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| Bring Home the Sample |
| Topic: Mars |
06/10/11 |
| A Mars sample return mission has been a goal of NASA for decades. In a recent essay, Lou Friedman, former Executive Director of The Planetary Society, discussed the potential of pursuing such an ambitious project in the coming years. |
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| SETI Redux: Joining the Galactic Club |
| Topic: Alien Life |
05/24/10 |
| In this essay, David Schwartzman explains how we can communicate with intelligent aliens, finally making planet Earth a member of the Galactic Club. |
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| Life Versus the Volcanoes |
| Topic: Climate |
05/12/10 |
| Volcanoes play a major role in Earth's climate, as evidenced by the recent eruption in Iceland. Some volcanic activity that isn't quite as visible, like the ocean's version of the La Brea Tarpits off the Santa Barbara coast, also has an effect on life. |
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| 'HD 11964 d' by Any Other Name |
| Topic: New Planets |
04/19/10 |
| Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter... the names of planets in our solar system read like a "Who´s Who" of ancient mythology. What should we call the planets we find beyond our solar system? |
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| Sparkle of the Sea |
| Topic: Biosphere |
03/22/10 |
| The oceans are a vital resource for human society - and for the biosphere of Earth as a whole. However, climate change is have some dramatic effects on our oceans and seas. Increases in events like algal blooms are now being tied to global warming. |
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| Fuel to the Fire |
| Topic: Climate |
03/08/10 |
| Fires are a normal and healthy part of the natural cycle - yet the severity of duration of fire seasons seem to be on the rise. This could be due to a drier, warmer climate in some parts of the world resulting from changes in the global climate. |
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| Fury of the Earth |
| Topic: Climate |
02/22/10 |
| Astrobiology Magazine's climate blog, The Hot Zone, discusses the interconnection of Earth's natural systems and how vulnerable this makes us to the forces of nature. From violent earthquakes to thinning glaciers, we are only beginning to understand how our biosphere, climate and planet interact. |
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| Fiction´s Most Realistic Vision of Our Astrobiological Future? |
| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
01/26/09 |
| Visionary science writer Sir Arthur C Clarke, author of more than 100 books, died recently at the age of 90 in Sri Lanka. Once called ‘the first dweller in the electronic cottage´, his vision of an astrobiological future and its technology captured the popular imagination. In this essay from Astrobiology Magazine, European Edition, the science and culture of his novel, 2001: A Space Odyssey, is assessed. |
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| NASA's Astrobiology Origins |
| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
11/24/08 |
| Ten years ago, a new NASA program dedicated to the science of Astrobiology was born. |
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| If We Had No Moon |
| Topic: Moon to Mars |
10/29/07 |
| In this essay, Bernard Foing looks at the effect the Moon has had on the Earth, and explores how different our world would be if we had no planetary companion. |
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| Are Planetary Systems Filled to Capacity? (part 2) |
| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
08/20/07 |
| In this essay, Steven Soter examines computer experiments that simulate the gravitational interactions among planets over billions of years. These models suggest that the solar system is only marginally stable and is dynamically full, or nearly so. Adding another planet between the existing ones would make the system unstable, resulting in a collision or ejection of a planet. |
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| Are Planetary Systems Filled to Capacity? |
| Topic: Cosmic Evolution |
08/13/07 |
| In part one of this two-part essay, Steven Soter explains that planetary systems, including our own, hold as many planets as they can, and adding more planets may make them unstable. |
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| Pale Blue Dot III: An Astrobiological Field Report |
| Topic: New Planets |
11/27/06 |
| In this essay, David Grinspoon provides an overview of the "Pale Blue Dot III" workshop recently held in Chicago. While the overall scientific theme of the workshop was finding habitable Earthlike planets around other stars, communicating that science to the general public was also a major focus. |
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| Returning to Sample Mars |
| Topic: Mars |
09/04/06 |
| At the Viking thirtieth anniversary celebration, Noel Hinners pushed for a Mars Sample Return mission. "The science imperative for Mars Sample Return is equally compelling to what Viking was looking for," said Hinners, "and in many ways associated with some of the same goals related to life." |
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| Tulips on the Moon |
| Topic: Moon to Mars |
06/27/05 |
| Bernard Foing, Project Scientist for the lunar satellite SMART-1, discusses the steps we need to take to develop bases on the Moon. Growing flowers is one step towards making the lunar desert an oasis for human life. |
