Study Week On Astrobiology

THE PONTIFICAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
Study Week on
Astrobiology
6-10 November 2009 • Casina Pio IV
Introduction p. 3 Program p. 5 Abstracts p. 9

Biographies of Participants p. 15 List of Participants p. 21 Memorandum p. 23 14
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VATICAN CITY 2009

eyond its historical dimension, this mystery of salvation also has a
B cosmic dimension: Christ is the sun of grace who, with his life,
‘transfigures and enflames the expectant universe’ (cf. Liturgy). The
Christmas festivity is placed within and linked to the winter solstice
when, in the northern hemisphere, the days begin once again to
lengthen. In this regard perhaps not everyone knows that in St Peter's
Square there is also a meridian; in fact, the great obelisk casts its
shadow in a line that runs along the paving stones toward the fountain
beneath this window and in these days, the shadow is at its longest of
the year. This reminds us of the role of astronomy in setting the times
of prayer. The Angelus, for example, is recited in the morning, at noon
and in the evening, and clocks were regulated by the meridian which
in ancient times made it possible to know the ‘exact midday’.
The fact that the winter solstice occurs exactly today, 21 December,
and at this very time, offers me the opportunity to greet all those who
will be taking part in various capacities in the initiatives for the World
Year of Astronomy, 2009, established on the fourth centenary of Galileo
Galilei's first observations by telescope. Among my Predecessors of ven-
erable memory there were some who studied this science, such as
Sylvester II who taught it, Gregory XIII to whom we owe our calendar,
and St Pius X who knew how to build sundials. If the heavens, accord-
ing to the Psalmist's beautiful words, ‘are telling the glory of God’ (Ps
19[18]: 1), the laws of nature which over the course of centuries many
men and women of science have enabled us to understand better are
a great incentive to contemplate the works of the Lord with gratitude.
Benedict XVI, Angelus, St Peter’s Square,

Fourth Sunday of Advent, 21 December 2008
2
Study Week on
INTRODUCTION Astrobiology
Prof. JONATHAN I. LUNINE, chair of the Scientific Organizing Committee
Dr. JOSÉ G. FUNES, S.J., Director of the Vatican Observatory
strobiology is the study of life’s relationship to geologists might be meeting in Vancouver to pour in
A the rest of the cosmos: its major themes include

the origin of life and its precursor materials, the
evolution of life on Earth, its future prospects on and
depth over the latest results on the most ancient ap-
pearance of fossils in the terrestrial rock record, while
in Rio astronomers pour over new data on the abun-
off the Earth, and the occurrence of life elsewhere. Be- dance of the life-forming elements in nearby star-
hind each of these themes is a multidisciplinary set of forming regions, and in Potsdam planetary scientists
questions involving physics, chemistry, biology, geol- discuss the latest evidence for life occurring beneath
ogy, astronomy, planetology, and other fields, each of the oxidizing surface of Mars.
which connects more or less strongly to the central The present study week is not a unique event, but
questions of astrobiology. Stimulated by new capabil- it is a relatively rare one. A focused week in which
ities for scientific exploration on and off the Earth, as- (relatively) cloistered astrobiologists confront each
trobiology seems to be establishing itself as a distinct other’s fields of research and try to understand them
scientific endeavor. is a difficult but heady undertaking. To make this fea-
The study of Astrobiology is a quite appropriate sible in a practical amount of time, we have carefully
subject for the Pontifical Academy of Sciences which selected speakers who can make their own particular
has a multi-disciplinary membership. fields of research understandable to astrobiologists
The study week being undertaken by the Pontifical from other fields, indeed even to the intelligent lay-
Academy of Sciences has an ambitious agenda: to man, and who can connect their research to the
bring together leading scientists in these diverse fields, broader problems of astrophysics.
to share the latest results of their own research and The program is organized into eight sessions. Ses-
provide a broader perspective of how these results im- sion 1, on The Origin of Life, concerns the difficult
pact other areas of astrobiology. To accomplish these problem of the mechanisms by which molecules be-
goals successfully will not be easy, because the lan- came organized in such a way as to permit life to
guage – really, to be honest, the jargon – of each of begin. Life as we know it on Earth is built on a struc-
the fields represented by the speakers is not broadly ture of proteins and nucleic acid polymers which carry
understood. How does one explain to an astronomer the information to build the proteins from their con-
the intricacies of chemical markers of biological ac- stituent amino acids. While complex, life is a very spe-
tivity in ancient Earth sediments? Or conversely, how cific and selective organic chemistry: out of the broad
can a molecular biologist be briefed with adequate range of possible organic acids that abiotic systems
depth on the latest astronomical techniques for de- can produce, life utilizes just a handful; likewise, life
tecting planets? The paradox of astrobiology is that, largely utilizes just left-handed amino acids and right
while one might regard it as a rather narrow and spe- handed sugars. There is much more to the biochem-
cialized endeavor, one cannot hope as an individual istry of life than this, but it is exemplary of the chal-
to adequately understand the span of traditional dis- lenge chemists and biochemists face in understanding
ciplines that form the backbone of the field. how the cacophony of abiotic organic chemistry
The study week, then, is very much a cross-disci- evolved into the structured symphony of life. Likewise,
plinary education for experts in one field to gain in- teasing out of the scant geologic record of the early
sight and understanding in other more distant Earth some indication of the environmental condi-
disciplines – but always under the reasonably well-de- tions under which life formed is an extremely difficult
fined rubric of astrobiology. This is nothing new: for task, because geologic activity – the forces of tectonics,
the 13 years that astrobiology has been recognized as erosion, impacts of asteroidal material – have largely
a nascent field unto itself, scientists have been edu- erased the evidence of the Earth’s environment in its
cating each other in an effort to understand one an- first half-billion years after formation.
other’s fields. But oftentimes this comes in the Session 2, Habitability Through Time, concerns
environment of the frenetic ‘annual conference’, that the problem of how the Earth has been able to sus-
phenomenon of modern scholarship in which the tain life over its long geologic history. Here the geo-
maximum number of talks is packed into the space of logic record is more ample than that during the time
a few days, leading to a kind of intellectual bazaar in life is presumed to have begun (and, it should be
which scientists shop for nuggets of information (usu- made clear, we have no precise understanding of
ally, for convenience, in their own discipline), check to when that in fact occurred). But now the processes
make sure that competitors are not hawking the very are more complex: a variety of scales of space, time
wares they seek to proffer, or (rarely), venture forth and energy come into play. The Sun itself, which is
into sessions outside of their own expertise, to puzzle often tacitly regarded as the stable sustainer of the
over just what is being said. More focused workshops liquid water essential for life as we know it, was ap-
in astrobiology, as in other sciences, of course occur; proximately 30% less bright early in the Earth’s his-
but most often in one subfield. In any given month tory than it is today. Yet geological evidence for liquid
3
Study Week on Astrobiology Introduction
water on Earth’s surface when the Sun was so faint known, and the number of stars searched suggests
suggests that our atmosphere must have provided a that at least 10% of stars similar in properties to our
much stronger greenhouse effect than, and been own Sun have at least one planet. Session 6, Forma-
quite different from, that of today. Episodes of severe tion of Extrasolar Planets, details progress in un-
glaciation in the geologic record suggest that from derstanding how planets form as a part of the process
time to time the atmospheric ‘thermostat’ failed. of the formation of stars. Two outstanding questions
How life – even at the molecular level – and the en- are what determines when a rocky planet like the
vironment have interacted over geologic time is the Earth will form versus a gas giant like Jupiter, and is
subject of Session 3, Environment and Genomes. Mo- the process of planet formation materially different
lecular signatures of the biochemical reactions sus- around stars much smaller than our Sun. Finally, Ses-
taining life remain in the geologic record, giving us sion 7, Properties of Extrasolar Planets, brings to
hints of the changes over vast periods of time. Lessons bear computer modeling, astronomical data and a
from life forms that live in extreme environments, bit of speculation on the question of the properties of
such as submarine vents and the Earth’s driest deserts, extrasolar planets as a function of the properties of,
aid the interpretation of this record. The relatively sud- and distances from, their parent stars.
den appearance of animal life late in the Earth’s his- Ultimately, much of the fascination of astrobiol-
tory remains a mystery whose solution might be found ogy comes from the question of whether sentient life
in both the environment of the time and the workings forms exist on other worlds, and whether forms of life
of the genome. alien to our own in fact coexist with us – today – on
Earth seems to be unique in our solar system in our own home world. Session 8, Intelligence Else-
terms of its abundant life, and yet we cannot be sure where and Shadow Life, explores both these issues.
that life is not present on Mars or elsewhere in the The search for intelligent life elsewhere is being con-
solar system. Session 4, Detecting Life Elsewhere, ex- ducted by listening to the cosmos with radio tele-
plores the prospects and techniques for finding life in scopes in an effort to pick up a signal of inarguably
a variety of environments elsewhere in the solar sys- artificial origin. A search for life with a biochemistry
tem, beyond Mars to the asteroids and the moons of different from that of all the known life on Earth –
Jupiter and Saturn. what has been termed ‘shadow life’ – on our own
Whether or not life exists elsewhere within our planet is a fascinating possibility but one fraught
own solar system, the vast Milky Way Galaxy of with daunting difficulties.
which we are a part contains over 100 billion stars. If Astrobiology is an effort to use a diverse range of
planets are a common feature of such stars, might scientific techniques, focused on targets from the mol-
life be as well? The next three sessions explore in a ecules in cells to the vast cosmos around us, to pro-
systematic fashion the detection, formation, and vide a deeper appreciation of humankind’s place in
properties of planets around other stars: ‘extrasolar the cosmos. It is a recognition of the remarkable in-
planets’. Session 5, Search Strategies for Extrasolar tricacies of all that is within and around us and a
Planets, explains the various techniques used to find 21st century realization of the psalmist’s recommen-
planets around other stars and determine their prop- dation (Ps 111:2) to delight in its study.
erties. Already, about 380 extrasolar planets are
4
Study Week on
PROGRAM Astrobiology
FRIDAY, 6 NOVEMBER 2009
9:00 Word of Welcome, and Greeting by the Holy Father
H.Em. Card. Giovanni Lajolo
9:20 Outstanding Questions in Astrobiology
J.I. Lunine
SESSION 1 • ORIGIN OF LIFE (Chair J.I. Lunine)
10:00 Kinetics, Catalysis, and the Origin of Metabolism
S.D. Copley
10:40 Coffee break
11:10 Towards a Theory of Life
S. Benner
11:50 The Geological Record of Early Life on Earth (and its Limitations)
F. Westall
12:30 Discussion on Session 1
J.I. Lunine (lead)
13:10 Lunch at the Casina Pio IV
SESSION 2: HABITABILITY THROUGH TIME (Chair E.J. Gaidos)
14:50 The Earliest Earth’s Atmosphere
F. Selsis
15:30 Evolution of Earth’s Atmosphere and Climate
J.F. Kasting
16:10 Snowball Earth: Causes, Occurrences & Habitability
J.L. Kirschvink
16:50 Coffee break
E.J. Gaidos (lead)
SESSION 3: ENVIRONMENT AND GENOMES (Chair F. Westall)
18:00 Life & Environment in Earth’s Middle Age
A.H. Knoll
18:40 Molecular Signatures of Life Through Time
R.E. Summons
19:20 Dinner at the Casina Pio IV
5
Study Week on Astrobiology Program
SATURDAY, 7 NOVEMBER 2009

