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Extraterrestrial Life

Tracer Bullet 07-9

 

 

Graphic: light and streak against backdrop of Mars.
Phoenix Mars Mission: Phoenix streaks through the martian atmosphere protected by its heat shield as it uses friction to decrease its velocity. Phoenix is designed to study the history of water and habitability potential in the Martian arctic's ice-rich soil. Graphic is from the NASA Web site.


SCOPE

Extraterrestrial life is life that originated any place but on Earth. Although its existence remains purely hypothetical, due to the lack of universally accepted scientific evidence, there are several hypotheses about how and where life might have emerged elsewhere in the Universe, and whether or not those origins resemble the origins of life on Earth. The idea that life, especially life with intelligence, might exist in other parts of the Universe is a very old one and the older conceptualization, that of a “plurality of worlds,” is represented across many cultures throughout civilized history from ancient texts to contemporary science fiction literature and film. Here on Earth the fascination with the idea of meeting and communicating with extraterrestrials is held widely by many enthusiastic supporters around the world.

Astrobiology is the current term used to encompass the related disciplines engaged in “the study of the living universe,” including the search for extraterrestrial life through in situ exploration, the use of spectroscopy of solar and extrasolar planetary atmospheres, and the perhaps more familiar search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

The search for life elsewhere in the Universe is influenced by our knowledge of life on Earth and vice versa. The presence of complex organic compounds has been observed in many bodies in space, linking the search for life on other planets to the search for understanding of the origins of all life. Within our own Solar System the focus of the search has been on Mars, Venus and a number of planetary moons, such as Europa.

The origin of all life and the search for its existence in extraterrestrial locales is the focus of this Science Tracer Bullet, an update of TB 82-4. Not intended to be a comprehensive bibliography, this compilation is designed to get the reader “on target.”

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INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC

Are we alone? In The Illustrated encyclopedia of the universe. General editor, Ian Ridpath. New York, Watson-Guptill Publications, 2001. p. 332-333.
   QB14.I588 2001 <SciRR>

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SUBJECT HEADINGS

Subject headings used by the Library of Congress, under which books on extraterrestrial life can be located in most card, book, and online catalogs, include the following:

Highly Relevant

EXTRATERRESTRIAL BEINGS
HUMAN-ALIEN ENCOUNTERS
LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS
PLURALITY OF WORLDS

Relevant

INTERSTELLAR COMMUNICATION
LIFE--ORIGIN

Related

ALIEN ABDUCTION
EXTRASOLAR PLANETS
MARS (PLANET) EXPLORATION
MOLECULAR EVOLUTION
RADIO ASTRONOMY
SPONTANEOUS GENERATION
UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS

More General

ASTROBIOLOGY
COSMOLOGY
EVOLUTION (BIOLOGY)
EXOBIOLOGY

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BASIC TEXTS

Extraterrestrial life. Sylvia Engdahl, book editor. Detroit, Greenhaven Press/Thomson Gale, c2006. 171 p.
   Includes bibliographical references.
   QB54.E9456 2006

Ferris, Timothy. Life beyond earth. New York, Simon & Schuster, 2000. 222 p.
   Text includes colored illustrations.
   QB54.F415 2000

Goldsmith, Donald, and Tobias Owen. The search for life in the universe. 3rd ed. Sausalito, CA, University Science Books, c2002. 573 p.
   Includes bibliographical references.
   QB54.G58 2002

Halpern, Paul. The quest for alien planets: exploring worlds outside the solar system. New York, Plenum Trade, c1997. 293 p.
   Bibliography: p. 273-284.
   QB54.H285 1997

Heidmann, Jean. Extraterrestrial intelligence. Translated by Storm Dunlop. 2nd ed. Cambridge, New York, Cambridge University Press, 1997. 243 p.
   Bibliography: p. 235-236.
   Translation of Intelligences extra-terrestres.
   QB54.H39613 1997 <SciRR>

