The Limits of Organic Life in Planetary Systems
National Research Council / Division on Earth and Life Studies / Board on Life Sciences / Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences / Space Studies Board / Committee on the Origins and Evolution of Life / Committee on the Limits of Organic Life in Planetary Systems
The search for life in the solar system and beyond has to date been governed by a model based on what we know about life on Earth (terran life). Most of NASA's mission planning is focused on locations where liquid water is possible and emphasizes searches for structures that resemble cells in terran organisms. It is possible, however, that life exists that is based on chemical reactions that do not involve carbon compounds, that occurs in solv...