9:00 Submarine Hydrothermal Vents: Limits of Life, Early Evolution and the Search for Habitable Planets
J. Baross
9:40 Conditions During the Emergence of Animal Life
E.J. Gaidos
10:20 Coffee break
10:50 The Atacama Desert as an Analog Model for Mars
R. Vicuña
F. Westall (lead)
SESSION 4 • DETECTING LIFE ELSEWHERE (Chair A.H. Knoll)
12:10 Europa: Next Destination in the Search for Life
M. Blanc
14:50 Titan and Enceladus: Astrobiological Analogs with Earth
A. Coustenis
15:40 Life in Water-Rich Asteroids?
J.C. Castillo-Rogez
16:20 Early Mars: Cradle or Coffin?
R. Pierrehumbert
17:00 Coffee break
A.H. Knoll (lead)
18:10 Briefing on Proceedings Volume
J.G. Funes/C. Impey
SUNDAY, 8 NOVEMBER 2009

7:00 Bus leaves Domus Sanctae Marthae on pilgrimage to Assisi
12:00 Holy Mass at the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi celebrated by H.Em. Card. Giovanni Lajolo
13:30 Lunch at Assisi
6
MONDAY, 9 NOVEMBER 2009

SESSION 5 • SEARCH STRATEGIES FOR EXTRASOLAR PLANETS (Chair C. Impey)
9:20 Search and Characterization Strategies
S. Seager
10:10 Review of Detected Low Mass Planets
C. Lovis
10:50 Coffee break
11:20 Study of Exoplanet Atmospheres and the Small Star Opportunity
D. Charbonneau
12:00 Low-Mass Planets Around Faint Nearby Dwarf Stars
D. Minniti
C. Impey (lead)
SESSION 6 • FORMATION OF EXTRASOLAR PLANETS (Chair D. Minniti)
14:40 Formation of Giant Planets
W. Benz
15:10 Formation of Earth-Sized Planets
S.N. Raymond
D. Minniti (lead)
16:30 Coffee break
SESSION 7 • PROPERTIES OF EXTRASOLAR PLANETS (Chair R.T. Pierrehumbert)
17:00 Characterising Exoplanet Atmospheres, from Gas Giants to Terrestrial Habitable Planets
G. Tinetti
17:30 Habitability of Exoplanets
D.D. Sasselov
R.T. Pierrehumbert (lead)
7
TUESDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2009

9:00 Work on the Summary Statement
J. Lunine
SESSION 8 • INTELLIGENCE ELSEWHERE AND SHADOW LIFE (Chair S.A. Benner)
9:30 Reflections on the Future of Astrobiology
C. Impey
10:10 SETI Turns 50
J.C. Tarter
10:50 Coffee break
11:30 Searching for Multiple Origins of Life
P. Davies
J.F. Kasting (lead)
8
Study Week on
ABSTRACTS Astrobiology
Submarine Hydrothermal Vents: Limits of Life, self-replicating Darwinian systems are constructed artificial-
Early Evolution and the Search for Habitable Planets ly to see what emergent properties in biology they can yield.
Together, these four approaches are constraining the ‘black box’
JOHN BAROSS
that capture the phenomenon of ‘life’ according to current re-
ductionist theories of life to understand the potential and lim-
he two types of hydrothermal vent environments, mag-
T ma-driven and peridotite-hosted, offer many contrasting
habitat conditions for microbial communities. These envi-
itations of such simple models.
ronments span a wide range of chemical and physical con-