Koerner, David, and Simon LeVay. Here be dragons: the scientific quest for extraterrestrial life. New York, Oxford University Press, 2000. 264 p.
   Includes bibliographical references.
   QB54.K54 2000

Parker, Barry R. Alien life: the search for extraterrestrials and beyond. New York, Plenum Trade, c1998. 254 p.
   Bibliography: 243-247.
   QB54.P33 1998

Shostak, G. Seth. Sharing the universe: perspectives on extraterrestrial life. Berkeley, CA, Berkeley Hills Books, c1998. 206 p.
   QB54.S56 1998

Shostak, G. Seth., and Alex Barnett. Cosmic company: the search for life in the universe. Cambridge, New York, Cambridge University Press, 2003. 161 p.
   QB54.S55 2003

Ward, Peter Douglas, and Donald Brownlee. Rare earth: why complex life is uncommon in the universe. New York, Copernicus, c2004. 335 p.
   Includes bibliographical references.
   QB54.W336 2004 <SciRR>

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ADDITIONAL TITLES

General

Astrobiology: future perspectives. Edited by Pascale Ehrenfreund and others. Dordrecht, Boston, Kluwer Academic Publishers, c2004. 512 p. (Astrophysics and space science library, v. 305)
   Includes bibliographical references.
   “ISSI Workshop (2003: Bern, Switzerland).”
   QH325.A77 2004

Astrobiology: the quest for the conditions of life. Gerda Horneck and Christa Baumstark-Khan, editors. Berlin, New York, Springer, c2002. 411 p.
   Includes bibliographical references.
   QH325.A78 2002

Basalla, George. Civilized life in the universe: scientists on intelligent extraterrestrials. Oxford, New York, Oxford University Press, 2006. 233 p.
   Bibliography: p. 209-227.
   QB54.B37 2006

Extraterrestrials--where are they? Edited by Ben Zuckerman and Michael H. Hart. 2nd ed. Cambridge, New York, Cambridge University Press, 1995. 239 p.
   Includes bibliographical references.
   "The purpose of a second edition ... is to enlarge upon and update issues that were debated in 1978 at a two-day symposium of the same name."
   QB54.E95 1995

Gardner, James N. Intelligent universe: AI, ET, and the emerging mind of the cosmos. Franklin Lakes, NJ, New Page Books, 2007. 269 p.
   Bibliography: p. 257-263.
   QH327.G37 2007

Jakosky, Bruce M. The search for life on other planets. Cambridge, New York, Cambridge University Press, c1998. 326 p.
   Bibliography: p. 310-323.
   QB54.J25 1998 <SciRR>

Jones, Barrie William. Life in the solar system and beyond. London, New York, Springer; Chichester, Eng., Praxis Pub., c2004. 317 p.
   Bibliography: p. 303-307.
   QB981.J66 2004

Origins: genesis, evolution, and diversity of life. Edited by Joseph Seckbach. Dordrecht, Boston, Kluwer Academic Publishers, c2004. 707 p. (Cellular origins, life in extreme habitats and astrobiology, v. 6)
   Includes bibliographical references.
   QH325.O6917 2004

Plaxco, Kevin W., and Michael Gross. Astrobiology: a brief introduction. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. 259 p.
   Includes bibliographical references.
   QH325.P57 2006 <SciRR>

Sagan, Carl. Carl Sagan's cosmic connection: an extraterrestrial perspective. Produced by Jerome Agel, new contributions by Freeman Dyson, Ann Druyan, and David Morrison. Cambridge, New York, Cambridge University Press, 2000. 302 p.
   Originally published: The cosmic connection. New York, Doubleday, 1973.
   QB54.S24 2000

Webb, Stephen. If the universe is teeming with aliens . . . where is everybody? fifty solutions to the Fermi paradox and the problem of extraterrestrial life. New York, Copernicus Books in association with Praxis Pub., c2002. 288 p.
   Bibliography: p. 275-282.
   QB54.W384 2002

