Conrad P G, Nealson K H
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
Astrobiology. 2001 Spring;1(1):15-24. doi: 10.1089/153110701750137396.
The ultimate goal of a comprehensive life detection strategy is never to miss life when we encounter it. To accomplish this goal, we must define life in universal, that is, non-Earthcentric, measurable terms. Next, we must understand the nature of biosignatures observed from the measured parameters of life. And finally, we must have a clear idea of the end-member states for the search--what does life, past life, or no life look like (in terms of the measured parameters) at multiple spatial and temporal scales? If we can approach these problems both in the laboratory and in the field on Earth, then we have a chance of being able to detect life elsewhere in our solar system. What are the required limits of detection at each of those scales? What spatial, spectral, and temporal resolutions are necessary to detect life? These questions are actively being investigated in our group, and in this report, we present our strategy and approach to non-Earthcentric life detection.
全面的生命探测策略的最终目标是在遇到生命时绝不错过。为实现这一目标，我们必须以通用的、即非以地球为中心的、可测量的术语来定义生命。接下来，我们必须了解从生命的测量参数中观察到的生物特征的性质。最后，我们必须对搜索的终端状态有清晰的认识——在多个空间和时间尺度上，生命、过去的生命或无生命（就测量参数而言）是什么样子的？如果我们能够在地球上的实验室和实地解决这些问题，那么我们就有机会在太阳系的其他地方探测到生命。在每个尺度上所需的探测极限是多少？探测生命需要哪些空间、光谱和时间分辨率？我们小组正在积极研究这些问题，在本报告中，我们展示了我们非以地球为中心的生命探测策略和方法。