ditions that include almost all of the extremes in tempera- The Formation of Giant Planets
ture, Eh, salinity and heavy metal concentrations that lim- WILLY BENZ
it where life can exist. Moreover, vent microorganisms have
adapted to habitat conditions that include flowing fluids, ince the discovery in 1995 of the first planet outside the
porous spaces within basalt, sulfides and sediments, the sur-
faces of rocks and animals and the subseafloor potentially
S solar system by the Swiss astronomers Michel Mayor and
Didier Queloz, over 350 exoplanets have now been found.
to depths in the crust exceeding 6 km. Hydrothermal systems While most of them are giant planets, stunning improvements
produce volatiles, such as H2, H2S, CH4, CO, CO, and trace in the detection techniques allows today the discovery of plan-
metals that are important sources of carbon and energy, and
ets only a few times more massive than the Earth. With in-
nutrients for organisms. The sources of volatiles include mag-
creasing numbers, the population of exoplanets begins to pro-
ma degassing, water/rock reactions, and abiotic reduction of
vide strong constraint to planet formation models. Quantitative
CO2 to methane and possibly other organic compounds. All
comparisons between observations and theoretical calculations
of these reactions take place in the subseafloor and are not
are becoming possible through a population synthesis ap-
always dramatically expressed on the seafloor. Recently, a
proach. Such comparisons allow identifying the major un-
peridotite-hosted hydrothermal vent environment was dis-
certainties and their observational consequences. In this
covered on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This environment,
talk, I will briefly review the recent progress in the theory of
named the ‘Lost City Hydrothermal Field’ is a source of high
giant planet formation and pinpoint these major uncertain-
concentrations of hydrogen and methane and organic acids
ties. In addition, I will stress the importance of considering the
and hydrocarbons produced abiotically from serpentiniza-
formation of giant and terrestrial planets simultaneously and
tion reactions that take place in the crust. Hallmark char-
self-consistently.
acteristics of both types of high temperature hydrothermal
vent microbial communities are that they utilize hydrogen
as a primary energy source and they exist as biofilms. This
is interesting in that there are parallels between the energy Europa: Next Destination in the Search for Life
metabolic reactions of these microbial biofilms and the chem- MICHEL BLANC
istry of the H2-CO2 redox couple that are present in hy-
drothermal systems, thus indicating the possibility that vent he exploration of the Jovian System and its fascinating
autotrophy might provide clues about the kinds of reactions
that initiated the chemistry of life. Moreover, an argument
T satellite Europa is one of the priorities presented in ESA’s
‘Cosmic Vision’ strategic document. The Jovian System in-
can be made that obtaining evidence for active tectonics and deed displays many facets. It is a small planetary system in
hydrothermal activity on any planetary body (presently or its own right, built-up out of the mixture of gas and icy ma-
in the past), mechanisms that are vital for extracting life-sup- terial that was present in the external region of the solar
porting volatiles and elements from rocks and creating di- nebula. Through a complex history of accretion, internal
verse environmental settings, would increase the probabil- differentiation and dynamic interaction, a very unique
ity for its ability to support life. satellite system formed, in which three of the four Galilean
satellites, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto are locked in the
so-called Laplace resonance. The energy and angular mo-
Towards a Theory of Life mentum they exchange among themselves and with Jupiter
STEVEN A. BENNER contribute to various degrees to the internal heating sources
of the satellites. While all three are likely to host sub-sur-
ne of the most reductionist definition-theories for life holds face oceans, only Europa’s ocean is believed to extend be-
O that it is a self-sustaining chemical system capable of Dar-
winian evolution. While this has been advanced as a universal
tween its geodynamically active icy crust and its silicate
mantle, possibly providing the main conditions for habit-
definition-theory, it is clearly Earth-centric, as it conforms close- ability. For this very reason, Europa is one of the best can-
ly to the features of the terran life that we know. This talk will didates for the search for life in our Solar System. We will
survey four general approaches that have exploited this def- review our current understanding of how these habitability
inition in the Benner laboratory to understand the concept of conditions may be fulfilled at Europa, and what measure-
‘life’ as a universal, assessing its likely form and distribution ments need to be performed there with a dedicated mission
in the cosmos. The first works backwards in time from mod- to Europa. To understand in a more generic way habitabil-
ern life, using biotechnology to resurrect ancient genes and pro- ity conditions around giant planets, we also need to go be-
teins for study in the laboratory. Another works forward in time, yond Europa itself and address two more general questions
starting with simple organic molecules that are formed with- at the scale of the Jupiter system: to what extent is its possi-
out life, to ask how these might have self-assembled to give ble habitability related to the initial conditions and forma-
the first living systems. The third considers ‘weird’ environments tion scenario of the Jovian satellites? To what extent is it due
in the solar system, those that deviate significantly from those to the way the Jupiter system works? For these reasons NASA
on Earth that hold terran life. The last involves synthesis, where and ESA are embarking on a joint mission to the Jupiter sys-
9
Study Week on Astrobiology Abstracts
tem, involving an orbiter of Europa and an orbiter around Kinetics, Catalysis and the Origin of Metabolism
Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system. Pending
SHELLEY D. COPLEY
final selection in the ESA Cosmic Vision implementation
process, the mission would launch in 2020, some three years
atalysts are essential for life; nearly every reaction that
after the anticipated completion of Cassini.
C occurs in extant cells is catalyzed by an enzyme. Cata-
lysts must have been essential for the emergence of life, as
well, enabling a proto-metabolic network that supplied the
Life in Water-Rich Asteroids? precursors of macromolecules. Early catalysts such as min-
erals and small molecules would likely have been inefficient
JULIE C. CASTILLO-ROGEZ
relative to the prodigious enzymes of today, but still impor-
tant for accelerating rates of useful reactions. Although the
arge, low-density C-type asteroids are abundant in the main
L belt. The most prominent of these objects is the dwarf plan-
et Ceres, which presents an advanced stage of evolution. Ceres
importance of rate acceleration by catalysts is obvious, a less-
appreciated role for early catalysts would have been to prune
complex proto-metabolic networks by channeling molecules
is almost twice as large as Enceladus, and both objects contain
through particular pathways and thereby allowing accu-
more than 50% of water in volume. Although asteroids can-
mulation of higher concentrations of a few components, rather
not benefit from tidal heating like outer planet satellites, their
than low concentrations of many components. This princi-
proximity to the Sun warrants an everlasting supply of ener-
ple will be illustrated by experiments showing that pyruvate
gy. Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope and geo-
is converted to different products by different minerals
physical modeling indicate that Ceres is likely to be differen-
found in hydrothermal vents. These results suggest that map-
tiated. Besides, warm surface temperatures may promote the
ping of catalytic reactivity space with respect to mineral type,
preservation of a deep liquid layer, if the water shell contains
small molecules, temperature, and pH is needed to delineate
second-phase volatile impurities and hydrated minerals. Indeed,
the various microenvironments that may have contributed
even if Ceres were ‘frozen’, i.e., its interior were in thermal equi-
to proto-metabolism and the suite of molecules available for
librium with its surface, then its internal temperature would still
life. A model for how early catalysts may have promoted the
reach at least 180 K in low-latitude regions. These conditions of-
emergence of the RNA World will also be discussed.
fer a context suitable to endogenic activity involving the exchange
of material between the interior and the surface. Recent
ground-based observations indicate the presence of brucite and
magnesite at the surface of Ceres, the signature of pervasive hy- Titan and Enceladus: Astrobiological Analogs with
drothermal alteration whose origin, surficial or due to internal Earth
processes, remains to be understood. The many questions raised
ATHENA COUSTENIS
by astronomical observations of Ceres will hopefully be answered
by the Dawn Mission that will visit the protoplanet in 2015. The
itan is currently the only confirmed exobiotic environment
Dawn Mission is instrumented with the capability to measure
composition and constrain internal properties and geological
T known to us. It is also perhaps the most intriguing object
in our Solar System. Our understanding of Titan, and of its
evolution. This information will help better assess the astro-
kronian sibling Enceladus, has been greatly enhanced by the
biological potential of the dwarf planet. Other, large C-type as-
data returned by the Cassini-Huygens mission since 2004 and
teroids may also harbor habitable conditions as a result of warm
still operating on the spot. Thus, we know today that the thick
surface temperature. We will review the main characteristics
atmosphere layer – covering the satellite’s mysterious surface –
of these protoplanets, discuss possible formation scenarios for
is essentially made of nitrogen, with small amounts of
these objects, address their genetic link to meteorites, and dis-
methane and hydrogen. The combination among these moth-
cuss their habitability potential. We will also present ongoing
er molecules produces an exciting organic chemistry in Ti-
plans for the future exploration of these objects and the tech-
tan’s atmosphere, with hydrocarbons and nitriles (one of the
niques that can be used for constraining their internal struc-
latter, HCN, is a prebiotic molecule). The organic chemistry,
ture and habitability.
climate conditions, meteorology, methane cycle and other as-
pects of the surface make Titan an extremely important as-
The Study of Exoplanet Atmospheres and the trobiological place. Similarly, a strong bioastronomical po-
Small Star Opportunity tential is afforded by Enceladus who is surrounded by an at-
mosphere created by water ice and organics ejections com-
DAVID CHARBONNEAU
ing from the interior. I will discuss our current understand-
ing of the astrobiological aspects of the two satellites as in-
hen exoplanets are observed to transit their parent stars,
W we are granted direct estimates of their masses and radii,
permitting us in turn to infer a bulk composition and a like-
ferred from current and past observations. After the Cassi-
ni-Huygens mission, there will remain several unanswered
questions on the astrobiological aspects of the satellites which
ly formation history. Perhaps most intriguingly, transiting
will require a future mission with an optimized orbital tour,
planets also afford studies of their atmospheres, both
specific in situ elements and advanced instrumentation, such
through the study of starlight transmitted during transit, and
as the Titan Saturn System Mission studied in 2008.
through the modulation of infrared emission when the plan-
et disappears behind its parent star during an event known
as secondary eclipse. In the past decade, these methods have
yielded stunning advances in our understanding of gas gi- Searching for Multiple Origins of Life
ant exoplanets and their atmospheres. Yet it is only during
PAUL DAVIES
the last months of 2009 that astronomers have uncovered the
first transiting examples of much smaller bodies composed
strobiologists are aware that extraterrestrial life might dif-
primarily of rock and ice. Should we succeed in finding ex-
amples of such planets in the habitable zones of low-mass
A fer fundamentally from known life, and considerable
thought has been given to possible signatures that might at-
stars, then we could undertake the study of their atmospheres
tach to weird forms of life on other planets. So far, however,
in the next 5 years and jumpstart our hunt for biomarkers
very little attention has been paid to the possibility that our
in the atmosphere enshrouding a world orbiting another star.
own planet might also host microbial communities of weird
10
life – that is, life as we do not know it. If life arises readily in mained habitable, and inhabited, throughout most or all of
earthlike conditions, as many astrobiologists contend, then it its recorded history. Solar luminosity has increased by 40 per-
may well have started many times on Earth itself, raising the cent from its original value during that time, however, so a
question of whether one or more shadow terrestrial biospheres complex interplay of factors was needed to actually keep the
of alternative life forms have existed in the past, or still exist planet fit for life. Chief amongst these factors was the neg-
today. The issue is critical to the question of whether or not we ative feedback between atmospheric CO2 and climate pro-
are alone in the universe, because if life has started from scratch vided by the carbonate-silicate cycle. All other things being
many times on Earth, it is likely also to have started on many equal, low surface temperatures on the early Earth would have
earthlike planets. In my talk I shall discuss possible signatures led to slower rates of silicate weathering, and thus to
of weird life, and outline some simple strategies for seeking ev- buildup of volcanic CO2, which would have helped offset the
idence of a shadow biosphere. lower temperatures by providing greenhouse warming.
Models based on CO2 feedback alone, however, predict more
CO2 than is consistent with various CO2 indicators, specifi-
Conditions During the Emergence of Animal Life cally paleosols and siderite banded iron-formations. This sug-
gests that CH4 may have played a role, as well. The CH4 green-
ERIC J. GAIDOS house effect is complicated, though, because too much CH4
can lead to formation of hydrocarbon haze, which creates
nimal life emerged in the late Precambrian before 540
A million years ago (Ma), and perhaps as early as ca. 600
Ma. This pivotal event was accompanied by low-latitude
an anti-greenhouse effect that can cool the planet. The de-
tails of how this haze forms and how it interacts with inci-
dent solar radiation are still being worked out. I will provide
glaciations and large excursions in the isotopic composition an update on where this modeling stands. I will also talk about
of inorganic carbon in surface waters. It was preceded by the controversial O and Si isotopic evidence for hot Archean
a long interval in which the deep ocean was sulfidic and the climates and how this evidence can be weighed against oth-
concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere was well below er climate indicators.
the modern value. The link between oxygenation of the
oceans and the appearance of animals in the fossil record
is widely accepted, but the causal relationships between ma-
rine biogeochemical cycles, climate, and atmospheric com- Snowball Glaciation: Lessons for Habitability
position are controversial. I describe how high marine sul- on Earth and Elsewhere
fide might have maintained low oxygen, high methane, and JOSEPH L. KIRSCHVINK & TIMOTHY D. RAUB
declining carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Precambrian atmos-
phere, and how Earth may have escaped from this condi- arth’s glacial record has become more frequent but less
tion only when low CO2 and marine bicarbonate (HCO3-)
triggered a ‘biotic crisis’ near the end of the Precambrian.
E severe as the planet has aged. Although many Precam-
brian glaciations supported sea ice in tropical to equatorial
The tempo of planetary change depended on the luminos- latitudes, well within a ‘Snowball Earth’ zone predicted by
ity evolution of the Sun and the abundance of sulfur in mag- ice-albedo runaway in energy-balance models, it remains un-
mas and volcanic gases, and may be different on planets certain whether Precambrian interglacial Earth supported a
around other stars. polar ice mass. All Precambrian glaciations display geo-
chemical evidence of syn- and post-glacial oxidation (Raub
& Kirschvink, 2008). Beneath the modern Antarctic ozone
Reflections on the Future of Astrobiology hole, ultraviolet photochemical reactions trap frozen H2O2;
CHRIS IMPEY this same process oxidizes icy moons like Europa and Ence-
ladus. Prior to terrestrial atmospheric oxygenation, such ice-
strobiology is a young and exciting, interdisciplinary field bound peroxides might reach parts-per-thousand levels, suf-
A of science. In a few decades, the terrestrial frontier has seen
insights into the range of life on Earth and its origin, and the
ficient for oxidized meltwater to hypothetically force the orig-
inal evolution of oxygen-mediating enzymes. As-yet unrec-
varied mechanisms by which life turns energy into informa- ognized Archean polar ice caps might similarly account for
tion. Meanwhile, the extraterrestrial frontier has witnessed the ‘whiffs’ of trace oxygen (Anbar et al., 2007, Frei et al., 2009)
discovery of about 400 exoplanets, some of which are nearly without invoking the specter of oxygenic photosynthesis
Earth-like, the identification of several habitable locations in (Kirschvink & Kopp, 2008). If the accumulation of peroxide
the Solar System, and the use of new technology to search for in polar glaciers is the only mechanism that can drive de novo
extraterrestrial intelligence with increased sensitivity. The fu- evolution of molecular oxygen-mediating enzymes, there is
ture of astrobiology will be most sharply defined by the dis- an interesting implication for Astrobiology: Earth-like plan-
covery of life beyond Earth. History may not a good guide to ets too close to their parent Star to form glaciers will proba-
the future, just as life on Earth may not be a good guide to the bly never experience oxyatmoversion and will be unlikely to
characteristics of biology elsewhere. It is of course possible that have animal life.
scientists’ optimism about the broad predisposition of the uni-
verse for life is misplaced, rendering biology rare and difficult
to detect. Nonetheless, this talk will hazard guesses on how the Life and Environments in Earth’s Middle Age
subject may evolve and what the best research avenues might
ANDREW H. KNOLL
be to make the breakthrough discovery.
strobiological interest in Earth history commonly focuses
Habitability of the Earth and Evolution
A on life’s first and most recent chapters, the origin of cells
and the emergence of complex organisms. Much of Earth’s
of Its Atmosphere physical and biological history, however, played out during
JAMES F. KASTING the long interval between these events, and it can be argued
that both the nature and timing of animal evolution reflect
arth is comfortably within the habitable zone of the Sun – the events of Earth’s middle age. The interval in question be-
E the region where liquid water can exist on a planet’s sur-
face – so it may not seem surprising that the Earth has re-
gan with the initial rise of oxygen in surface oceans and en-
vironments, an event well documented in the rock record but
11
imperfectly understood in terms of process. Increasingly, geo- tinct scientific endeavor. The outstanding problems in astro-
chemical data suggest that the world that emerged from this biology can be laid out schematically but conveniently in the
transition was not our modern Earth, with oceans oxygenated form of an equation first written 50 years ago by Frank Drake.
from top to bottom, but, after ca. 1800 Ma, a long lasting in- The equation enumerates the number ‘N’ of observable ex-
termediate state in which a moderately oxygenated atmos- traterrestrial civilizations in our Milky Way Galaxy as equal
phere and surface ocean lay above by an oxygen minimum to R x fp x ne x fl x fi x fc x L, where R is the rate of formation
zone that tended toward euxinia. Paleontological data sug- of suitable stars (it is sufficient to assume those similar in mass
gest that eukaryotic microorganisms populated the oceans and composition to the Sun) in our galaxy, fp the fraction of
during this interval, some of them with the capacity for sim- stars with planets, ne the average number of such planetary
ple multicellularity or cell differentiation. Nonetheless, both systems with a habitable, or life-sustaining, environment, fl
fossils and molecular biomarkers suggest that the diversity, the fraction of habitable planets on which life actually
complexity and ecological footprint of eukaryotes remained forms, fi the fraction of those life-bearing planets with intel-
low until ca. 800 Ma. Emerging geochemical data suggest that ligent life, fc the fraction of those intelligence-bearing planets
this paleontologically observable blossoming of eukaryotic with a civilization technically capable of transmitting signals,
diversity corresponds not to a sharp increase in oxygen lev- and L the average lifetime of such a civilization. The first three
els but rather to the statistical replacement of euxinic sub- terms are known or in the process of being determined today
surface waters by ferruginous water masses. Latest Protero- by astronomical techniques on the ground and in space. The
zoic oxygen increase does, however, correlate with the ex- fourth term can be constrained by determining whether life –
pansion of macroscopic animals, as well as red and green al- of independent origin from that on Earth – exists in habitable
gae characterized by complex multicellularity. All complex environments elsewhere in the solar system (Mars, Europa, Ence-
multicellular organisms have active transport mechanisms ladus, Titan). The fifth term is more tenuously connected to
for oxygen, signaling molecules and nutrients, circumvent- data, but the history of life on Earth and the late onset of com-
ing the strong constraints imposed by diffusion. The chick- plex, intelligent beings has suggested to some that while prim-
en-and-egg problem of whether size increase reflects or pro- itive life might be common, intelligent life could be a rare phe-
motes active transfer of molecules within organisms might nomenon in the cosmos.
be solved by considering the relationships among size, me-
tabolism, and differentiation as a positive feedback loop,
nudged in the right direction by late Neoproterozoic envi-
Low-Mass Planets Around Faint Nearby Dwarf Stars
ronmental change.
DANTE MINNITI
here has been great progress in the search and charac-