Historical

Crowe, Michael J. The extraterrestrial life debate, 1750-1900. Mineola, NY, Dover Publications, 1999. 680 p.
   Bibliography: p. 560-657.
   Originally published: Cambridge, New York, Cambridge University Press, 1986.
   QB54.C76 1999 <SciRR>

Dick, Steven J. The biological universe: the twentieth-century extraterrestrial life debate and the limits of science. Cambridge, New York, Cambridge University Press, 1996. 578 p.
   Includes bibliographical references.
   QB54.D47 1999 <SciRR>

Dick, Steven J., and James E. Strick. The living universe: NASA and the development of astrobiology. New Brunswick, NJ, Rutgers University Press, c2004. 308 p.
   Bibliography: p. 287-293.
   QH325.D53 2004

Fontenelle, M. de. Conversations on the plurality of worlds. Translation by H. A. Hargreaves. Berkeley, University of California Press, c1990. 82 p.
   Bibliography: p. 75-82.
   Translation of Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes.
   QB54.F613 1990

Guthke, Karl Siegfried. The last frontier: imagining other worlds, from the Copernican revolution to modern science fiction. Translated by Helen Atkins. Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Press, 1990. 402 p.
   Includes bibliographical references.
   Translation of Der Mythos der Neuzeit.
   Q125.G96513 1990

Life on Mars

Bergreen, Laurence. Voyage to Mars: NASA’s search for life beyond Earth. New York, Riverhead Books, 2000.
355 p.
   Bibliography: p. 343-345.
   QB641.B467 2000

Chambers, Paul. Life on Mars: the complete story. London, Blandford, 1999. 221 p.
   Bibliography: p. 205-216.
   QB641.C43 1999

Cohen, Jack, and Ian Stewart. What does a martian look like? the science of extraterrestrial life. Hoboken, NJ, J. Wiley, c2002. 369 p.
   Bibliography: p. 346-353.
   First published in the United Kingdom by Ebury Press in 2002 under the title Evolving the alien.
   QB54.C64 2002

Exobiology in the solar system and the search for life on Mars: report from the ESA Exobiology Team Study, 1997-1998. Scientific coordinators: André Brack, Brian Fitton, and François Raulin. Edited by Andrew Wilson. Noordwijk, Netherlands, ESA Publications Division, c1999. 188 p. (ESA SP, 1231)
   Includes bibliographical references.
   QB54.E92 1999

Sawyer, Kathy. The rock from Mars: a detective story on two planets. New York, Random House, c2006. 394 p.    Bibliography: p. 373-375.
   QB54.S263 2006

For Younger Readers

Asimov, Isaac. Is there life in outer space? Revisions and updating by Richard Hantula. Milwaukee, Gareth Stevens Pub., 2005. 32 p.
   Rev. and updated ed. of: Aliens and extraterrestrials, 1995.
   QB54.A835 2005

Donald, Rhonda Lucas. Life on other planets. New York, Franklin Watts, c2003. 63 p.
   Includes bibliographical references.
   QB54.D66 2003

Doyle, Bill. The space explorer’s guide to the search for life in the universe. With Rachel Connolly, Ryan Wyatt, and Jim Sweitzer. New York, Scholastic, c2004. 48 p.
   QB54.D69 2004

Getz, David. Life on Mars. Rev. ed. New York, H. Holt, 2004. 85 p.
   QB54.G48 2004

Mist, Rosalind. Is there life on other planets? the planets of our solar system. Chicago, Heinemann Library, 2006. 48 p.
   Includes bibliographical references.
   QB501.3.M56 2006

Nardo, Don. Extraterrestrial life. San Diego, Lucent Books, 2004. 112 p.
   Bibliography: p. 97-99.
   QB54.N37 2004

Nardo, Don. The search for extraterrestrial life. San Diego, Lucent Books, 2006. 112 p.
   Includes bibliographical references.
   QB54.N3725 2006

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RELATED TITLES

Boss, Alan. Looking for earths: the race to find new solar systems. New York, John Wiley, c1998. 240 p.
   Bibliography: p. 221-232.
   QB820.B68 1998

