Origin and Evolution of Life on Terrestrial Planets
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2010

The ultimate goal of terrestrial planet-finding missions is not only to discover terrestrial exoplanets inside the habitable zone (HZ) of their host stars but also to address the major question as to whether life may have evolved on a habitable Earth-like exoplanet outside our Solar System. We note that the chemical evolution that finally led to the origin of life on Earth must be studied if we hope to understand the principles of how life might evolve on other terrestrial planets in the Universe. This is not just an anthropocentric point of view: the basic ingredients of terrestrial life, that is, reduced carbon-based molecules and liquid H2O, have very specific properties. We discuss the origin of life from the chemical evolution of its precursors to the earliest life-forms and the biological implications of the stellar radiation and energetic particle environments. Likewise, the study of the biological evolution that has generated the various life-forms on Earth provides clues toward the understanding of the interconnectedness of life with its environment.

hydrothermal vents

bacteria

amino-acids

ultraviolet-radiation

Astrobiology

earth-like planets

galactic habitable zone

sediments

Radiation

permafrost

biosphere

stars

Organic molecules

Origin of life

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Publicerad i

Astrobiology

1531-1074 (ISSN)

Vol. 10 Nummer/häfte 1 s. 69-76

Kategorisering

Ämneskategorier (SSIF 2011)

Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi

Fundament

Grundläggande vetenskaper

Identifikatorer

DOI

10.1089/ast.2009.0374

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Senast uppdaterat

2025-03-09