Review of Detected Low-Mass Planets
CHRISTOPHE LOVIS
T terization of extrasolar planets. In particular, current
searches are focussing on planets less massive than Neptune
orbiting nearby dwarf stars. A few of these systems are already
ince 2004, a new population of extrasolar planets, hav- known, and it is expected that some transiting low mass plan-
S ing masses below 20-25 Earth masses, has been emerging
from planet-search surveys. This has become possible thanks
ets will become available in the next few years. I will describe
SIMPLE, a new high-resolution near-IR spectrograph for the
to important progress in the planet detection sensitivity of E-ELT being build at Arcetri. SIMPLE is a canonical cross-dis-
the two main observational techniques currently dominat- persed Echelle spectrograph designed to have a resolving pow-
ing the field: high-precision radial velocities and transit pho- er of 100,000, covering from 0.8 to 2.5 microns in a single
tometry. In the Neptune mass regime and below, hydrogen frame. SIMPLE at the E-ELT will allow to characterize the at-
is probably not the main constituent of planets any more, mospheres for transiting low mass exoplanets, and also to
but is replaced in this role by ices and rocks. The recent dis- search for potential atmospheric biomarkers. I will also de-
coveries are therefore unveiling for the first time a popula- scribe our current Carnegie-Catolica search for extrasolar plan-
tion of ‘solid’ planets, although most of their properties re- ets around nearby stars with the Magellan 6.5m telescope with
main to be explored. In this presentation I will review sev- MIKE, presenting the main results for the 11 exoplanets dis-
eral examples of low-mass planets and planetary systems, covered so far. These are long period, massive planets orbiting
and discuss some of their orbital and physical characteris- generally in eccentric orbits. Future plans to extend the Mag-
tics. First guesses regarding their overall abundance in our ellan Planet Survey will be also discussed.
Galaxy can also be made. I will conclude with the prospects
of detecting habitable planets, with a mass similar to the Earth
and located at the appropriate distance from their parent star,
Early Mars: Cradle or Cauldron
in the near future.
RAYMOND T. PIERREHUMBERT
here is abundant evidence that large quantities of liquid

Outstanding Problems in Astrobiology
JONATHAN I. LUNINE
T water existed at the surface of Mars very early in the plan-
et’s history. This evidence takes the form of river-like features,
surface mineralogy, and stratigraphy of the Noachian crust
strobiology is the study of life as a cosmic phenomenon:
A its major themes include the origin of life and its precur-
sor materials, the evolution of life on Earth, its future prospects
of the planet. One view of the climate of Early Mars holds that
these features arise from eons-long periods of warm, wet equable
climates, arising from an early massive atmosphere rich in
on and off the Earth, and the occurrence of life elsewhere. Be- greenhouse gases. Another holds that the climate consisted of
hind each of these themes is a multidisciplinary set of ques- long periods of frozen cold-dry climates followed by brief pe-
tions involving physics, chemistry, biology, geology, astrono- riods of hot torrential rains following giant impacts. I will re-
my, planetology, and other fields, each of which connects more view the basic physics underpinning both of these views,the
or less strongly to the central questions of astrobiology. Stim- implications for evolution of life, and the prospects for settling
ulated by new capabilities for scientific exploration on and off which is correct by further exploration of Mars, Mars is the ar-
the Earth, astrobiology seems to be establishing itself as a dis- chetype for the problem of determining the outer edge of hab-
12
itable zones around stars. Generalizations of the Early Mars The Earliest Earth Atmosphere
habitability problem, and applications to other planetary sys-
FRANCK SELSIS, ERIC HÉBRARD, ALESSANDRO MORBIDELLI, IGNASI RIBAS
tems (notably about Gliese 581) will be discussed.
he early history of our planet is usually presented as the
Formation of Earth-Sized Planets

T succession of two periods. During the first one, the
Hadean, frequent catastrophic asteroids/comets impacts
maintained conditions preventing life, and even complex
SEAN N. RAYMOND
chemistry, from occurring on Earth. The end of the Hadean
is generally dated around 3.9-3.8 Gyrs ago (Ga), when im-
ocky (‘terrestrial’) planets are thought to form in a series
R of dynamical steps, starting from micron-sized dust grains
in gaseous protoplanetary disks. Duriing the last phase of
pact rates decreased to bearable values. It is only during the
second period, the Archean, that living organisms are assumed
to have been able to evolve and spread in Earth’s environ-
growth, km-sized planetesimals and Moon-sized planetary em-
ment. As a matter of fact, the oldest – and debated – possi-
bryos collide to form full-sized planets on a 100 million year
ble traces of life have been found at the very beginning of
timescale. It is during this phase that Earth’s final composi-
the Archean, around 3.8 Ga in the form of 12C-enriched sed-
tion was determined by the composition of material within its
iments. In this picture, which represents the most accepted
feeding zone. A key question is the source of Earth’s water: the
view (often given in academic textbooks), the physical and
current leading theory is that the water was delivered via col-
chemical conditions at the transition between Hadean and
lisions with primordial asteroidal material. Extrapolating to
Archean are regarded as the relevant context for prebiotic
planets around other stars requires an understanding of the
chemistry and the origins of life. However, the standard mod-
dynamics of extra-solar planets – including orbital migration
el for the atmosphere of the Earth 3.9-3.8 Ga ago does not
and planet-planet interactions – and their effect on terrestri-
seem to produce complex organics at high enough a rate to
al planet growth. I will discuss the prospects for water-rich Earth-
sustain efficient prebiotic processes (unlike in the Urey-Miller
like planets to exist in ‘hot Jupiter’ systems as well as in the
experiment). Therefore, scientists often invoke an external
known systems of extra-solar (giant) planets, many of which
delivery of asteroidal/cometary organics or a sub-surface pro-
likely underwent dynamical instabilities.
duction in hydrothermal vents. We would like here to revis-
it this scenario by considering a more recent view of the bom-
bardment history. We will show that the Earth could have been
Search and Characterization Strategies
habitable as early as the end of the planetary accretion around
for Habitable Worlds
4.4 Ga and that life could have survived a Late Heavy Bom-
SARA SEAGER bardment event that occurred between 3.9 and 3.8 Ga. We
will show how the conditions during the earliest habitable
ourteen years ago after the first discovery of exoplanets
F orbiting sun-like stars, few believed that exoplanet at-
mosphere observations were possible. Seven years ago, after
period of the Earth, when our planet was subjected to the ir-
radiation of the young but active Sun, differ from the ones
that are usually assumed for the context of the origins of life.
the Hubble Space Telescope observation of the transiting HD We will then discuss the implications for prebiotic chemistry.
209458b atmosphere, many skeptics challenged it as a one-
object, one-method success. With over two dozen exoplan-
et atmospheres observed today, we have solidly entered the
Molecular Signatures of Life Through Time
first stage of exoplanet atmosphere research. I will briefly re-
view the highlights of hot Jupiter atmosphere studies: detection ROGER E. SUMMONS
of molecular spectral features; constraints on atmospheric ver-
tical structure; and diversity of day-night temperature gra-
ossil hydrocarbons are commonly interpreted as diagenetic
dients. I will show what we can robustly infer from the two
best transiting hot Jupiter atmosphere data sets: HD~189733b
F products of biochemicals, and therefore as proxies for or-
ganisms and biosynthetic pathways that have existed in the
and HD~209458b, using a new atmospheric temperature and
past. They can be particularly informative about organisms
abundance retrieval method. As hot Jupiter observations and
that leave no visible fossil evidence of their prior existence.
interpretation are maturing, the next frontier is super Earth
Further, since many organisms proliferate only under strin-
atmospheres. Theoretical models are moving forward with
gent environmental restrictions, the fossil hydrocarbons may
observational hopes pinned on the James Webb Space Tel-
also serve as indicators for those conditions. An example
escope, scheduled for launch in 2014. Further in the future
would be fossil pigments derived from green and purple sul-
lies realistic attempts to answer the enigmatic and ancient
fur bacteria, photosynthetic bacteria that use hydrogen sul-
question, ‘Are we alone?’ via atmospheric biosignatures. Many
fide as an electron donor, which serve as proxies for the pres-
of us are working hard to ensure we will have Earth analog
ence of sulfide in the photic zone of ancient seas. Another ex-
targets for atmosphere observations in our life time. I will fin-
ample would be the biosynthetic pathway leading to sterols
ish with a description of the lowest cost and nearest term
which requires molecular oxygen in several steps. Thus, the
chance we have for directly imaging Earth analog atmos-
detection of fossil hydrocarbons with these carbon skeletons
pheres: a space-based Terrestrial Planet Finder telescope that
far back in Earth history has been used to infer the antiqui-
is a combination of the James Webb Space Telescope and a
ty of oxygenic photosynthesis. This presentation will focus
separately built and launched external occulter.
on two aspects of the geologic record of fossil hydrocarbons.
Firstly, using data from petroleum through the ages we will
examine the successions in ocean plankton. These results are
Habitability of Exoplanets
informative about an evolving composition of marine algal
DIMITAR D. SASSELOV groups though time and, in particular, the nature of pho-
tosynthetic communities accompanying extinction and ra-
he talk will review planetary habitability from the as-
T pect of observable features of exoplanets, which relate
to planet structure, atmosphere, and specific global geo-
diation events at the end of the Proterozoic, Paleozoic and
Mesozoic Eras. We also report our most recent results con-
cerning the detection of indigenous steranes and triterpanes
chemical cycles. in sediments from the late Archean through studies of cores
13
from the Pilbara Craton obtained through the NASA

The Atacama Desert as a Model
Archean Biosphere Drilling Project and the Agouron Insti-
Habitat in Astrobiology
tute drilling in the Kaapvaal Craton of South Africa.
RAFAEL VICUÑA and ARMANDO AZÚA
he search for life in the Universe relies on the thorough un-