Fenchel, Tom. Origin and early evolution of life. Oxford, New York, Oxford University Press, 2002. 171 p.
   Bibliography: p. 157-159.
   QH325.F42 2002

Luisi, P. L. The emergence of life: from chemical origins to synthetic biology. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, c2006. 315 p.
   Includes bibliographical references.
   QH325.L85 2006

Lurquin, Paul F. The origins of life and the universe. New York, Columbia University Press, c2003. 217 p.
   Bibliography: p. 201-203.
   QH325.L87 2003

Making contact: a serious handbook for locating and communicating with extraterrestrials. Edited by Bill Fawcett. New York, Morrow, 1997. 367 p.
   Includes bibliographical references.
   TL789.M238 1997

Michaud, Michael A. G. Contact with alien civilizations: our hopes and fears about encountering extraterrestrials. New York, Springer, c2007. 460 p.
   Bibliography: p. 378-449.
   BF2050.M532 2007

Ulmschneider, P. Intelligent life in the universe: principles and requirements behind its emergence. 2nd ed. Berlin, New York, Springer-Verlag, c2006. 310 p.
   Includes bibliographical references.
   QH325.U46 2006

Verschuur, Gerrit L. The invisible universe: the story of radio astronomy. 2nd ed. New York, Springer, c2007. 156 p.
   QB475.V47 2007 <SciRR>

Zubay, Geoffrey L. Origins of life on the earth and in the cosmos. 2nd ed. San Diego, Academic Press, c2000.
564 p.
   Includes bibliographical references.
   QH325.Z83 2000 <SciRR>

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SPECIALIZED TEXTS (REFERENCE WORKS)

Angelo, Joseph A. The extraterrestrial encyclopedia: our search for life in outer space. Rev. and updated. New York, Facts On File, c1991. 240 p.
   Bibliography: p. 227-230.
   QB54.A523 1991 <SciRR>

Annual review of astronomy and astrophysics. Palo Alto, CA, Annual Reviews, c1963- .
   Latest edition kept in SciRR.
   Also issued online: http://www.annualreviews.org/loi/astro
   QB1.A2884 <SciRR>

Darling, David J. The extraterrestrial encyclopedia: an alphabetical reference to all life in the universe. New York, Three Rivers Press, c2000. 513 p.
   QB54.D365 2000 <SciRR>

Hollar, David W. The origin and evolution of life on earth: an annotated bibliography. Pasadena, CA, Salem Press, c1992. 235 p.
   Z5322.E9H65 1992 <SciRR>

McConnell, Brian. Beyond contact: a guide to SETI and communicating with alien civilizations. Beijing, Sebastopol, CA, O’Reilly, c2001. 417 p.
   Bibliography: p. 401-402.
   QB54.M23 2001 <SciRR>

Shneour, Elie A., and Eric A. Ottesen. Extraterrestrial life: an anthology and bibliography. Washington, National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council, 1966. 478 p. (National Research Council, Publication no. 1296A)    Prepared under the guidance of the Study Group on Biology and the Exploration of Mars of the Space Science Board.
   QB54.S54 <SciRR>

Goodwin, Simon, and John Gribbin. XTL: extraterrestrial life and how to find it. London, Cassell & Co., 2001. 191 p.
   QB54.G63 2001 <SciRR>

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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

Conference on Chemical Evolution and the Origin of Life (7th, 2003, Trieste, Italy). Life in the universe: from the Miller experiment to the search for life on other worlds. Edited by Joseph Seckbach and others. Dordrecht, Boston, Kluwer Academic Publishers, c2004. 387 p. (Cellular origin and life in extreme habitats and astrobiology, v. 7)
   Includes bibliographical references.
   QH325.C76 2003