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| Earth's Childhood Attic |
| Topic: Moon to Mars |
02/23/05 |
| The moon is sometimes referred to as Earth's childhood attic, a rich repository of what the early terrestrial geology might have promised prior to the advent of life. Europe's Chief Scientist, Bernard Foing, looks at what the moon can tell us about our past. |
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| The Smart One |
| Topic: Moon to Mars |
02/21/05 |
| Bernard Foing, Chief Scientist for the European Space Agency, kicks off a regular essay series exclusive to Astrobiology Magazine. In this part, he takes a tour of the novel ion propulsion employed by the current lunar orbiter, SMART-1. |
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| Tides of Tectonic Forces |
| Topic: Geology |
01/06/05 |
| Science-fiction author, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, provides perspective on the tsunami disaster from his home in Sri Lanka. As one of the first to call for global satellite networks in 1945, his half-century legacy has played a key role in mitigating tragedies that offered few warning signs. |
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| Neo-Tugboats |
| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
09/30/04 |
| In an open letter, Apollo 9 astronaut Russell Schweickart questions whether a non-nuclear option for asteroid deflection isn't the more prudent path. |
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| Spooky Spaceflight |
| Topic: Missions |
08/07/04 |
| Once derided by Einstein as "spooky action at a distance", quantum entanglement could hold out the promise of a novel means of space propulsion, perhaps even making interstellar travel feasible. |
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| Dirty Dozen Wheels Down |
| Topic: Mars |
07/06/04 |
| Steve Squyres summarizes his first half-year on Mars, as the mission progressed from first images to twelve wheels roaming the red planet. |
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| Moon to Mars: What's Beyond? |
| Topic: Moon to Mars |
06/17/04 |
| A blue-ribbon Presidential Commission has released its research findings on how best to get exploration initiatives aligned to a future moon or Mars agenda. Their results highlight the educational potential and the significance of living off the land as humans go where robots have pioneered. |
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| Hayabusa Rounds Earth |
| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
05/21/04 |
| The Japanese mission to return asteroid samples to Earth performed a successful flyby of our home planet and moon, while this first-of-a-kind probe picked up speed towards its ultimate destination beyond Mars. |
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| Earth's Radio-Wave Halo |
| Topic: Alien Life |
08/26/03 |
| The Allen Telescope Array, planned for completion in the next few years, promises a robust and novel use of off-the-shelf radio dishes. Deployed in northern California, this dish array is one intriguing technology that Dr. Jilll Tarter describes. |
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| Search for Life in the Universe II |
| Topic: Alien Life |
06/25/03 |
| In this two-part essay, Director of the Hayden Planetarium, Neil deGrasse Tyson, reflects on the scientific and cultural implications of finding life elsewhere in the cosmos. |
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| Search for Life in the Universe I |
| Topic: Alien Life |
06/23/03 |
| In this two-part essay, Director of the Hayden Planetarium, Neil deGrasse Tyson, reflects on the scientific and cultural implications of finding life elsewhere in the cosmos. |
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| Anybody Out There? Part II |
| Topic: Alien Life |
12/16/02 |
| Famed neurologist Oliver Sacks is the author of many books, including "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" and "Uncle Tungsten". In this second of a two-part essay on astrobiology, Dr. Sacks muses on the possibility of life on other worlds. |
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| Anybody Out There? Part I |
| Topic: Alien Life |
12/09/02 |
| Renowned neurologist Oliver Sacks is the author of many books, including "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" and "Uncle Tungsten". In this first of a two-part essay on astrobiology, Dr. Sacks discusses his early fascination with the possibility of life on other worlds and the beginnings of life on Earth. |
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| SETI and the Search for Life |
| Topic: Alien Life |
06/02/02 |
| Christopher F. Chyba of the SETI Institute discusses the search for life in the Universe. Are we alone? |
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| Advances in our Understanding of Life |
| Topic: Origin & Evolution of Life |
08/20/01 |
| Over the past two decades, advances in a number of scientific disciplines have helped us better understand the nature and evolution of life on Earth. These scientific developments also have helped lay the foundation for astrobiology, opening up new possibilities for the existence of life in the Solar System and beyond. |
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| SETI and the Search for Life |
| Topic: Alien Life |
07/30/01 |
| Christopher F. Chyba of the SETI Institute discusses the search for life in the Universe. Are we alone? |
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