SETI Turns 50
JILL C. TARTER
T derstanding of life as we know it. Although biased by the
single example we find on Earth, lifeforms and the habitats
they use in our planet provide us with helpful models for as-
ince the publication of the first scientific paper on the trobiology focused questions. One of these models is the Ata-
S Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence in Nature in Sep-
tember of 1959, SETI has been capturing the imaginations
cama Desert, which is the driest and probably the oldest ex-
tant desert on Earth. To survive in the hyperarid conditions pre-
of young and old, scientist and layperson, in cultures vailing in the place, lifeforms have had to adapt to very low
around the globe, and SETI has become an innovative, sci- air humidity levels, an almost complete absence of rain events,
entific exploration. Within the past few years we have lost highly saline soils and high solar radiation. Still, in spite of this
the pioneering authors of the first SETI paper, but the radio adaptation process, the harsh environmental factors cause that
astronomer who conducted the first SETI search is still active, parts of the Atacama Desert are almost devoid of microbial
and a new generation of researchers are slowly beginning to life. These characteristics have made Atacama Desert a
replace the old guard. SETI is now sheltered under the larg- prime analog model for the planet Mars and many research
er umbrella of astrobiology, but it is far from a risk-free en- teams are conducting experiments on various astrobiologically
terprise. From a single narrowband channel receiver exploring oriented topics. Regions within this desert are intensively be-
two stars, the search capacity has increased by more than 14 ing used for testing of biosignature detecting instruments and
orders of magnitude in 50 years and SETI is well positioned robots to be flown in future space missions. Some sites are also
to continue taking advantage of exponential improve- being studied as analogs for understanding the origin of life
ments in multiple technologies. SETI has endured a roller- on Earth. Our work is focused on the understanding of the
coaster funding saga that has included both federal and pri- molecular and physiological adaptations of extremophiles
vate support, and no support at all. As a science it is con- living in the Atacama Desert. More specifically, we are study-
founded by the persistent public misperception that it has ing different habitats, from salt pans to caves, describing the
something to do with UFOs. This talk will trace the history, diversity of microorganisms living in them and the micro-
detail the current status, and forecast the future of SETI, while environmental parameters to which these microorganisms
trying to make some guesses about technologies not yet in- have adapted. In particular, we are interested in the study
vented and discussing the question – What if SETI succeeds? of the evolutionary adaptations that arose to cope with lim-
iting water availability for photosynthesis in cyanobacteria
and micro-algae. So far, we have found that even small
changes in the microenvironmental landscape cause dramatic
Characterising Exoplanet Atmospheres, from Gas
changes in biodiversity, suggesting that life-supporting places
Giants to Terrestrial Habitable Planets
behave like evolutionary islands with accelerated rates of spe-
GIOVANNA TINETTI ciation. Our data also suggest that small changes in a few key
parameters of the abiotic landscape can have huge impacts
alf a century ago, Space Age began with the launching on the habitability of extreme environments, even in scales
H of the Sputnik. Now at the completion of a fairly detailed
study of the planets of our own solar system, we are at the
of centimeters. This patchiness of life spreading needs to be con-
sidered when looking for life elsewhere in the universe. Thus,
dawn of the Age of Exoplanets. More than 300 exoplanets, unless the sampling procedures in a specific site are very well
i.e. planets orbiting a star different from our Sun, are now designed, a negative result in the search for biosignatures may
known thanks to indirect detection techniques. In the first not necessarily reflect absence of life.
decade after their initial discovery in 1995 by Mayor and
Queloz, the task was to find more and more of these astro-
nomical bodies: the biggest, the smallest; the hottest, the
The geological record of early life on Earth
coolest. In recent years, attention has switched from finding
(and its limitations)
planets to characterising them. Among the variety of exo-
planets discovered so far, special attention is devoted to those FRANCES WESTALL
planets which transit their parent star. Most recent obser-
vations, in fact, have proved being possible to use the wave- he geological record of early life on Earth is very patchy
length dependence of the reduction in the brightness of the
central star as the planet passes in front to identify key chem-
T but what has been preserved provides us with a fasci-
nating insight into the ecology of the primitive Earth. De-
ical components in the planet’s atmosphere. Molecules struction or severe alteration of the Earth’s earliest crust by
such as water, methane, carbon monoxide and dioxide have plate tectonic activity and crustal processes limits the avail-
already been detected in the atmospheres of hot, giant ex- ability of well-preserved rocks, the oldest of which are
oplanets with Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes or from younger than 3.5 billion years old (Ga), a billion years after
the ground. These planets are unsuitable for life, but the next the consolidation of the crust. Two areas of ancient crust are
generation of space telescopes -the James Webb Space Tele- particularly well-preserved, the Barberton greenstone belt
scope or other mission concepts entirely devoted to the ob- in eastern South Africa and the Pilbara greenstone belt in
servation of exoplanet atmospheres- will guarantee the char- NW Australia. The traces left behind by primitive life forms
acterisation of fainter targets, in particular telluric planets in these rocks exhibit a remarkable level of evolution, as far
in the habitable zone of their parent star. as can be interpreted from the chemical, isotopic and mor-
phological biosignatures. The information provided by
these biosignatures is, however, limited by many factors in-
cluding lack of preservation of certain species or whole com-
munities of microorganisms, severe degradation of the
14
organic molecules making up the microorganisms, lack of was of fundamental importance in the further evolution of
resolution in certain analytical techniques (specifically, iso- life since the energy produced by this process is far greater
topic), contamination of the ancient rocks by younger mi- than that produced by chemotrophic metabolisms. All these
croorganisms, and abiogenic precipitations mimicking processes occurred on an Earth that had very little free oxy-
simple microbial morphologies. Despite these limitations, gen. It is widely believed that one of the major causes of the
the early record of life documents an Earth that appears to appearance of oxygen in the atmosphere was the ability of
have been widely colonised by prokaryote-like microorgan- certain organisms to split the water molecule and to liber-
isms that lived and interacted with their immediate micro- ate oxygen during a more advanced version of photosyn-
cosms in exactly the same way as modern prokaryotes. thesis (oxygenic). This type of metabolism was even more
Organisms obtaining their energy from reduction-oxidation energetically-productive. Evidence from molecular fossils
processes of inorganic and organic substances colonised the suggests that this metabolism was established by 2.7 Ga,
surfaces of the volcanic rocks and sand grains (the early whereas certain microbial structures, such as large stroma-
Earth was characterised by volcanic rocks and detritus) and tolites existing in older rocks 2.8 Ga indicate that oxygenic
probably inhabited hydrothermal environments. The wide- photosynthesisers had already taken hold on the Earth. Fur-
spread development of microbial mats in shallow water lit- ther complexification of life required significant resources
toral environments suggests that life had also learnt how to in energy and, thus, the availability of oxygen.
obtain energy using sunlight (photosynthesis). This ability
Study Week on
BIOGRAPHIES OF PARTICIPANTS Astrobiology
John Baross. Professor, School of Oceanography and Center for Steven A. Benner received is B.S. and M.S. in Molecular Bio-
Astrobiology and Early Evolution, University of Washington, physics and Biochemistry from Yale University, and his Ph.D.
Seattle, WA. John Baross received a BS degree in microbiology in Chemistry from Harvard University. Following two years as
and chemistry from San Francisco State University and a PhD a Junior Fellow at the Harvard Socienty of Fellows, he served
degree in marine microbiology from the University of Wash- on the faculty of Harvard University, the Swiss Federal Insti-
ington. His research specialty is the ecology, physiology and mo- tute of Technology, and the University of Florida. He is
lecular phylogeny of microorganisms from hydrothermal presently a Distinguished Fellow at the Foundation for Applied
vent and subseafloor environments. Dr. Baross has particular Molecular Evolution and The Westheimer Institute for Science
interests in the microbiology of extreme environments and in and Technology, which he founded. His research seeks to com-
the significance of submarine hydrothermal vent systems for bine two broad traditions in science, the first from natural his-
the origin and evolution of life and for the possibility of life on tory, the second from the physical sciences. Towards this goal,
other planets in similar settings. Recently, he co-edited with his group works in fields such as organic chemistry, biophysics,
Woodruff Sullivan, Planets and Life – The Emerging Science of As- molecular evolution, bioinformatics, geobiology, and plane-
trobiology (Cambridge Press, 2007). Dr. Baross is a fellow of the tary science. He contributed to the founding of several new fields,
American Academy of Microbiology, an associate member of including synthetic biology, paleogenetics, and computational
the National Academy of Sciences, and a member of the Amer- bioinformatics. He co-chaired with John Baross the National
ican Society for Microbiology, the American Association for the Research Committee’s 2007 panel on the ‘Limits to Organic
Advancement of Science, The American Chemical Society, the Life in the Solar System’, advised the design of missions to Mars,
American Geophysical Union, and the International Society for and invented technology that improves the medical care of
the Study of the Origin and Evolution of Life. He has previously some 400,000 patients each year suffering from infectious dis-
served on several committees including service as co-chair of eases and cancers.
the National Research Council (NRC) Committee on the Ori-
gins and Evolution of Life (2000-2003), the Committee for a Re- Willy Benz was born on 6 July 1955 in Neuchatel. He stud-
view of Programs to Determine the Extent of Life in the Uni- ied physics at the University of Neuchatel and received his PhD
verse (2001-2002) and as a member of the Ridge Inter-Disci- in natural sciences at the University of Geneva in 1984 for his
plinary Global Experiments (RIDGE) Steering Committee and doctoral thesis in astrophysics. He then went on to do post-doc-
of the RIDGE Observatory Coordinating Committee. He also toral work at Los Alamos National Laboratory (USA) and at
served as chair of the NRC Task Group on The Limits of Organic Harvard University. In 1987 he was appointed assistant pro-
Life in the Universe (2004-2007) and as a member of the Steer- fessor at Harvard University. He later taught at the Universi-
ing Group for the Workshop on Size Limits of Very Small Mi- ty of Arizona and at the University of Geneva. Willy Benz has
croorganisms (1998-1999), the Task Group on Sample Return been a professor at the Physics Institute at the University of Bern
from Small Solar System Bodies (1997-1998), and the Ad Hoc since 1997, becoming institute director in 2002. His commit-
Task Group on Planetary Protection (1991-1992). Dr. Baross is ment to teaching and research was recognized in 1988 with
currently the chair of the Scientific Advisory Council (SAC) for the Milton Fund Award and a year later with the Thomas Tem-
the International Census of Marine Microbes (ICoMM) and a ple Hoopes prize for excellence in undergraduate teaching. In
member of the International Founders Committee, the ‘Deep 2005 he was named ‘Corresponding Member’ of the Interna-
Carbon Observatory’, sponsored by the Sloan Foundation. tional Academy of Astronautics. Since 2003 he has also been
15
Study Week on Astrobiology Biographies of Participants
a member of the Space Science Advisory Committee of the Eu- planet. He is currently leading the MEarth Project and is a mem-
ropean Space Agency, ESA. Willy Benz has been a member of ber of the NASA Kepler Mission Team. Each of these projects
the Swiss Science and Technology Council since 2004. aims to detect Earth-like planets that might be suitable
abodes for life beyond the Solar system. Dr. Charbonneau
Michel Blanc dedicated the early years of his scientific ca- earned his PhD in astronomy from Harvard University, and
reer to the Earth magnetosphere and ionosphere, first with received his undergraduate degree in math and physics from
models of electric field systems, then with global models of the University of Toronto. He was named an Alfred P. Sloan
the magnetosperic convection and of radiation belts. Since Research Fellow (2006-2008), and awarded the David and Lu-
the early 1990’s, he has obtained important new results on cile Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering (2006-2011),
planetary magnetospheres, in particular on plasma trans- the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (2006),
port and radiation belts in the highly axisymetric environ- and the Alan T. Waterman Award from the US National Sci-
ment of Saturn. He has played a lead role in the Cassini/Huy- ence Foundation (2009).
gens mission as an Interdisciplinary Scientist in Magnetos-
pheres and Plasma Science. He is lead European scientist on Shelley D. Copley obtained an A.B. in Biochemical Sciences
a mission (Europa Jupiter System Mission) to orbit Jupiter’s (1980) and a Ph.D. in Biophysics (1987) from Harvard Uni-
moons Europa and Ganymede. He is leading the efforts for versity. After post-doctoral work at MIT and the University of
structuring the planetary science community in Europe in the Colorado at Boulder, she joined the Department of Chemistry
context of the major science missions of ESA and the Euro- and Biochemistry at the University of Colorado at Boulder in
planet program. He is Vice-President for Research at the Ecole 1990. She moved to the Department of Molecular, Cellular and
Polytechnique of France. Developmental Biology in 2000. Research in the Copley lab
centers on the molecular evolution of catalysts and metabol-
Julie C. Castillo-Rogez is a planetary scientist in the Plane- ic pathways, beginning approximately 3.8 billion years ago
tary Ices group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California In- before the emergence of life on earth, and continuing to the
stitute of Technology. She received her PhD in geophysics from present day, when microbial evolution due to anthropogenic
Rennes University, France. She came to JPL in 2002 to partic- perturbations is still occurring. Projects that focus on evolution
ipate in the planning and implementation of observations by of protein enzymes address the evolutionary potential of promis-
the Cassini-Huygens mission at Saturn’s satellites. Since then, cuous enzyme activities, the assembly of novel metabolic path-
she has been involved in the science definition of several ways from multiple promiscuous enzymes, and the factors that
prospective missions to the outer Solar system, devising hinder the performance of enzymes that have recently been
measurements to determine the internal structure of icy recruited to serve new functions. Efforts to study the origin of
satellites. Castillo-Rogez is also an expert in the numerical mod- life, and specifically the emergence of proto-metabolic networks,
eling of small icy objects, satellites and asteroids. Her primary focus on the roles of mineral and small molecule catalysts un-
interest is the search for heat sources that can explain out- der simulated hydrothermal vent conditions and on the po-
standing properties observed at these objects. In order to bet- tential role of peptides as cofactors for ribozymes.