European Workshop on Exo-Astrobiology (2nd, 2002, Graz, Austria). Proceedings of the Second European Workshop on Exo-Astrobiology: 16-19 September 2002, Graz, Austria. Organized by the Space Research Institute (IWF) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, in cooperation with the Institute of Geophysics, Astrophysics and Meteorology (IGAM) of the University of Graz, and others. Editor, Huguette Lacoste. Noordwijk, Netherlands, ESA Publications Division, c2002. 625 p. (ESA SP, 518)
   Includes bibliographical references.
   "The Graz meeting was the second workshop of EANA, the European Exo/Astrobiology Network Association."
   QB54.E83 2002

International Astronomical Union. Symposium (213th, 2002, Hamilton Island, Qld.). Bioastronomy 2002: life among the stars: proceedings of the 213th symposium of the International Astronomical Union held at Hamilton Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Edited by Ray P. Norris and Frank H. Stootman. San Francisco, Published on behalf of the IAU by Astronomical Society of the Pacific, c2004. 576 p.
   Includes bibliographical references.
   Includes compact disk of the proceedings of the Australian-American Fulbright Symposium 2002: "Science education in partnership," held concurrently with the IAU 213 Bioastronomy conference.
   QB54.I57 2002 <MRC>

Trieste Conference on Chemical Evolution. (6th, 2000, Trieste, Italy) First steps in the origin of life in the universe: proceedings of the sixth Trieste Conference on Chemical Evolution, Trieste, Italy, 18-22 September, 2000. Edited by Julián Chela-Flores, Tobias Owen, and François Raulin. Dordrecht, Boston, Kluwer Academic Publishers, c2001. 428 p.
   Includes bibliographical references.
   QH325.T74 2000

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GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS

GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS can be identified and located by going to individual organizations’ Web sites, some of which are listed below in the section Additional Sources of Information, or by searching the Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications. Older government publications may be identified by using the Government Reports and Monthly Catalog indexes; selected indexes and publications are listed below.

Government Reports Announcements & Index (1946-1996)
   Z7916.G78 <SciRRI> and Electronic format
   (See also NTIS index on microfiche in SciRR.)

Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications (1895- )
   Z1223.A18 <SciRR> and Electronic format
   URL: http://catalog.gpo.gov/F (Jan. 1994- )

NTIS bibliographic database
   Index on microfiche (1964-1983)
   Uncataloged <SciRR>and Electronic format
   URL: https://www.ntis.gov

Scientific & technical information network (STINET) (1974- ; Full-text 1998- )
   URL: http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/prodsrvc/stinet.html and Electronic format

Selected Government Documents

The Blue Dot Workshop spectroscopic search for life on extrasolar planets. Moffett Field, CA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Ames Research Center, 1997. 39 p. (NASA conference publication, no. 10154) (NASA-CP-101154)
   URL: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19970018294_1997027715.pdf (2.57 MB)
   (The freely available Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view and print this resource.)

Graham, Robert W. Extraterrestrial life in the universe. Washington, NASA, 1990. 8 p. (NASA technical memorandum, 102363)
   Includes bibliographical references.
   URL: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS67361

Physical and chemical study of minerals and rocks containing low-Z compounds of interest to astrobiology and origin of life. Mountain View, CA, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Inst.; Washington, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1999. 14 p. (N20000033843)

Sandford, Scott A., and others. The AstroBiology Explorer (ABE) MIDEX mission concept using infrared spectroscopy to identify organic molecules in space. Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, Astrobiology Science Conference 2002.
   Document ID: 20070000527
   Online preprint: http://www.astrochem.org/pubs/Sandford2002_NASA_LAW.pdf (126 KB)
   (The freely available Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view and print this resource.)

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ABSTRACTING AND INDEXING SERVICES

Abstracting and Indexing Services that index relevant journal articles and other literature in the field are listed below. Consult a reference librarian for the location of abstracting and indexing services in the Science Reading Room.

