NASA/JPL: Will We Know Extraterrestrial Life When We See It?

[bystander]

NASA Asks: Will We Know Life When We See It?
NASA-led Group Takes Stock of the Science
NASA | JPL-Caltech | Astrobiology | 2018 Jun 25

In the last decade, we have discovered thousands of planets outside our solar system and have learned that rocky, temperate worlds are numerous in our galaxy. The next step will involve asking even bigger questions. Could some of these planets host life? And if so, will we be able to recognize life elsewhere if we see it?

A group of leading researchers in astronomy, biology and geology has come together under NASA’s Nexus for Exoplanet System Science, or NExSS, to take stock of our knowledge in the search for life on distant planets and to lay the groundwork for moving the related sciences forward.

“We’re moving from theorizing about life elsewhere in our galaxy to a robust science that will eventually give us the answer we seek to that profound question: Are we alone?” said Martin Still, an exoplanet scientist at NASA Headquarters, Washington.

In a set of five review papers published last week in the scientific journal Astrobiology, NExSS scientists took an inventory of the most promising signs of life, called biosignatures. The paper authors include four scientists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. They considered how to interpret the presence of biosignatures, should we detect them on distant worlds. A primary concern is ensuring the science is strong enough to distinguish a living world from a barren planet masquerading as one.

Scientists Developing Guidebook for Finding Life Beyond Earth
University of California, Riverside | 2018 Jun 25

NASA Network Coordinates Search for Life on Exoplanets
University of Washington, Seattle | 2018 Jun 25

Astrobiology 18(6) June 2018

• Special Issue on Exoplanet Biosignatures

Exoplanet Biosignatures: At the Dawn of a New Era of Planetary Observations - Nancy Y. Kiang et al

• Astrobiology 18(6):619 (June 2018) DOI: 10.1089/ast.2018.1862

Exoplanet Biosignatures: Understanding Oxygen as a Biosignature in the Context of Its Environment - Victoria S. Meadows et al

• Astrobiology 18(6):630 (June 2018) DOI: 10.1089/ast.2017.1727
  arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1705.07560 > 22 May 2017

Exoplanet Biosignatures: A Review of Remotely Detectable Signs of Life - Edward W. Schwieterman et al

• Astrobiology 18(6):663 (June 2018) DOI: 10.1089/ast.2017.1729
  arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1705.05791 > 16 May 2017 (v1), 25 Jun 2018 (v3)

Exoplanet Biosignatures: A Framework for Their Assessment - David C. Catling et al

• Astrobiology 18(6):709 (June 2018) DOI: 10.1089/ast.2017.1737
  arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1705.06381 > 18 May 2017 (v1), 03 May 2018 (v3)

Exoplanet Biosignatures: Observational Prospects - Yuka Fujii et al

• Astrobiology 18(6):739 (June 2018) DOI: 10.1089/ast.2017.1733
  arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1705.07098 > 19 May 2017 (v1), 15 Dec 2017 (v2)

Exoplanet Biosignatures: Future Directions - Sara I. Walker et al

• Astrobiology 18(6):779 (June 2018) DOI: 10.1089/ast.2017.1738
  arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1705.08071 > 23 May 2017 (v1), 08 Aug 2017 (v3)

[bystander]

Where Medical Technology and Astrophysics Meet
University of Bern | Center for Space and Habitability | 2018 Jun 25

At the University of Bern, astrophysicists of the Center for Space and Habitability (CSH) teamed up with medical technology researchers to develop a new method to analyse spectra of atmospheres of planets beyond our solar system. The unusual collaboration applied an artificial intelligence tool to study the chemistry of exoplanetary atmospheres.

At the University of Bern, astrophysicists of the Center for Space and Habitability (CSH) teamed up with medical technology researchers to develop a new method to analyse spectra of atmospheres of planets beyond our solar system. The unusual collaboration applied an artificial intelligence tool to study the chemistry of exoplanetary atmospheres.

"The way Raphael Sznitman and his team look at images is very similar to the way astronomers are analysing images and we even speak roughly the same technical language,” Kevin Heng states: "Whether in astronomy or medical technology, we always try to understand the flaws of imaging technologies and improve them." Raphael Sznitman explains: "In my group we develop analytical methods that can be applied to different types of data." So, the two scientists decided to start a very unusual interdisciplinary collaboration and attempted for the first time to apply machine learning as a superior pattern recognition tool to analyse exoplanetary atmospheres. ...

Supervised Machine Learning for Analysing Spectra of Exoplanetary Atmospheres - Pablo Marquez-Neila et al

• Nature Astronomy (online 25 Jun 2018) DOI: 10.1038/s41550-018-0504-2
  arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1806.03944 > 11 Jun 2018