ter constrain tidal dissipation mechanisms in icy satellites, she
co-founded in 2007 the JPL Ice Physics Laboratory, and became Athena Coustenis is Director of Research at the Centre Na-
the study lead for the Planetary Tides Simulation Facility. This is tional de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) of France. As an as-
the first and only experiment in the world capable of meas- trophysicist she works in the field of Planetology at the Lab-
uring the dissipation factor of ice in the actual conditions of oratoire d’Etudes Spatiales et d’Instrumentation en Astro-
stress, temperature, and frequencies at icy satellites. She has physique (LESIA) of Paris-Meudon Observatory, France. Her re-
also been recently involved in the modeling of large water-rich search is devoted to the investigation of planetary atmospheres
asteroids, such as Ceres and Pallas, in order to evaluate the as- and surfaces, with emphasis on Titan, Saturn’s largest satel-
trobiological potential of these large protoplanets and mission lite. She has also contributed to an effort to uncover the na-
targets. For the past five years, Castillo-Rogez has co-organized ture of the atmosphere surrounding the extrasolar planets. She
workshops (e.g., Small Ice-Silicate Body Workshops in has led many observational campaigns from the ground us-
Winthrop, WA in 2006, 2008, 2009; The Science of Solar Sys- ing large telescopes (CFHT, UKIRT, VLT, etc) and has used the
tem Ices, Oxnard, CA, May 2008) to promote interdisciplinary Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) to conduct planetary in-
research pertaining to small icy objects. She is co-editing a vestigations. She is Co-Investigator of three of the instruments
monograph, the Science of Solar System Ices, that will summarize (CIRS, HASI, DISR) aboard the Cassini-Huygens space mission
the state of knowledge of ice properties relevant to Solar sys- to Saturn and Titan. The success of the mission has led her to
tem objects. devote most of her time to the analysis and interpretation of
the data recovered, using her own radiative transfer codes and
David Charbonneau is the Thomas D. Cabot Associate Pro- other analysis tools. In 2007 and 2008 she was Leading Eu-
fessor of Astronomy at Harvard University. His research focuses ropean Scientist for the study of a mission planned to return
on the development of novel techniques for the detection and to Titan and Enceladus for a thorough exploration called Ti-
characterization of planets orbiting nearby stars. As a grad- tan Saturn System Mission (TSSM). She has received several
uate student, he used a 10cm telescope to make the first de- NASA and ESA Group Achievement Awards for the Cassini-
tection of an exoplanet eclipsing its parent star, which yield- Huygens Program. She is also: President of the International
ed the first ever constraint on the composition of a planet out- Commission for Planetary Atmospheres and Environment (IC-
side the Solar system. Dr. Charbonneau was a founding mem- PAE); Member of the Committee of the Division of Planetary
ber of the Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey, which used a world- Sciences (DPS); President of the Division for Planetary Sciences
wide network of humble automated telescopes to survey hun- of the European Geophysical Union (EGU). She has organ-
dreds of thousands of stars to detect 4 more exoplanets by this ised/convened many planetary sessions in the International
technique. Dr. Charbonneau also pioneered the use of space- colloquia of EGU, IAMAS, AOGS, DPS, EPSC, Goldschmidt Con-
based observatories to undertake the first studies of the at- ference and IPPW. She teaches at a Post-Master level at Paris
mospheres of these distant worlds: In 2001 he used the Hub- VII University. She is a Head Guest Editor for several special
ble Space Telescope to study directly the chemical make-up of issues of Planetary and Space Sciences since 2003, and a mem-
the atmosphere enshrouding one of these exoplanets, and in ber of the Editorial Board of Astronomy & Astrophys. Reviews. She
2005, he led the team that used the Spitzer Space Telescope to has written more than 100 scientific papers and several arti-
made the first direct detection of the light emitted by an exo- cles for the public, as well as two books on Titan, with co-au-
16
thor Fredric Taylor (the most recent one is: Titan: exploring an Arizona Professor of the Year. Impey has written over thirty pop-
Earth-Like World, published by World Scientific Publishers in ular articles on cosmology and astrobiology and co-authored
2008). She has made several TV appearances in connection two introductory textbooks. His first popular book The Living
to Titan, Cassini and the extrasolar planets. She has delivered Cosmos, was published in 2007 by Random House; his second
many public lectures on Planetology and participated in tel- popular book called How It Ends, will be published in 2010 by
evision documentaries. She is actively involved in the prepa- Norton. He recently was a co-chair of the Education and Pub-
ration of the IYA09. lic Outreach Study Group for the Astronomy Decadal Survey
of the National Academy of Sciences.
Paul Davies is a British-born theoretical physicist, cosmolo-
gist, astrobiologist and best-selling author. He held academ- James F. Kasting Ph.D., FAAAS is Professor of Geosciences, Penn-
ic appointments at the Universities of Cambridge, London and sylvania State University. He is on the Editorial Boards of As-
Newcastle upon Tyne, until 1990, when he moved to Australia, trobiology and Geobiology. He is a member of the NASA Advi-
as Professor of Mathematical Physics at The University of Ade- sory Council Astrophysics Subcommittee. His research inter-
laide, and later as Professor of Natural Philosophy at Macquarie ests are atmospheric evolution, planetary atmospheres, and
University in Sydney, where he helped establish the NASA-af- paleoclimates. He has also considered the habitability crite-
filiated Australian Centre for Astrobiology. He joined Arizona ria of other stellar systems and planets and is broadly considered
State University in 2006 as Director of Beyond, a research cen- the world leader in the field of planetary habitability. Jim coau-
ter devoted to exploring the ‘big questions’ of science, such as thored The Earth System. The first book of its kind that addresses
the origin of the universe, the origin of life and the nature of the issues of global change from a perspective of Earth as a
time. His research has been mainly on the theory of quantum system, The Earth System offers a solid emphasis on lessons from
fields in curved spacetime, with applications to black holes and Earth history that may guide decision-making in the future.
the inflationary era of the very early universe. He was also one Jim was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Ad-
of the first to champion the idea that life on Earth may have vancement of Science in 1995, Fellow of the International So-
originated on Mars, and that there may be a shadow biosphere ciety for the Study of the Origin of Life in 2002, Fellow of Amer-
on Earth. Davies has written or co-authored 28 books. The most ican Geophysical Union in 2004, Fellow of Geochemical So-
recent, The Eerie Silence, is on the subject of SETI, and will be ciety in 2008, and Fellow of American Academy of Arts and
published early in 2010. In 1995 he was awarded the Templeton Sciences in 2008. He won the Oparin Medal from the Inter-
Prize for his work on the deeper meaning of science. He was national Society for the Study of the Origin of Life in 2008. He
also awarded the Faraday Prize by The Royal Society and the authored Ups and downs of ancient oxygen, and coauthored Hy-
Kelvin Medal by the UK Institute of Physics. In June 2007 he drodynamic planetary thermosphere model: 1. Response of the Earth's
was named a Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s thermosphere to extreme solar EUV conditions and the significance
birthday honors list. The asteroid 1992 OG was renamed (6870) of adiabatic cooling, Habitable planets around the star Gliese 581?,
Pauldavies in recognition of his work on cosmic impacts. Abiotic formation of O2 and O3 in high-CO2 terrestrial atmospheres,
Evidence for hot early oceans?, Paleoclimates, ocean depth, and the
Eric J. Gaidos is an Associate Professor of Geobiology in the oxygen isotopic composition of seawater, Atmospheric Composition
Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of and Climate on the Early Earth, and Palaeoclimates: the First Two
Hawaii at Manoa. He is also a graduate faculty in the De- Billion Years. Born January 2, 1953, Jim earned his B.A. (Sum-
partment of Oceanography, a research affiliate of the Institute ma Cum Laude) in Chemistry and Physics at Harvard University
for Astronomy, and a faculty member in the undergraduate in 1975. He earned his M.S. in Physics and Atmospheric Sci-
Global Environmental Science program. His research ranges ence from the University of Michigan in 1978 and his Ph.D.
from the evolution of microbial genomes and the emergence in Atmospheric Science from the University of Michigan in 1979.
of sociality and cooperation in biological systems, to the ex-
ploration of ‘extreme’ environments on Earth as analogs to ex- Joseph L. Kirschvink is the Van Wingen Professor of Geobi-
traterrestrial habitats and the search for planets around oth- ology at the California Institute of Technology, where he heads
er stars. Gaidos received his undergraduate and graduate de- a research group dedicated to the study of weakly magnetized
grees in physics from Caltech and MIT, respectively. He was a biological and geological materials. Besides conducting basic
postdoctoral fellow at the Center for the Detection of Life at science in rock and paleomagnetism, Joe has originated sev-
the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory before joining UH in 2001. eral hypotheses aimed at increasing our understanding of how
Gaidos is convinced of the importance of a sound public un- biological evolution has influenced, and has been influenced
derstanding of science and the role of science in public poli- by, major events on the surface of the Earth. His major con-
cy. In 2001 he was a visiting fellow at the Board on Life Sci- tributions include the discovery of tiny crystals of biological-
ences of the U.S. National Academies, and he teaches a post- ly precipitated magnetite in specialized cells of migratory and
graduate course on communicating science to the public and homing animals, which provides a solid biophysical basis for
science documentary film making. He is an independent film- understanding magnetic effects on animal behavior, and led
maker and his current project, ‘Glass: Four Centuries of Shap- to the discovery of this new category of sensory receptor cells.
ing Starlight’ will premier in January 2010 for the International Another of Joe’s ideas that is generating much interest recently
Year of Astronomy. is that the entire Earth may have actually frozen over sever-
al times in Earth history, resembling a ‘Snowball’, causing some
Chris Impey is a University Distinguished Professor and Deputy of the most severe crisis in the history of life on Earth. He and
Head of the Department, in charge of all academic programs. collaborators have also identified several episodes of rapid True
His research interests are observational cosmology, gravitational Polar Wander during Neoproterozoic time, which paved the
lensing, and the evolution and structure of galaxies. He has way for the Cambrian explosion of life.
160 refereed publications and 60 conference proceedings, and
his work has been supported by $18 million in grants from
NASA and the NSF. As a professor, he has won eleven teach- Andrew H. Knoll is the Fisher Professor of Natural History at
ing awards, and he has been heavily involved in curriculum Harvard University. He received his B.A. in Geology from Lehigh
and instructional technology development. Impey is a past Vice University in 1973 and his Ph.D., also in Geology, from Har-
President of the American Astronomical Society. He has also vard in 1977. Following five years on the faculty of Oberlin Col-
been an NSF Distinguished Teaching Scholar, a Phi Beta Kap- lege, Knoll returned to Harvard as Associate Professor of Biology.
pa Visiting Scholar, and the Carnegie Council on Teaching’s He has been a member of the Harvard faculty ever since, serv-
17
ing as Professor of Biology and Professor of Earth and Plane- search interests center broadly on the formation and evolu-
tary Sciences. Professor Knoll’s research focuses on the early evo- tion of planets and planetary systems, the nature of organics
lution of life, Precambrian environmental history, and, espe- in the outer solar system, and the processes that lead to the
cially, the interconnections between the two. Paleontological formation of habitable worlds. He is an interdisciplinary sci-
discoveries in Knoll’s lab include the microfossil assemblages entist on the NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini mission to Saturn, and on
of Svalbard, from which basic principles of Proterozoic pale- the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, as well as
oecology were developed; exceptionally preserved Mesopro- co-investigator on the NASA Juno mission under development
terozoic fossils from Siberia and northern Australia, which pro- for launch to Jupiter. He serves on the US National Academy
vide some of our oldest evidence of eukaryotic biology; and of Sciences Committee leading the Decadal Survey for As-
phosphatized, silicified, and compressed fossils from the Edi- tronomy and Astrophysics. Dr. Lunine is the author of over 200
acaran Doushantuo Formation, China, that record both ear- scientific papers and of the books Earth: Evolution of a Habit-
ly animals and a terminal Proterozoic radiation of algae. Knoll able World (Cambridge University Press, 1999), and Astrobiol-
has also applied insights gained from geobiological and pa- ogy: A Multidisciplinary Approach (Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2005).
leoenvironmental research on early Earth rocks to Mars, serv- He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advance-
ing on the science team of NASA’s MER rover mission that has ment of Science and of the American Geophysical Union, which
provided our first geologist’s-eye exploration of our planetary awarded him the James B. Macelwane medal. Other awards
neighbor. Additionally, Knoll chaired the subcommission of the include the Harold C. Urey Prize (American Astronomical So-
International Commission of Stratigraphy that established the ciety) and Ya. B. Zeldovich Award of COSPAR’s Commission
Ediacaran Period, the first new period of the geologic time scale B. He earned a B.S. in Physics and Astronomy from the Uni-
to be ratified in more than a century. Knoll is the author of the versity of Rochester in 1980, followed by M.S. (1983) and Ph.D.
2003 book Life on a Young Planet (Phi Beta Kappa Book Award) (1985) degrees in Planetary Science from the California Institute
and editor, with Paul Falkowski, of the 2007 volume Evolution of Technology.
of Primary Producers in the Sea. Professor Knoll’s honors include
the Honorary Fellowship in the European Union of Geosciences, Dante Minniti is Full Professor at the Department of Astron-
the Paleontological Society Medal, the Wollaston Medal of the omy and Astrophysics of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica
Geological Society of London, and membership in the US Na- in Chile, and Adjunct Scholar at the Vatican Observatory. He
tional Academy of Sciences. did the undergraduate studies in Astronomy at the Universi-
dad de Cordoba (Argentina), and obtained the PhD in 1993
Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, President of the Pontifical Com- at the University of Arizona (USA). He was Postdoctoral Fel-
mission for Vatican City State and President of the Gover- low of the European Southern Observatory in1993-1996, and
norate of Vatican City State, was born on 3 January 1935 in a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Postdoctoral Fel-
Novara, Italy. He was ordained a priest on 29 April 1960 and low in 1996-1998. He has been a member of the MACHO Col-
holds licentiates in theology and philosophy from the Pon- laboration since 1996, and of the SuperMACHO Collaboration
tifical Gregorian University, and a doctorate in canon law since 2001. He has obtained several international research
from the Kanonistiches Institut of the Ludwig Maximilian grants from NASA (USA), ALFA (European Union), CONICYT
University in Monaco, Germany. He entered the diplomatic (Chile), CONICET (Argentina), CNRS (France), ICTP (Italy), etc.
service of the Holy See in 1970 and served at the nunciature He was awarded the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship Prize