The following print indexes are available in most public and academic libraries:

Astronomy and Astrophysics Abstracts (1969-2000)
   Z5153.A862 A&I <SciRR>
   An on-line version, without the summaries of the papers, is available in the database ARIBIB of the Astronomisches Rechen-Institut (http://www.ari.uni-heidelberg.de/aribib/)

Biological Abstracts (1926- )
   QH301.B37 A&I <SciRR>

International Aerospace Abstracts (1961- )
    TL500.I57 A&I <SciRR>

Science Abstracts (1898-1902)
   Q1.S3 A&I <SciRR>

Science Abstracts, Series A, Physics Abstracts (1966- )
   QC1.P46 A&I <SciRR>

Science Citation Index (1964- )
   Z7401.S365 A&I <SciRR> and Electronic format

The electronic indexes listed below may only be available at a large public or academic library. The Library of Congress has subscriptions to these resources which are available to on-site researchers at the Library of Congress. Consult a reference librarian for the location and format of abstracting and indexing services in the Science Reading Room.

Academic Search Premier
Applied Science & Technology Full Text
InfoTrac OneFile
ProQuest Science Journals & Research Library
Readers Guide Full Text
Web of Science
Wilson General Science Abstracts

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JOURNALS

Journals that often contain relevant articles include the following:

Acta Astronomica QB1.A1715
Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics QB1.A2884
Astrobiology QH327.A86
Astronomy QB1.A7998
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists TK9145.A84
International Journal of Astrobiology QH325.I49
Mercury QB1.M43
Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere: the Journal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life QH325.S68
Sky and Telescope QB1.S536

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REPRESENTATIVE JOURNAL ARTICLES

Caglioti, Luciano, and others. Astrobiology and biological chirality. Origins of life and evolution of the biosphere, v. 36, Dec. 2006: 459-466.
   QH325.S68

Cavicchioli, R. Extremophiles and the search for extraterrestrial life. Astrobiology, v. 2, Aug. 2002: 281-292.
   QH327.A86

Chyba, Christopher F., and Kevin P. Hand. Astrobiology: the study of the living universe. Annual review of astronomy and astrophysics, v. 43, Sept. 2005: 31-74.
   QB1.A2884

Fox, Douglas. Life but not as we know it: who says aliens have to be based on carbon and water? The search for ET just got a whole lot weirder. New scientist, v. 194, June 9, 2007: 34-39.
   Q1.N52

Grady, Monica M. Astrobiology: the search for life beyond the Earth. Geology today, v. 19, May 2003: 99-103.
   QE1.G5285

Hazen, Robert. What is life? If we encountered alien life, chances are we wouldn't recognise it--not even if it was here on Earth. New scientist, v. 192, Nov. 18, 2006: 46-51.
   Q1.N52

Kaltenegger, Lisa. Searching for Earth’s history among Earth-like worlds. Mercury, v. 36, winter 2007: 20-25.
   QB1.M43

Longstaff, Alan. Quest for a living universe. Astronomy, v. 33, Apr. 2005: 28-34.
   QB1.A7998

Raulin, François. Why an astrobiological study of Titan will help us understand the origin of life. Origins of life and evolution of the biosphere, v. 37, Oct. 2007: 345-349.
   QH325.S68

Reichhardt, Tony. Can we hear them now? Air and space Smithsonian, v. 22, July 2007: 24-27.
    TL501.A55257

Seager, Sara. Searching for signs of life. Astronomy, v. 34, May 2006: 62-67.
   QB1.A7998

Tarter, Jill. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Annual review of astronomy and astrophysics. v. 39, 2001: 511-548.
   QB1.A2884

Zimmer, Carl. Aliens among us: do we share our planet with alternative forms of life? Discover, v. 28, July, 2007: 62-65.
   Q1.D57

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SELECTED MATERIALS

Selected materials available in the Science Reading Room pamphlet boxes include the following:

Bova, Ben. Are we alone? In his Faint echoes, distant stars: the science and politics of finding life beyond Earth. New York, Morrow, c2004. p. 7-18.

