Astrobiology and Planetary Habitability

Course goals

Please note: the information in the course manual is binding.

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The course has the following scientific goals:

• Gain knowledge on the requirements for life on a planet. We will use the Earth as a starting point and compare with other solar system planets/moons and exoplanets.
• Learn about the types of environments that can provide these requirements, and how planetary evolution shapes environments.
• Formulate a literature supported hypothesis on one of the open questions in the field and present a proposal on how to test this hypothesis in a scientific poster.
• Discuss key concepts of the course supported by scientific literature and learn how to critically assess and evaluate competing arguments, including if we can and should extrapolate Earth's conditions when searching for life and habitable planets.

The course will help to develop the following transferable skills:

• Ability to work in a team - presentations within a group;
• Problem-solving skills - exercises in practical classes;
• Verbal communication skills - presentations;
• Initiative - independently find and investigate literature in preparation of the assignments;
• Explaining a specialist scientific topic to a broader scientific audience

Content

The course will cover the following topics:
 

1. Life’s requirements
2. Building a habitable planet: Solar System planet formation and evolution in a nutshell
3. Exoplanet systems
4. Current theories for the emergence of life
5. Earliest traces of life on Earth
6. Co-evolution of life and planet
7. Cycles on Earth and elsewhere
8. Formation of organic compounds
9. Biosignatures and the search for life elsewhere