in Germany. In November 1974 he was called to Rome and in 2005 in recognition for his work on stellar populations. Last
served on the Council for Public Affairs of the Church. On 3 year he was appointed Director of Research and Doctorate of
October 1988, he was appointed titular Archbishop of Cae- Universidad Catolica, and was also awarded the Scopus Prize
sariana and secretary of the Administration of the Patrimony 2008 in the area of Physics and Astronomy. He is referee for
of the Holy See. He was ordained a bishop on 6 January 1989. the leading journals in Astronomy, and for national and in-
On 7 December 1995, he was appointed apostolic nuncio in ternational funding agencies, and has also been member of
Germany and concluded some diplomatic accords with the various scientific committees, such as the Scientific and Tech-
Länder. He was then appointed secretary for Relations with nology Committee of the European Southern Observatory and
States of the Secretariat of State on 7 October 2003, and in the Gemini International Telescope Allocation Committee. His
September 2004 and 2006 he represented the Holy See at the broad research interests include: Extrasolar Planets and As-
general assembly of the United Nations. On 15 September trobiology, Gravitational Microlensing, Globular Clusters,
2006 he was named president of the Pontifical Commission Stellar Populations, Stellar Evolution, Galaxy Formation and
for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vat- Galactic Structure. He is author of 202 refereed publications,
ican City State. Created and proclaimed Cardinal by Bene- that accumulate more than 6200 citations in the literature to
dict XVI in the consistory of 24 November 2007, of the date, yielding Hirsch_index = 43 (source: ADS). His recent book
Deaconry of Santa Maria Liberatrice a Monte Testaccio (St. Mundos Lejanos sold more than 1000 copies in one year. He is
Mary Liberatrice a Monte Testaccio). Member of: Congrega- currently leading the ESO Public Survey ‘VISTA Variables in the
tion for Bishops; Pontifical Council for Culture; Administra- Via Lactea’, and actively teaching and supervising students
tion of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See. and postdocs at Universidad Católica, and giving public As-
tronomy talks.
Christophe Lovis. I am a postdoctoral researcher in the ex-
tra solar planet group at the Department of Astronomy of the Raymond T. Pierrehumbert, who obtained his PhD from MIT
University of Geneva, Switzerland. I obtained my Ph.D. in As- in 1980, is currently the Louis Block Professor in Geophysical
tronomy and Astrophysics at the same institution in 2007. My Sciences and the College at the University of Chicago. He stud-
work has been mainly focused on the search for low-mass ex- ies the physics of climate, especially regarding the long-term
tra solar planets using in particular the HARPS instrument, evolution of the climates of Earth and Mars. He directs the Cli-
which has discovered the majority of super-Earths and ice gi- mate Systems Center, which was established with a $3.6 mil-
ants known today. lion grant from the National Science Foundation to develop
software for rapidly conducting advanced climate simulations.
Jonathan I. Lunine is Professor of Planetary Sciences and Pierrehumbert was an author of the Intergovernmental Pan-
Physics and a Galileo Circle Faculty Fellow at the University el on Climate Change’s Third Assessment Report (1997-
of Arizona, Tucson. He is the David Baltimore Distinguished 2001). He also was a member of the National Research Coun-
Visiting Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. His re- cil’s Panel on Abrupt Climate Change and its Societal Impacts
18
(2000-2001), and currently serves on the National Oceanic and the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, France. Within this team
Atmospheric Administration’s Panel on Abrupt change. Pier- he worked on many theoretical aspects of the modeling of ex-
rehumbert was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1996-1997. trasolar planets, on the interpretation of several observations
of giant exoplanets atmosphere using space telescope and on
Sean N. Raymond received his PhD in Astrophysics from the space observatory projects, such as Darwin, aiming at the char-
University of Washington (Seattle, USA) in 2005. He then spent acterization of terrestrial exoplanets. In 2008, he received a grant
four years as a researcher and NASA Postdoctoral Program fel- from the European Research Council (ERC) to start an inde-
low at the University of Colorado. Starting in November 2009, pendent research team in Bordeaux, on a project called
he is a full-time researcher for the CNRS at the Observatoire E3ARTHS (Exoplanets and Early Earth Atmospheric Research: THe-
de Bordeaux in France. His research focuses on the formation, ories and Simulations). The goal of this team is to develop the
habitability, and long-term evolution of planets both in the modeling tools that are necessary to explore the diversity of
Solar System and in other planetary systems. He also studies exoplanets and to understand the spectral and photometric
tidal effects on close-in planets which affect the orbital and ther- observations of exoplanet atmospheres that we are already able
mal evolution. to obtain. Another important topic of the team (which gath-
ers 5 permanent researchers, 3 postdocs and 3 PhD students)
Dimitar D. Sasselov is a Professor in the Astronomy Depart- is the evolution of the atmosphere of Earth during the first half
ment, Harvard University, a founding Director of the Harvard of its history, in particular in the context of the origins and evo-
Origins of Life Initiative, and a Senior Advisor in the sciences, lution of Life. In 2009, he received the Researcher of Year award
Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. Dim- of the French region Aquitaine.
itar Sasselov has been a professor at Harvard since 1998. He
arrived to the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Roger E. Summons is Professor of Geobiology in the Depart-
in 1990 as a Center post-doctoral Fellow. Between 1999 and ment of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at the Mas-
2003 he was the Head Tutor of the Astronomy Department. sachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to taking up that ap-
Dimitar was born in Bulgaria, and was educated at Sofia Uni- pointment in 2001 he was at the Australian Geological Sur-
versity, where he received his Ph.D. in Physics in 1988, almost vey Organisation, formerly known as the Bureau of Mineral
concurrently working on his degree at the University of Resources, Geology and Geophysics in Canberra. Over a pe-
Toronto, Canada, where he received his Ph.D. in Astronomy riod of 18 years at AGSO and BMR he was a member, then
in 1990. His research explores the many modes of interaction leader, of a research team studying the distinctive nature and
between radiation and matter: from the evolution of hydro- habitat of Australian petroleum and the evolution of the bio-
gen and helium in the early universe to the study of the struc- geochemical carbon cycle. At MIT his research group studies
ture of stars. He is very fond of unstable stars – ones that pul- the co-evolution of Earth’s early life and environment, lipid
sate regularly and allow us to determine distances to other biosynthetic pathways, hydrothermal ecosystems, biological
galaxies. Most recently his research has led him to explore the mass extinction events and the origins of fossil fuels. Profes-
nature of planets orbiting other stars. He has discovered a few sor Summons was awarded BSc (1969) and PhD (1972) degrees
such planets – with novel techniques that he hopes to use to in Chemistry from the University of NSW. He also undertook
find planets like Earth. He is the director of the new Harvard postdoctoral research in the Genetics Department at Stanford
Origins of Life Initiative – a multidisciplinary center bridging University and in the Research Schools of Chemistry and Bi-
scientists in the physical and in the life sciences, intent to study ological Sciences at the Australian National University, Can-
the transition from chemistry to life and its place in the con- berra. He was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Sci-
text of the Universe. ence in 1998, Fellow of the American Geophysical Union in
2006, Fellow of the Royal Society in 2008 and is author or co-
Sara Seager is the Ellen Swallow Richards Associate Professor author of c. 250 research papers in organic chemistry, geo-
of Planetary Science and Associate Professor of Physics at MIT. chemistry and geomicrobiology.
Before joining MIT in 2007, she spent four years on the sen-
ior research staff at the Carnegie Institution of Washington Jill C. Tarter holds the Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI (Search
preceded by three years at the Institute for Advanced Study in for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) and is Director of the Center for
Princeton, NJ. Her PhD is from Harvard University and her SETI Research at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Califor-
BSc in math and physics from the University of Toronto. Pro-
nia. Tarter received her Bachelor of Engineering Physics Degree
fessor Seager’s research focuses on theoretical models of at-
with Distinction from Cornell University and her Master’s De-
mospheres and interiors of all kinds of exoplanets. Her
research has introduced many new ideas to the field of exo- gree and a Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of California,
planet characterization, including work that led to the first Berkeley. She served as Project Scientist for NASA’s SETI program,
detection of an exoplanet atmosphere. She was part of a team the High Resolution Microwave Survey, and has conducted nu-
that co-discovered the first detection of light emitted from an merous observational programs at radio observatories world-
exoplanet and the first spectrum of an exoplanet. Professor wide. Since the termination of funding for NASA’s SETI program
Seager is the 2007 recipient of the American Astronomical in 1993, she has served in a leadership role to secure private
Society’s Helen B. Warner Prize. funding to continue this exploratory science. Currently, she serves
on the management board for the Allen Telescope Array, a joint
Franck Selsis works at the Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bor- project between the SETI Institute and the UC Berkeley Radio
deaux, a department of both the University of Bordeaux and Astronomy Laboratory. When this innovative array of 350 6-
CNRS. His research is dedicated to the origin, evolution of plan- m antennas begins operations at the UC’s Hat Creek Radio Ob-
etary atmospheres, in particular the atmosphere of extraso- servatory, it will simultaneously survey the radio universe for
lar planets and the Earth. Beside these main research fields, known and unexpected sources of astrophysical emissions, and
he contributed in a variety of topics such as interstellar and speed up the search for radio emissions from other distant tech-
prebiotic chemistry, meteor prediction and observation. His PhD nologies by orders of magnitude. Tarter’s work has brought her
(2000, University of Bordeaux), addressing the search for spec- wide recognition in the scientific community, including the Life-
tral signatures of life on exoplanets and prebiotic chemistry time Achievement Award from Women in Aerospace, two Pub-
on Early Earth is considered as the first PhD on Astrobiology lic Service Medals from NASA, Chabot Observatory’s Person of
defended in France. In 2004, after a 3 year postdoc in the Cen- the Year award (1997), Women of Achievement Award in the
ter for Astrobiology in Madrid, Spain, he obtained a CNRS per- Science and Technology category by the Women’s Fund and the
manent researcher position in the team of Gille Chabrier at San Jose Mercury News (1998), and the Tesla Award of Tech-
19
nology at the Telluride Tech Festival (2001). She was elected an team at the California Institute of Technology. In particular,
AAAS Fellow in 2002 and a California Academy of Sciences Fel- she focused her research on the detection of biosignatures in
low in 2003 (and CAS Scientific Trustee in 2007). In 2004 Time the atmospheres of terrestrial habitable planets, in support of
Magazine named her one of the Time 100 most influential peo- NASA mission concepts for exoplanet characterization, such
ple in the world, and in 2005 Tarter was awarded the Carl Sagan as the Terrestrial Planet Finder. In 2005, G. Tinetti was
Prize for Science Popularization at Wonderfest, the biannual San awarded an European Space Agency (ESA) fellowship to move
Francisco Bay Area Festival of Science. In 2006 Tarter became to Paris at the Institut d’Astrophysique and work on exoplanet
a National Advisory Board member for the Center for Inquiry’s atmosphere characterization, using the transit technique. Her
Office of Public Policy in Washington, DC. She is also a Com- idea to use Infrared transmission spectroscopy to detect mol-
mittee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal ecules in the atmosphere of transiting extrasolar planets, was
(CSICOP) Fellow. Tarter was one of three Technology, Education, proven to be successful by later observations with the Spitzer
Design (TED) prize winners in 2009. Tarter is deeply involved and Hubble Space Telescopes. In particular, G. Tinetti and col-
in the education of future citizens and scientists. In addition to laborators pioneered the detection of molecules such as wa-
her scientific leadership at NASA and SETI Institute, Tarter has ter vapour (2007), methane (2008) and carbon dioxide
been the Principal Investigator for two curriculum development (2009) in the atmospheres of hot, giant transiting exoplanets,
projects funded by NSF, NASA, and others. The first, the Life in the easiest targets to be observed by nowadays instruments.
the Universe series, created 6 science teaching guides for grades The discovery of methane, in particular, accomplished with
3-9 (published 1994-96). Her second project, Voyages Through colleagues Dr. Mark Swain and Gautam Vasisht from JPL, re-
Time, is an integrated high school science curriculum on the fun- ceived the Edward Stone Award and the NASA Group Achieve-
damental theme of evolution in six modules: Cosmic Evolution, ment Award in 2009. Among her activities, G. Tinetti is a mem-
Planetary Evolution, Origin of Life, Evolution of Life, Hominid ber of advisory boards expected to guide future optimal strate-
Evolution and Evolution of Technology (published 2003). gies to search for habitable worlds, such as the Exoplanet
Tarter is a frequent speaker for science teacher meetings and Roadmap Advisory Team, appointed by ESA, and the Blue Dot
at museums and science centers, bringing her commitment to Team, representing the European exoplanet community.
science and education to both teachers and the public. Many
people are now familiar with her work as portrayed by Jodie Frances Westall is Director of Research at Centre de Biophysique
Foster in the movie Contact. Moléculaire, Orléans, France (CNRS). Her research interests are
the geological context of the origin of life, scenarios for the ori-
Giovanna Tinetti is a lecturer at the University College Lon- gin of life, earliest evidence for life on Earth and the impor-
don and a Royal Society University Research Fellow. She co- tation of prebiotic molecules to the Earth, as well as the search
ordinates there a team on extrasolar planets since 2007. G. for life on Mars. She is the ExoMars Microscope co-Team Co-
Tinetti obtained a MSc and a PhD in theoretical physics from ordinator. Westall serves on the Comité de Programmes
the University of Torino, Italy, but her scientific interests slow- scientifique, French Space Agency (CNES), the European Sci-
ly shifted to Astrobiology and Extrasolar Planets during her PhD ence Foundation’s European space science advisory commit-
thesis with Prof. Luigi Sertorio. She then moved to the US in teeand the Mars Exploration Panel Advisory Group goals com-
2001, to join one of the NASA Astrobiology Institute team at mittee. Her BSc with Honors in Geology is from the Universi-
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. In those years she ty of Edinburgh, U.K., and her Ph.D. in Marine Geology is from
could complete her apprenticeship in planetary and atmos- the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
pheric science, thanks to the interaction with Prof. Yuk Yung’s
For the biographies of the other Academicians of the PAS, cf. Pontificia Academia Scientiarvm, Yearbook (Vatican City 2008), p. 15 ff.
20
Study Week on
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS Astrobiology
Prof. John Baross Prof. Eric J. Gaidos

