First Contact
Scientific Breakthroughs in the Hunt for Life Beyond Earth
by Marc Kaufman
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First Contact
“Before the end of this century, and perhaps much sooner than that, scientists will determine that life exists elsewhere in the universe. This book is about how they’re going to get there.” These words open First Contact, in which Marc Kaufman chronicles astrobiologists’ search for the origin of life on Earth and assesses the probability that it exists elsewhere in our universe.
Kaufman’s optimism is fueled by remarkable findings from Earth’s most extreme environments and from Mars missions, revealing that the conditions for life are far more common than was thought even a decade ago. The parched Atacama desert in Chile, the hydrothermal vents of Yellowstone Park and the ocean floor, and the dry valleys and deep glaciers of Antarctica, may resemble habitats on other worlds.
The author then turns our attention from Earth to the sky, noting the hundreds of exoplanets that have been discovered to date and noting ongoing efforts to analyze their potential habitability. We are getting closer to pinpointing planets that are both Earth-sized and located in their star’s “habitable zone,” where liquid water could exist on the surface. Closer to home, Jupiter’s moon Europa has a thick layer of ice over what is now believed to be a vast ocean of liquid and perhaps life-supporting water, and NASA and the European Space Agency have chosen it as the focus of a mission in the future. Additionally, missions to Mars that will exhaustively analyze soil for the building blocks of life are envisioned.
First Contact offers an exciting snapshot of a science transforming the image of our place in the cosmos.
Hardcover : 256 pages
Publisher: Simon and Schuster, Inc. ( April 05, 2011 )
Item #: 13-350210
ISBN: 9781439109007
Product Dimensions: 6.125 x 9.25 inches
Product Weight: 15.0 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
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