Brownlee, Christen. Is anybody out there? Science news, v. 169, Jan. 21, 2006: 42-44.
   URL: https://www.sciencenews.org/node/21236

Dick, Steven J. Anthropology and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Anthropology today, v. 22, April 2006: 3-7.

Sacks, Oliver. Anybody out there? Astrobiology magazine. Part I - Dec. 9, 2002. Part II - Dec 16, 2002.
   URL (Part I): http://www.astrobio.net/alien-life/anybody-out-there-part-i/
   URL (Part II): http://www.astrobio.net/alien-life/anybody-out-there-part-ii/

Sagan, Carl. Extraterrestrial life: an idea whose time has come. In Carl Sagan's cosmic connection: an extraterrestrial perspective. Produced by Jerome Agel, new contributions by Freeman Dyson, Ann Druyan, and David Morrison. Cambridge, New York, Cambridge University Press, 2000. p. 192-198.

The world’s oldest bacteria. Based on a University of Copenhagen news release. Astrobiology magazine. Sept. 2, 2007.
   URL: http://www.astrobio.net/extreme-life/the-worlds-oldest-bacteria/

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ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Astronomical Society of the Pacific
390 Ashton Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94112
Telephone: (415) 337-1100
Fax: (415) 337-5205
URL: https://www.astrosociety.org/
   Publishers of Mercury magazine.

Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts
60 Garden Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Telephone: (617) 495-9059
URL: http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/

Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute
515 N. Whisman Road
Mountain View, CA 94043
Telephone: (650) 961-6633
Fax: (650) 961-7099
URL: http://www.seti.org/
   The mission of the SETI Institute is to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe.

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SELECTED INTERNET RESOURCES

Ebooks

An astrobiology strategy for the exploration of Mars. Washington, National Academies Press, c2007. 118 p.
   URL: https://www.nap.edu/catalog/11937/an-astrobiology-strategy-for-the-exploration-of-mars

Life in the universe: an assessment of U.S. and international programs in astrobiology. Space Studies Board. Board on Life Sciences. National Research Council of the National Academies. Washington, National Academies Press, c2003. 48 p.
   URL: https://www.nap.edu/read/10454/chapter/1

Web Sites

Astrobiology Magazine
   URL: http://www.astrobio.net/news-exclusive/?/modules.php
   Astrobiology Magazine creates feature-story content for the Astrobiology Program web site.

International Astronomical Union (IAU)
   URL: https://www.iau.org/
   Bioastronomy: Search for Extraterrestrial Life was established as Commission 51 of the IAU in 1982. The objectives of the commission include: the search for planets around other stars, the search for radio transmissions of extraterrestrial origin, the search for biologically relevant interstellar molecules and the study of their formation processes, detection methods for potential spectroscopic evidence of biological activity, the coordination of efforts in all these areas at the international level, and the establishment of collaborative programs with other international scientific societies with related interests.

NASA Astrobiology Institute
   URL: https://nai.nasa.gov/
   NAI is a virtual, distributed organization of competitively-selected teams that integrate astrobiology research and training programs in concert with the national and international science communities. The NAI is one of four elements in the NASA Astrobiology Program.

NASA Astrobiology Program
   URL: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/
   Information is provided at this site on specific elements of the Astrobiology Program; news articles, journal publications, and other documents about astrobiology; and events, missions, public education initiatives, and public outreach activities relating to astrobiology. Links are provided to sources of more detailed and in-depth information on various aspects of astrobiology.

Space Studies Board, National Academy of Sciences
   URL: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/ssb/
   The SSB provides an independent, authoritative forum for all aspects of space science and applications, and it serves as the focal point within the National Academies for activities on space research.

Open-Source Databases

ADS: The Smithsonian/NASA Astrophysics Data System
   URL: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/

ARIBIB: Astronomisches Rechen-Institut BIBliographical Database for Astronomical References
   URL: http://www.ari.uni-heidelberg.de/aribib/

GrayLit Network: A Science Portal of Technical Reports
   URL: https://www.osti.gov/node/43058

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
   URL: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp

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   May 3, 2017
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