material that would allow us to compare that life to the Earth’s phylogenetic tree of life. An organism would be alien if, and only if, it did not link to our tree of life. In our Solar System, the worlds of interest for a search for life are Mars, Europa, Enceladus and, for biochemistry based on a liquid other than water, Titan. If we find evidence for a second genesis of life, we will certainly learn from the comparative study of the biochemistry, organismal biology and ecology of the alien life. The discovery of alien life, if alive or revivable, will pose fundamentally new questions in environmental ethics. We should plan our exploration strategy such that we conduct biologically reversible exploration. In the long term we would do well, ethically and scientifically, to strive to support any alien life discovered as part of an overall commitment to enhancing the richness and diversity of life in the Universe.

scholarly journals Extremophiles: Link between earth and astrobiology

2008 ◽  
pp. 5-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dejan Stojanovic ◽  
Oliver Fojkar ◽  
Aleksandra Drobac-Cik ◽  
Kristina Cajko ◽  
Tamara Dulic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Main Idea ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
The Universe

Astrobiology studies the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe. The most promising worlds in Solar system, beyond Earth, which may harbor life are Mars and Jovian moon Europa. Extremophiles are organisms that thrive on the edge of temperature, hypersalinity, pH extremes, pressure, dryness and so on. In this paper, some extremophile cyanobacteria have been discussed as possible life forms in a scale of astrobiology. Samples were taken from solenetz and solonchak types of soil from the Vojvodina region. The main idea in this paper lies in the fact that high percentage of salt found in solonchak and solonetz gives the possibility of comparison these types of soil with 'soil' on Mars, which is also rich in salt.

Protecting and expanding the richness and diversity of life, an ethic for astrobiology research and space exploration

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard O. Randolph ◽  
Christopher P. McKay
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Space Exploration ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Ethical Guidelines ◽  
Microbial Life ◽  
Life On Mars ◽  
Operational Policies ◽  
Diversity Of Life ◽  
Human Exploration

AbstractThe ongoing search for life on other worlds and the prospects of eventual human exploration of the Moon and Mars indicate the need for new ethical guidelines to direct our actions as we search and how we respond if we discover microbial life on other worlds. Here we review how life on other worlds presents a novel question in environmental ethics. We propose a principle of protecting and expanding the richness and diversity of life as the basis of an ethic for astrobiology research and space exploration. There are immediate implications for the operational policies governing how we conduct the search for life on Mars and how we plan for human exploration throughout the Solar System.

The Long View of Planetary Systems

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karel Schrijver
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Planetary Systems ◽  
Giant Planets ◽  
Milky Way Galaxy ◽  
Population Statistics ◽  
The Past ◽  
General Terms ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
The Universe

How many planetary systems formed before our’s did, and how many will form after? How old is the average exoplanet in the Galaxy? When did the earliest planets start forming? How different are the ages of terrestrial and giant planets? And, ultimately, what will the fate be of our Solar System, of the Milky Way Galaxy, and of the Universe around us? We cannot know the fate of individual exoplanets with great certainty, but based on population statistics this chapter sketches the past, present, and future of exoworlds and of our Earth in general terms.

The Planet in a Pebble

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Zalasiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Forensic Analysis ◽  
Mineral Matter ◽  
Supernova Explosions ◽  
Deep Underground ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe

This is the story of a single pebble. It is just a normal pebble, as you might pick up on holiday - on a beach in Wales, say. Its history, though, carries us into abyssal depths of time, and across the farthest reaches of space. This is a narrative of the Earth's long and dramatic history, as gleaned from a single pebble. It begins as the pebble-particles form amid unimaginable violence in distal realms of the Universe, in the Big Bang and in supernova explosions and continues amid the construction of the Solar System. Jan Zalasiewicz shows the almost incredible complexity present in such a small and apparently mundane object. Many events in the Earth's ancient past can be deciphered from a pebble: volcanic eruptions; the lives and deaths of extinct animals and plants; the alien nature of long-vanished oceans; and transformations deep underground, including the creations of fool's gold and of oil. Zalasiewicz demonstrates how geologists reach deep into the Earth's past by forensic analysis of even the tiniest amounts of mineral matter. Many stories are crammed into each and every pebble around us. It may be small, and ordinary, this pebble - but it is also an eloquent part of our Earth's extraordinary, never-ending story.

scholarly journals Gravitational polarization of the quantum vacuum caused by two point-like bodies

2021 ◽  
Vol 503 (4) ◽  
pp. 5091-5099
Author(s):  
Dragan Slavkov Hajdukovic ◽  
Sergej Walter
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Solar System ◽  
Charge Density ◽  
Numerical Method ◽  
Quantum Vacuum ◽  
Body System ◽  
Complex Fluid ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Gravitational Charge

ABSTRACT In a recent paper, quantum vacuum was considered as a source of gravity, and the simplest, phenomenon, the gravitational polarization of the quantum vacuum by an immersed point-like body, was studied. In this paper, we have derived the effective gravitational charge density of the quantum vacuum, caused by two immersed point-like bodies. Among others, the obtained result proves that quantum vacuum can have regions with a negative effective gravitational charge density. Hence, quantum vacuum, the ‘ocean’ in which all matter of the Universe is immersed, acts as a complex fluid with a very variable gravitational charge density that might include both positive and negative densities; a crucial prediction that can be tested within the Solar system. In the general case of ${N \ge {\rm{3}}}$ point-like bodies, immersed in the quantum vacuum, the analytical solutions are not possible, and the use of numerical methods is inevitable. The key point is that an appropriate numerical method, for the calculation of the effective gravitational charge density of the quantum vacuum induced by N immersed bodies, might be crucial in description of galaxies, without the involvement of dark matter or a modification of gravity. The development of such a valuable numerical method, is not possible, without a previous (and in this study achieved) understanding of the impact of a two-body system.

