Planet Formation and Panspermia: New Prospects for the Movement of Life Through Space

An in-depth view of the panspermia hypothesis examined against the latest knowledge of planetary formation and related processes.

Panspermia is the concept that life can be passively transported through space on various bodies and seed, habitable planets and moons, which we are beginning to learn may exist in large numbers. It is an old idea, but not popular with those who prefer that life on Earth started on Earth, an alternative, also unproven hypothesis. This book updates the concept of panspermia in the light of new evidence on planet formation, molecular clouds, solar system motions, supernovae ejection mechanisms, etc. Thus, it is to be a book about newly understood prospects for the movement of life through space.

The novel approach presented in this book gives new insights into the panspermia theory and its connection with planetary formation and the evolution of galaxies. This offers a good starting point for future research proposals about exolife and a better perspective for empirical scrutiny of panspermia theory. Also, the key to understanding life in the universe is to understand that the planetary formation process is convolved with the evolution of stellar systems in their galactic environment. The book provides the synthesis of all these elements and gives the readers an up-to-date insight on how panspermia might fit into the big picture.

Audience
Given the intrinsic interdisciplinary nature of the panspermia hypothesis the book will have a wide audience across various scientific disciplines covering astronomy, biology, physics and chemistry. Apart from scientists, the book will appeal to engineers who are involved in planning and realization of future space missions.

Branislav Vukotić obtained his MSc. and PhD from the University of Belgrade, Serbia. He researches the astrobiological history of the Milky Way using probabilistic cellular automata and N-body simulations. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Publications of the Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade and a vice-chair of the Management Board of the Astronomical Observatory in Belgrade.

Joseph Seckbach earned his MSc. and PhD from the University of Chicago and did his postdoc at Caltech, Pasadena. CA. He is retired from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and spent periods in research at the USA: UCLA, Harvard, Baton-Rouge (LSU); in Germany (Tübingen and Munich as an exchange scholar). He has edited a series of books “Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology” and has over 40 edited volumes for various publishers as well as about 140 scientific articles. His interest is in astrobiology and iron in plants (phytoferritin).

Richard Gordon is a theoretical biologist with a PhD in Chemical Physics from the University of Oregon, retired from the Department of Radiology, University of Manitoba in 2011. He is presently at the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab & Aquarium, Panacea, Florida and Adjunct Professor, C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth & Development, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Wayne State University, Detroit Michigan. His interest in exobiology (now astrobiology) dates from 1960s undergraduate work on organic matter in the Orgueil meteorite with Edward Anders. He has published critical reviews of panspermia and the history of claims of life in meteorites.