44921 - Astrobiology

Learning outcomes

Astrobiology is a relatively new science that seeks answers to the origins of life in the Universe. At the end of the course the student, following a multidisciplinary approach, will acquires solid scientific bases of the main topics in astrobiology. The geological conditions of the prebiotic Earth and the conditions for planetary habitability, the peculiarty of the planet Earth and the nature of life, its origin on Earth and its evolutionary history (in the first 1.5 billion years) will be discussed.

Course contents

Module I: What is Astrobiology. History of astrobiology and space exploration. Overview of Earth's formation and geological time. Conditions for habitability. Introduction to extreme environments, extremophiles, and terrestrial analogues. Seminar-style lectures with guest experts and thematic discussions.

Module II: Biosignatures and life detection techniques. Observation of various samples for the identification of biosignatures using optical microscopy, electron microscopy, X-ray macroanalysis, and Raman spectroscopy.

Readings/Bibliography

Lectures (pdf) will be available to the students immediately after the lessons, they will also contain suggestions for further readings (e.g. scientific papers) on the covered topics.

Other suggested books:

• Cockell, 2015. Astrobiology: Understanding Life in the Universe. Wiley-Blackwell, 472 pages.
• Cavalazzi & Westall, 2019. Biosignatures for Astrobiology. Springer, 347 pages.

Teaching methods

Lecture and seminars will be give in presence and via TEAMS.

Assessment methods

The exam will consist of a presentation of a written report supported by a PowerPoint (.ppt) file, which may be followed by a short oral examination to assess the course content. The examination committee will be composed of Prof. B. Cavalazzi.

Teaching tools

TEAMS rooms for seminars, PC, video projector,

Office hours

See the website of Barbara Cavalazzi