
The Living Universe
NASA and the Development of Astrobiology, First Paperback Edition
Rutgers University Press
Will be published approx. on 24. August 2005
Book
Paperback/Softback
328 pages
978-0-8135-3733-7 (ISBN)
Description
The Living Universe is a comprehensive, historically nuanced study of the formation of the new scientific discipline of exobiology and its transformation into astrobiology. Among many other themes, the authors analyze how research on the origin of life became wedded to the search for life on other planets and for extraterrestrial intelligence. Many scientific breakthroughs of the last forty years were either directly supported or indirectly spun off from NASA's exobiology program, including cell symbiosis, the discovery of the Archaea, and the theories of Nuclear Winter and the asteroid extinction of the dinosaurs.
Exobiology and astrobiology have generated public fascination, enormous public relations benefits for NASA, and--on the flip side of the coin--some of the most heated political wrangling ever seen in government science funding. Dick and Strick providea riveting overview of the search for life throughout the universe, with all of the Earthly complexities of a science-in-the-making and the imperfect humans called scientists. Their book will appeal to biologists, historians and philosophers of science, planetary scientists (including geologists), and an educated general readership interested in the investigation of life on other planets.
Exobiology and astrobiology have generated public fascination, enormous public relations benefits for NASA, and--on the flip side of the coin--some of the most heated political wrangling ever seen in government science funding. Dick and Strick providea riveting overview of the search for life throughout the universe, with all of the Earthly complexities of a science-in-the-making and the imperfect humans called scientists. Their book will appeal to biologists, historians and philosophers of science, planetary scientists (including geologists), and an educated general readership interested in the investigation of life on other planets.
Reviews / Votes
All that has happened in the brief history of astrobiology is but a prelude to some of the most important future discoveries in the history of science and philosophy. This book is the only place where you can find out what really happened in the struggle to make astrobiology respectable. - Frank Drake, senior scientist and director of the Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, SETI Institute ""This is a wonderful book by two of the best historians of biology in the business."" - Michael Ruse, author of Darwin and Design: Does Evolution Have a Purpose?More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Brunswick NJ
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
28 b/w illustrations, 11 tables
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
510 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8135-3733-7 (9780813537337)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Steven J. Dick is the chief historian at NASA and associate editor of the International Journal of Astrobiology. Among his books are Sky and Ocean Joined: The U.S. Naval Observatory, 1830-2000 , The Biological Universe, and Life on Other Worlds, which has been translated into four languages. James E. Strick is the author of Sparks of Life: Darwinism and the Victorian Debates over Spontaneous Generation. He is an assistant professor in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society at Franklin and Marshall College.
Content
Before the Space Age
The Big Picture: Cosmic Evolution and the Biological Universe
From Sputnik to Viking, 1957-1976
Organizing Exobiology: NASA Enters Life Science
Exobiology, Planetary Protection, and the Origins of Life
Vikings to Mars
Broadened Horizons, 1976-2000
The Post-Viking Revolutions
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
The Search for Planetary Systems
The Mars Rock
Renaissance: From Exobiology to Astrobiology
Epilogue: Astrobiology Science: Into the Great Age of Discovery?
The Big Picture: Cosmic Evolution and the Biological Universe
From Sputnik to Viking, 1957-1976
Organizing Exobiology: NASA Enters Life Science
Exobiology, Planetary Protection, and the Origins of Life
Vikings to Mars
Broadened Horizons, 1976-2000
The Post-Viking Revolutions
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
The Search for Planetary Systems
The Mars Rock
Renaissance: From Exobiology to Astrobiology
Epilogue: Astrobiology Science: Into the Great Age of Discovery?