The long-term future of the universe

1979 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 265-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamal N. Islam
Keyword(s):  
The Universe

scholarly journals The Comparative Study of Cultural Differences of Slovak Inbound Tourists: A Need of Innovations

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (36) ◽  
pp. 373-383
Author(s):  
Iveta Fodranová ◽  
Viera Kubičková
Keyword(s):  
Power Distance ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
National Cultures ◽  
Linguistic Group ◽  
Slovak Population ◽  
Efficient Communication ◽  
Marketing Activities ◽  
The Comparative Study

Abstract The aim of this article was to identify the cause of the negative attitude of Slovak population towards visitors by comparing the differences in national cultures on six primary Hofstede’s dimensions: power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation and indulgence and provide comparison with Slovakia. The results revealed high score on power distance and masculinity. The high score of this two dimensions′ correlates with elements of expressions of superiority and negatively affects not only the way of communication between people from the same cultural and linguistic group, but also with individuals that come from a different cultural environment. Based on these results, it is necessary to develop a smarter marketing approach - strive for innovation and unique marketing activities for a more efficient communication.

Study on using generative and topology design for feature enrichment in Mars Rovers

2021 ◽  
pp. 87-93
Author(s):  
Abhijith Ram C ◽  
D Ajith
Keyword(s):  
Additive Manufacturing ◽  
Solar System ◽  
Weight Reduction ◽  
Topology Design ◽  
Space Travel ◽  
Design For Additive Manufacturing ◽  
And Topology ◽  
Flexibility Design ◽  
The Origin Of Life ◽  
The Universe

Space travel has always been a crucial task. Exploration and experimenting on Planets in our solar system will help us understand the universe better and also, we could find the origin of life. Rovers play an important role in finding these answers. The problem we have at present is not only with technology to explore the universe but also the ability of our rockets to carry rovers to other rocks. Since a large amount of fuel is required for Space travel, we end with very little cargo that can be sent to explore. As additive manufacturing started to play a vital part in Mechanical Science, we are going to try to use that tool to build a Generative design that helps in parts consolidation, weight reduction, increase flexibility, design optimisation and cost consolidation. Since weight is an important aspect, we could reduce the present rover weight and add additional scientific tools to the rover to increase its scope of search and applications. This project focuses on features enrichment in Rovers by optimizing rover weight and design using Design for Additive Manufacturing concept.

Late Accretion and the Origin of Water on Terrestrial Planets in the Solar System

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cédric Gillmann ◽  
Gregor Golabek ◽  
Sean Raymond ◽  
Paul Tackley ◽  
Maria Schonbachler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Long Term Evolution ◽  
Terrestrial Planets ◽  
Evolutionary Pathway ◽  
Giant Impact ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Term Evolution ◽  
Surface Liquid ◽  
Venus Atmosphere

<p>Terrestrial planets in the Solar system generally lack surface liquid water. Earth is at odd with this observation and with the idea of the giant Moon-forming impact that should have vaporized any pre-existing water, leaving behind a dry Earth. Given the evidence available, this means that either water was brought back later or the giant impact could not vaporize all the water.</p><p>We have looked at Venus for answers. Indeed, it is an example of an active planet that may have followed a radically different evolutionary pathway despite the similar mechanisms at work and probably comparable initial conditions. However, due to the lack of present-day plate tectonics, volatile recycling, and any surface liquid oceans, the evolution of Venus has likely been more straightforward than that of the Earth, making it easier to understand and model over its long term evolution.</p><p>Here, we investigate the long-term evolution of Venus using self-consistent numerical models of global thermochemical mantle convection coupled with both an atmospheric evolution model and a late accretion N-body delivery model. We test implications of wet and dry late accretion compositions, using present-day Venus atmosphere measurements. Atmospheric losses are only able to remove a limited amount of water over the history of the planet. We show that late accretion of wet material exceeds this sink. CO<sub>2</sub> and N<sub>2</sub> contributions serve as additional constraints.</p><p>Water-rich asteroids colliding with Venus and releasing their water as vapor cannot explain the composition of Venus atmosphere as we measure it today. It means that the asteroidal material that came to Venus, and thus to Earth, after the giant impact must have been dry (enstatite chondrites), therefore preventing the replenishment of the Earth in water. Because water can obviously be found on our planet today, it means that the water we are now enjoying on Earth has been there since its formation, likely buried deep in the Earth so it could survive the giant impact. This in turn suggests that suggests that planets likely formed with their near-full budget in water, and slowly lost it with time.</p>

Environmental Ethics and Sustainability in Indian Thought

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 55-87
Author(s):  
Rana P. B. Singh ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Deep Ecology ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Indian Thought ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The Universe

Religion (dharma) plays a vital role in the Hindu (Sanatana) quest for understanding and practicing harmony between nature and humanity that result into the formation of a cosmological awakening, i.e. 'transcending the universe.' The importance and applicability of such new consciousness is a sign in promoting global humanism in the 21st century, where environmental ethics and sustainability are the wheels of making the future more humane and peaceful. Arne Naess, who coined the term 'deep ecology' conceiving humankind as an integral part of its environment, gives credit to Gandhi. Gandhi’s contributions help to re-awaken the human spirit to self-realisation, finally leading to revelation promoting human coexistence with nature sustainably, mostly through re-interpretation of Vedantic thought. Under the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) the ideas of Gandhi are recognised as a path that makes human coexistence stronger, feasible and co-sharedness, sustainable in peace and harmony with nature. This essay presents ecospiritual contextuality and its vitality concerning a sustainable perspective in line with Gandhi's vision and way of life.

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