In uncovering the secrets of life's survival on the Earth, astrobiology has some found remarkably prosaic applications.
CNN: How the search for aliens can help sustain life on Earth
But in the early 1990s the tide slowly began to turn, and a new scientific discipline, astrobiology, was spawned.
No entry requirements are necessary for the part-time taster courses covering subjects such as philosophy, equine nutrition and astrobiology.
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Astrobiology offers a whole new paradigm for the conception of life on Earth.
As anyone who has seen the Discovery Channel broadcast knows, it did an excellent job of explaining astrobiology and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
The subjects covered are astrobiology and the search for extra-terrestrial life, equine nutrition, digital media, "critical thinking in global challenges", artificial intelligence and philosophy.
Their research, which is published today in the journal Astrobiology, could serve as a guide to future Martian exploration missions that are looking for indigenous Martian life.
The astronomers, whose research is detailed in the January issue of the journal Astrobiology, say the effects of tidal heating must be considered when determining an exomoon's habitability.
The work is reported in the International Journal of Astrobiology.
DiGregorio, who founded the International Committee Against Mars Sample Return, will present his new report later this month at an astrobiology conference in San Diego sponsored by the International Society for Optical Engineers.
Even so, the process of building so many formulas "helps us think about what life needs and what environmental requirements are necessary to support life, " said Carl Pilcher, director of NASA's Astrobiology Institute at Ames.
"There is no agreement by the astrobiology community on how to measure habitability, " said Abel Mendez, director of the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, who is working on several planetary indexing systems.
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