BOOKS & ARTS NATURE|Vol 451|21 February 2008 prevailing design there following the competi- S. Goldwater, the superintendent of New York missions beyond 2013 are unclear, especially in tion to rebuild the Hôtel-Dieu in Paris after the Hospital. Goldwater proposed a design in light of the recently released proposed budget disastrous fire of 1772. Florence Nightingale 1905 for an urban high-rise hospital exploit- for next year. supported pavilions, advocating hospital wards ing the new technologies of structural steel, Beyond , several moons in the outer with large windows between every two beds, but elevators and electric lights. Although never are worth exploring. Jupiter’s sat- criticized the design of the Royal Vic, where she built, the proposal was quickly followed by ellites Europa, Ganymede and Callisto are good felt that nurses on the wards would struggle to numerous designs for such multi-storey targets because they may have recently hosted observe their patients efficiently. hospitals. liquid . Saturn’s moons and Ence- Adams explores the important contribution With medicine progressing ever faster, ladus, targets of the ongoing Cassini mission, of Edward Stevens, arguably the first specialist Adams’ history reminds us why hospital archi- are of great interest because of the abundance architect of hospitals. Stevens trained at Mas- tects and physicians should work together to of organic molecules (especially on Titan) and sachusetts Institute of Technology and made optimize healthcare environments. ■ the potential for near-surface liquid water rigorous studies of European and North Ameri- D. Kirk Hamilton is an associate professor of (Enceladus). NASA is studying possible mis- can hospitals and the practice of medicine. architecture, and a fellow and associate director sions to these objects as a prelude to a major He designed, with Frederick Lee, numerous of the Center for Health Systems & Design at the push mission into the outer Solar System. hospitals across the United States and Canada College of Architecture, Texas A&M University, To explore these remote places and per- and wrote the influential guide The American College Station, Texas 77843-3137, USA. He is form science there, we need new technologies. Hospital of the Twentieth Century in 1918. Also the co-editor of Health Environments Research & Returning a sample of martian rocks and soil influential were physician consultants such as S. Design Journal. involves lifting the matter off Mars’ surface, sealed tightly enough to avoid releasing any captured organisms into the terrestrial environ- ment, and then flying the capsule back to . Quest for Spacecraft must survive harsh radiation fields around the giant planets and perform difficult manoeuvres deep within their gravitational : Our Search for Life in modern science’s development, key chapters wells to orbit or land on a satellite. the Universe deal with the origins of life, life in extreme These problems are solvable. But in our by environments and here on Earth. tight-budgeted times, technology develop- Random House: 2007. 416 pp. $27.95 The story then moves out into the Solar System ment is often of lower priority than maintain- and planets around stars other than our Sun. A ing ongoing missions and starting new ones. far-reaching final chapter tackles intelligent life, Ironically, having the new technology in hand Bruce Jakosky interstellar travel, and the meaning of the search at the start of mission development helps pre- From only one example, that of life on Earth, for life. Impey details current and future space vent budget overruns later on. It is shortsighted we have learned a lot about what makes a missions and extrasolar planet research. to skimp on innovation. We pay the costs later, planet habitable. We know how life functions, How is this exploration progressing and possibly in axed missions. how it may have originated and some types what lies ahead? Mars is arguably the best Recently, insufficient funding has postponed of environment that support its existence. Yet place to look for present or past life, given the key missions such as Terrestrial we do not know how widespread life might be. evidence for liquid water there and the planet’s Planet Finder and Mars Sample Return. NASA To do so we must extend our knowledge past proximity to Earth. Although many spacecraft and the science community must work together Earth, into the Solar System and beyond. have been sent, the future of the programmes is to address cost overruns and optimize research The possible existence of extraterrestrial life uncertain. Five craft currently send back data: within the funding available. Once we have a — be it in the form of microbes on Mars, bio- the exploratory robot rovers Opportunity and viable plan of action, we will be able to answer logical forms on planets orbiting other stars, Spirit from its surface, and orbiters Mars Odys- the questions that Impey has ably outlined, and or, frankly, UFOs and aliens visiting Earth sey, Mars Reconnaissance and Mars Express. continue the search for life elsewhere. ■ — is fascinating. Yet astrobiology is firmly sci- In the United States, the next missions are over Bruce Jakosky is professor of geological sciences ence-based rather than speculative and aimed budget or delayed, notably the Mars Science at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space at a curious public. Its major questions can be Laboratory (scheduled for a 2009 launch) Physics, University of Colorado, Campus Box 392, answered empirically with appropriate space- and the Mars Scout orbiter (now scheduled to Boulder, Colorado 80309-0392, USA. He is the craft and telescopes. To elucidate the origins of launch in 2013). Despite repeated calls for a author of Science, Society, and the Search for Life in life, we might ask for example, is Mars habitable? Mars Sample Return, plans for that or other the Universe. Can signs of life be found there or on moons such as Jupiter’s Europa and Saturn’s Titan? Are there Earth-like planets with environments con- NASA ducive to life around other stars? Might there be civilizations elsewhere in our Galaxy? If so, could we listen in on their conversations? These questions run through The Living Cosmos. Astronomer Chris Impey provides a broad, accessible context for his thoughtful, engaging and up-to-date take on the quest for extraterrestrial life. The start and the end of the book pose questions about the relationship between art and science, and the likelihood of extraterrestrials having either. The rest dwells mainly on the science. Starting with the historic foundations of the field during the copernican revolution and following the story through The icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa may recently have hosted water: could it support life?

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