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Implications for the Planets, a Scientific Strategy for the 1980'S THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS This PDF is available at http://nap.edu/18842 SHARE Origin and Evolution of Life: Implications for the Planets, a Scientific Strategy for the 1980's DETAILS 93 pages | 5 x 9 | PAPERBACK ISBN 978-0-309-30763-5 | DOI 10.17226/18842 AUTHORS BUY THIS BOOK Committee on Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution; Space Science Board; Assembly of Mathematical and Physical Sciences; National Research Council FIND RELATED TITLES Visit the National Academies Press at NAP.edu and login or register to get: – Access to free PDF downloads of thousands of scientific reports – 10% off the price of print titles – Email or social media notifications of new titles related to your interests – Special offers and discounts Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the National Academies Press. (Request Permission) Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Origin and Evolution of Life: Implications for the Planets, a Scientific Strategy for the 1980's Origin and Evolution of Life­ Implications for the Planets: A Scientific Strategyfor the 1980's Committee on Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution Space Science Board Assembly of Mathematical and Physical Sciences National Research Council NAS·NAE National Academy of Sciences Washington, D.C. 1981 AUG 1 2 1981 LIBRARY Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Origin and Evolution of Life: Implications for the Planets, a Scientific Strategy for the 1980's ?I ·01 O.:L c. ) NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report wasapproved by the Governing Board of the National ResearchCouncil, whose members are drawn from the Councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for theirspecial competences andwith regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to the procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council wasestablished by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the federal government. The Council operates in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy under the au­ thority of its Congressional charter of 1863, which establishes the Academy as a private, nonprofit, self-governingmembership corporation. The Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in the conduct of their services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. It is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. The National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine were established in 1964 and 1970, respectively, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences. Available from Space Science Board 2101 Constitution Avenue Washington, D.C. 20418 ii Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Origin and Evolution of Life: Implications for the Planets, a Scientific Strategy for the 1980's Space Science Board A. G. W. Cameron, Chainnan Shelton S. Alexander Ralph Bernstein Daniel B. Botkin Neal S. Bricker Richard C. Canfield Francis S. Johnson Robert Kretsinger Louis J. Lanzerotti Eugene H. Levy John Lewis Lynn Margulis Edward P. Ney Juan Or6 Laurence E. Peterson David Pines Louis Rancitelli Sean C. Solomon Stephen Strom Kip S. Thorne James A. Van Allen Robert M. Walker Carl I. Wunsch James W. Plummer, ex officio Robert W. Rummel, ex officio Laurence A. Soderblom, ex officio Staff Bruce N. Gregory, ExecutiveSecretary M. Hope Bell Richard C. Hart Dean P. Kastel ill Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Origin and Evolution of Life: Implications for the Planets, a Scientific Strategy for the 1980's Committee on Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution Lynn Margulis, Chairman (1977 -1980) Elso S. Barghoorn Robert H. Burris Harlyn 0. Halvorson Kenneth H. Nealson Juan Oro Lewis Thomas James C. G. Walker George M. Woodwell Ex ofr�eio A. G. W. Cameron Daniel Botkin, Chainnan (1980-1983) Con sultan ts Stanley Awramik Stjepko Golubic Robert C. Harriss Joel S. Levine Heinz A. Lowenstam John Stolz Tony Swain Charles Yentsch Gene E. Likens Stirling A. Colgate Mary Anne Carroll Theodore Dengler James E. Lovelock iv Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Origin and Evolution of Life: Implications for the Planets, a Scientific Strategy for the 1980's Foreword Thisdocument is one of a series prepared by committees of the Space Science Board (SSB) that developstrategies for space science over the period of a dec­ ade. Several reports in this series have been completed. Report on Space Sci­ ence 1975 (Part II, Report of the Committee on Planetary and Lunar Explor­ ation, which covers the outer planets); Strategy for Exploration of the Inner Planets: 1977-1987; A Strategy for Space Astronomy and Astrophygjcs for the 1980's {1979); Life beyond the Earth's Environment: The Biology of Living Organisms in Space {1979); Solar-System SpacePhygjcs in the 1980's: A Research Strategy {1980); Strategy for the Exploration of Primitive Solar­ System Bodies-Asteroids, Comets, and Meteoroids: 1980-1990 {1980); and Strategy for Space Research in Gravitational Phygjcs in the 1980's {1981). This document describes the emerging science of life as a planetary phe­ nomenon. It assesses the status of our knowledge of the origin of life on Earth and of the precursers of life elsewhere in the Galaxy. It also outlines ways in which we can use the capacity that space technology provides to study the biological processes that are important on a global scale in shaping the surface of the Earth and the composition of the atmosphere. The science of global biology is in its infancy, and much will have to be learned before the data are in hand to carry out defmitive global studies. This report identifies some of the questions that must be answered before these data can be effectively gathered and intelligently analyzed. The promises of global biology are great, and the challenges that must be met to realize these promises are substantial. The next decade holds the promise of seeing signifi­ cant progress in meeting these challenges. v Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Origin and Evolution of Life: Implications for the Planets, a Scientific Strategy for the 1980's vi FOREWORD The report of the Committee on Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolu­ tion was approved by the Board at its meeting of October 1980. The Board appreciates the efforts of the Committee and particularly its Chairman,Lynn Margulis, who devoted a substantial amount of her time over the past two years to bringing the report to its present state. A. G. W. Cameron, Chairman Space Science Board Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Origin and Evolution of Life: Implications for the Planets, a Scientific Strategy for the 1980's Preface The capability to look at the earth as a whole has been developed only recent­ ly. The space program, both by making us aware of the unity and uniqueness of the surface of the Earth (perhaps most clearly seen in the photographs of Earth taken by the astronauts on the moon) and by providing the technology to study the entire Earth from artificial satellites, has been a primary force in the beginnings of planetary biology. Space technology has also permitted comparative studies of planetary atmospheres and surfaces. These studies coupled with the growing awareness of the effects life has had on the entire Earth are opening new lines of inquiry in science. Diverse government agencies have responsibilities related to various aspects of Earth and its atmosphere. At present, no single agency is responsible for the quality and direction of the scientific research for the investigation of the Earth viewed as a planet-that is, as a unified interacting system. Our major recommendations focus on the need for coordinationof researchon the global level. Accordingly, many of our recommendations call for interaction be­ tween components of the scientific community and the NationalAeronautics and Space Administration. They involve requests for cooperation, informa­ tion, and mutual education so that satellitebome measuring devices may be most effectively applied to the understanding of Earth's surface processes. Interactions of several scientific disciplines, including chemistry, biology, geology, and atmospheric science, must occur in order that our understanding develops. No single discipline is adequate to the task. Although this report deals with work in the established field of chemical evolution (the nonbiological production of compounds in the universe pre­ requisite to the origins of life), we are attempting to point the way toward a vii Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Origin and Evolution of Life: Implications for the Planets, a Scientific Strategy for the 1980's viii PREFACE basis for a new scientific enterprise in planetary biology. The goals of plane­ tary biology, which include discerning the effects life has had on the atmo­ sphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere, are complex. The application of space technology to planetary biological analysis will be a difficult task . Thus we have only outlined herea courseof action (Chapter 3, Planetary Biology). We expect that a major future task will be to formulate specific scientific ques­ tions in this new fieldand to determine priorities for the research needed. Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Origin and Evolution of Life: Implications for the Planets, a Scientific Strategy for the 1980's Contents 1.
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