1. The Italian National Project of Astrobiology—Life in Space—Origin, Presence, Persistence of Life in Space, from Molecules to Extremophiles
- Author
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Onofri, Silvano, Balucani, Nadia, Barone, Vincenzo, Benedetti, Pietro, Billi, Daniela, Balbi, Amedeo, Brucato, John Robert, Cobucci-Ponzano, Beatrice, Costanzo, Giovanna, La Rocca, Nicoletta, Moracci, Marco, Saladino, Raffaele, Vladilo, Giovanni, Niccolò, Albertini, Mariano, Battistuzzi, Julien, Bloino, Lorenzo, Botta, Piergiorgio, Casavecchia, Alessia, Cassaro, Riccardo, Claudi, Lorenzo, Cocola, Alberto, Coduti, Paola Di Donato, Ernesto Di Mauro, Luca, Dore, Stefano, Falcinelli, Marco, Fulle, Stavro, Ivanovski, Andrea, Lombardi, Giordano, Mancini, Michele, Maris, Luisa, Maurelli, Giuseppe, Murante, Rodolfo, Negri, Claudia, Pacelli, Isabella, Pagano, Davide, Piccinino, Luca, Poletto, Giorgio, Prantera, Cristina, Puzzarini, Sergio, Rampino, Caterina, Ripa, Marzio, Rosi, Monica, Sanna, Laura, Selbmann, Laura, Silva, Dimitrios, Skouteris, Andrea, Strazzulli, Nicola, Tasinato, Anna Maria Timperio, Andrea, Tozzi, Gian Paolo Tozzi, Trainotti, Livio, Piero, Ugliengo, Luigi, Vaccaro, and Laura Zucconi, Onofri, S., Balucani, N., Barone, V., Benedetti, P., Billi, D., Balbi, A., Brucato, J. R., Cobucci-Ponzano, B., Costanzo, G., Rocca, N. L., Moracci, M., Saladino, R., Vladilo, G., Albertini, N., Battistuzzi, M., Bloino, J., Botta, L., Casavecchia, P., Cassaro, A., Claudi, R., Cocola, L., Coduti, A., Di Donato, P., Di Mauro, E., Dore, L., Falcinelli, S., Fulle, M., Ivanovski, S., Lombardi, A., Mancini, G., Maris, M., Maurelli, L., Murante, G., Negri, R., Pacelli, C., Pagano, I., Piccinino, D., Poletto, L., Prantera, G., Puzzarini, C., Rampino, S., Ripa, C., Rosi, M., Sanna, M., Selbmann, L., Silva, L., Skouteris, D., Strazzulli, A., Tasinato, N., Timperio, A. M., Tozzi, A., Tozzi, G. P., Trainotti, L., Ugliengo, P., Vaccaro, L., Zucconi, L., Onofri S., Balucani N., Barone V., Benedetti P., Billi D., Balbi A., Brucato J.R., Cobucci-Ponzano B., Costanzo G., Rocca N.L., Moracci M., Saladino R., Vladilo G., Albertini N., Battistuzzi M., Bloino J., Botta L., Casavecchia P., Cassaro A., Claudi R., Cocola L., Coduti A., Di Donato P., Di Mauro E., Dore L., Falcinelli S., Fulle M., Ivanovski S., Lombardi A., Mancini G., Maris M., Maurelli L., Murante G., Negri R., Pacelli C., Pagano I., Piccinino D., Poletto L., Prantera G., Puzzarini C., Rampino S., Ripa C., Rosi M., Sanna M., Selbmann L., Silva L., Skouteris D., Strazzulli A., Tasinato N., Timperio A.M., Tozzi A., Tozzi G.P., Trainotti L., Ugliengo P., Vaccaro L., and Zucconi L.
- Subjects
Persistence (psychology) ,Extremophiles ,Exobiology ,Extraterrestrial Environment ,Origin of Life ,Origin of Life in Space ,Space (commercial competition) ,Astrobiology, Life in Space, From Molecules to Extremophiles ,Astrobiology ,Abiogenesis ,From Molecules to Extremophiles ,Extremophile ,Life in Space ,Origin of life, space, exobiology ,News and Views ,extremophiles ,Settore CHIM/12 - Chimica dell'Ambiente e dei Beni Culturali ,Settore FIS/05 ,Chemistry ,space ,Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous) ,Space and Planetary Science ,astrobiology ,from Molecules to Extremophiles in space - Abstract
THE ''LIfe in Space'' project was funded in the wake of the Italian Space Agency's proposal for the development of a network of institutions and laboratories conceived to implement Italian participation in space astrobiology experiments. Of primary concern for this project is the study of the origin of life in the Universe, a focus that will promote investigation into prebiotic chemistry in various possible scenarios, whether in polar or nonpolar solvents (e.g., Titan's environment). Such results will link with study of the effects of simulated space conditions on possible chemical bio- signatures. The limits of life as we know it will be investigated in ground-based experiments with microorganisms that have already demonstrated their resistance to extreme environments on Earth and to real or simulated space conditions. The potential survival of microorganisms will also be examined with up-to-date molecular methods. The ability of some microorganisms to produce atmospheric and surface biosignatures when exposed to simulated conditions will be tested and compared with the possible existence of bio- signatures on potentially habitable exoplanets. Furthermore, the search for potentially habitable exoplanets, with space- based observational methods, will be optimized by way of dedicated climate models with the capacity to predict the detectability of atmospheric biosignatures for a broad range of planetary conditions. The project embraces the four most important topics in astrobiological research, as listed below, along with relevant contributions from the participating Italian institutions. Origins and evolution of organic compounds of biological significance in space (comets, asteroids, rocky planets, and moons); Prebiotic syntheses, origin of life, and early life; The limits of life and biological habitability: origin, evolution and adaptation of life in extreme environments on Earth and in space; Biomarkers for life detection in the Solar System and on exoplanets.
- Published
- 2020