University of Washington University of Hawai’i at Manoa
School of Oceanography and Center for School of Ocean and Earth Science and
Astrobiology and Early Evolution Technology, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics
Seattle, WA (USA) Honolulu, HI (USA)
Dr. Steven A. Benner Prof. Chris Impey

The Westheimer Institute for Science The University of Arizona
and Technology, Department of Astronomy and The Steward
Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution Observatory
Gainesville, FL (USA) Tucson, AZ (USA)
Prof. Dr. Willy Benz Prof. James F. Kasting

University of Bern The Pennsylvania State University
Physics Institute Department of Geosciences
Bern (Switzerland) University Park, PA (USA)
Prof. Michel Blanc Prof. Joseph L. Kirschvink

École Polytechnique California Institute of Technology
Palaiseau (France) Division of Geological & Planetary Sciences
Pasadena, CA (USA)
Prof. Nicola Cabibbo, President Prof. Andrew H. Knoll

The Pontifical Academy of Sciences Harvard University
(Vatican City) Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Cambridge, MA (USA)
Dr. Julie C. Castillo Rogez H.Em. Card. Giovanni Lajolo

California Institute of Technology President of the Pontifical Commission
Jet Propulsion Laboratory for Vatican City State and President
Pasadena, CA (USA) of the Governorate of Vatican City State
(Vatican City)
Prof. David Charbonneau Prof. Christophe Lovis

Harvard University Université de Genève
Department of Astronomy Observatoire Astronomique
Cambridge, MA (USA) Sauverny (Switzerland)
Prof. Shelley D. Copley Prof. Jonathan I. Lunine

University of Colorado at Boulder University of Roma, Tor Vergata
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Department of Physics
(CIRES) Rome (Italy)
Boulder, CO (USA)
Dr. Athena Coustenis Prof. Dante Minniti

Observatoire de Paris-Meudon Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
LESIA/CNRS Departamento de Astronomía y Astrofísica
Meudon (France) Santiago (Chile)
Prof. Paul Davies Prof. Raymond T. Pierrehumbert

Arizona State University University of Chicago
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Department of Geophysical Sciences
Tempe, AZ (USA) Chicago, IL (USA)
Rev. Prof. José G. Funes, S.J., Director Prof. Sean N. Raymond

Specola Vaticana University of Colorado, Boulder
(Vatican City) Center for Astrophysics
and Space Astronomy
Boulder, CO (USA)
21
Study Week on Astrobiology List of Participants
H.E. Msgr. Prof. Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, Prof. Jill C. Tarter

Chancellor SETI Institute
The Pontifical Academy of Sciences Mountain View, CA (USA)
(Vatican City)
Prof. Dimitar D. Sasselov Dr. Giovanna Tinetti

Harvard University University College London
FAS Department of Astronomy Department of Physics and Astronomy
Cambridge, MA (USA) The Centre For Planetary Sciences
London (UK)
Prof. Sara Seager Prof. Rafael Vicuña

Massachusetts Institue of Technology Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile,
Cambridge, MA (USA) Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas
Santiago (Chile)
Prof. Franck Selsis Dr. Frances Westall

Université de Bordeaux CNRS
Laboratoire d’Astrophysique (LAB) Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire
Bordeaux (France) Orléans (France)
Prof. Roger E. Summons

Massachusetts Institue of Technology
Department of Earth, Armospheric
and Planetary Sciences
Cambridge, MA (USA)
22
Study Week on Astrobiology Memorandum
Memorandum
1) Every day a bus will leave the Domus Sanctae Marthae at 8:45 for the Academy, fifteen minutes before
the beginning of the session. A bus will depart from the Academy after dinner at the end of the afternoon
sessions to take participants back to the Domus Sanctae Marthae. Lunch and dinner for the participants
will be served at the Academy every day except on Sunday, 8 November, when only dinner will be served
after the pilgrimage to the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi.
2) On Sunday, for those wishing to attend, there will be a day-trip to the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi,
where Mass will be held at 12:00, followed by lunch at the Franciscan Abbey. If you would like to attend,
please inform the Secretariat as soon as possible, and a bus will pick you up at 7:00 from the Domus
Sanctae Marthae.
Note
Please give your form for the refunding of expenses to the Secretariat at least one day before your de-
parture so that you can be refunded immediately.
5 November 2009 • (17)
23
Sede della Pontificia
Accademia delle Scienze
Seat of the Pontifical
Academy of Sciences
Chiesa di Santo Stefano (CASINA PIO IV)
degli Abissini
St Stephen
of the Abyssinians Church
Ingresso del Perugino Ingresso

The ‘Perugino’ gate Musei Vaticani
Entrance gate
to the Vatican Museum
Domus
Sanctae Marthae
Ingresso Sant’Uffizio
The ‘Sant’Uffizio’ gate Ingresso Sant’Anna
Altare Tomba S. Pietro
Altar of St Peter’s Tomb The ‘Sant’Anna’ gate
THE PONTIFICAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

CASINA PIO IV • V-00120 VATICAN CITY
Tel: +39 0669883451 • Fax: +39 0669885218
Email: [email protected]
For further information please visit:

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_academies/acdscien/index.htm
FRONT COVER:
The globe of Mars, hand-painted around 1916 by
Ingeborg Bruhn, is based on the maps
of Percival Lowell (Vatican Observatory).

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THE PONTIFICAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Introduction p. 3 Program p. 5 Abstracts p. 9

VATICAN CITY 2009

Benedict XVI, Angelus, St Peter’s Square,

A the rest of the cosmos: its major themes include

SATURDAY, 7 NOVEMBER 2009

SUNDAY, 8 NOVEMBER 2009

MONDAY, 9 NOVEMBER 2009

TUESDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2009

ronments span a wide range of chemical and physical con-

here has been great progress in the search and charac-

here is abundant evidence that large quantities of liquid

Formation of Earth-Sized Planets

from the Pilbara Craton obtained through the NASA

he search for life in the Universe relies on the thorough un-

Prof. John Baross Prof. Eric J. Gaidos

Dr. Steven A. Benner Prof. Chris Impey

Prof. Dr. Willy Benz Prof. James F. Kasting

Prof. Michel Blanc Prof. Joseph L. Kirschvink

Prof. Nicola Cabibbo, President Prof. Andrew H. Knoll

Dr. Julie C. Castillo Rogez H.Em. Card. Giovanni Lajolo

Prof. David Charbonneau Prof. Christophe Lovis

Prof. Shelley D. Copley Prof. Jonathan I. Lunine

Dr. Athena Coustenis Prof. Dante Minniti

Prof. Paul Davies Prof. Raymond T. Pierrehumbert

Rev. Prof. José G. Funes, S.J., Director Prof. Sean N. Raymond

H.E. Msgr. Prof. Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, Prof. Jill C. Tarter

Prof. Dimitar D. Sasselov Dr. Giovanna Tinetti

Prof. Sara Seager Prof. Rafael Vicuña

Prof. Franck Selsis Dr. Frances Westall

Prof. Roger E. Summons

5 November 2009 • (17)

Ingresso del Perugino Ingresso

THE PONTIFICAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

For further information please visit:

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