Cold environments are common throughout the Galaxy. We are conducting a series of experiments designed to probe the low-temperature limits for growth in selected methanogenic and halophilic Archaea. This paper presents initial results for two mesophiles, a methanogen, Methanosarcina acetivorans, and a halophile, Halobacterium sp. NRC-1, and for two Antarctic cold-adapted Archaea, a methanogen, Methanococcoides burtonii, and a halophile, Halorubrum lacusprofundi. Neither mesophile is active at temperatures below 5 °C, but both cold-adapted microorganisms show significant growth at sub-zero temperatures (−2 °C and −1 °C, respectively), extending previous low-temperature limits for both species by 4–5 °C. At low temperatures, both H. lacusprofundi and M. burtonii form multicellular aggregates, which appear to be embedded in extracellular polymeric substances. This is the first detection of this phenomenon in Antarctic species of Archaea at cold temperatures. The low-temperature limits for both psychrophilic species fall within the temperature range experienced on present-day Mars and could permit survival and growth, particularly in sub-surface environments. We also discuss the results of our experiments in the context of known exoplanet systems, several of which include planets that intersect the Habitable Zone. In most cases, those planets follow orbits with significant eccentricity, leading to substantial temperature excursions. However, a handful of the known gas giant exoplanets could potentially harbour habitable terrestrial moons.

We propose that nanophase iron-oxide-bearing materials provided important niches for ancient photosynthetic microbes on the Earth that ultimately led to the oxygenation of the Earth's atmosphere and the formation of iron-oxide deposits. Atmospheric oxygen and ozone attenuate ultraviolet radiation on the Earth today providing substantial protection for photosynthetic organisms. With ultraviolet radiation fluxes likely to have been even higher on the early Earth than today, accessing solar radiation was particularly risky for early organisms. Yet, we know that photosynthesis arose early and played a critical role in subsequent evolution. Of primary importance was protection below 290 nm, where peak nucleic acid (~260 nm) and protein (~280 nm) absorptions occur. Nanophase ferric oxide/oxyhydroxide minerals absorb, and thus block, the lethal ultraviolet radiation, while transmitting light through much of the visible and near-infrared regions of interest to photosynthesis (400 to 1100 nm). Furthermore, they were available in early environments, and are synthesized by many organisms. Based on experiments using nanophase ferric oxide/oxyhydroxide minerals as a sunscreen for photosynthetic microbes, we suggest that iron, an abundant element widely used in biological mechanisms, may have provided the protection that early organisms needed in order to be able to use photosynthetically active radiation while being protected from ultraviolet-induced damage. The results of this study are broadly applicable to astrobiology because of the abundance of iron in other potentially habitable bodies and the evolutionary pressure to utilize solar radiation when available as an energy source. This model could apply to a potential life form on Mars or other bodies where liquid water and ultraviolet radiation could have been present at significant levels. Based on ferric oxide/oxyhydroxide spectral properties, likely geologic processes, and the results of experiments with the photosynthetic organisms, Euglena sp. and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, we propose a scenario where photosynthesis, and ultimately the oxygenation of the atmosphere, depended on the protection of early microbes by nanophase ferric oxides/oxyhydroxides.

The 19th century saw sweeping changes for the development of astrobiology, both in the constituency of empirical science encroaching upon all aspects of life and in the evolution of ideas, with Lyell's Principles of Geology radically raising expectation of the true age of the Earth and the drama of Darwinism questioning biblically literalist accounts of natural history. This paper considers the popular culture spun on the crackling loom of the emergent aspects of astrobiology of the day: Edward Bulwer-Lytton's The Coming Race (1871), which foretold the race of the future, and satirist Samuel Butler's anticipation of machine intelligence, ‘Darwin Among the Machines’, in his Erewhon (1872). Finally, we look at the way Darwin, Huxley and natural selection travelled into space with French astronomer Camille Flammarion's immensely popular Récits de l'infini (Stories of Infinity, 1872), and the social Darwinism of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine (1895) and The War of the Worlds (1898). These works of popular culture presented an effective and inspiring communication of science; their crucial discourse was the reducible gap between the new worlds uncovered by science and exploration and the fantastic strange worlds of the imagination. As such they exemplify a way in which the culture and science of popular astrobiology can be fused.

The Astrobiology Society of Britain (http://www.astrobiologysociety.org/) held its second conference (Life Here, There and Everywhere) in April 2006. The meeting was hosted by the University of Kent and took place on campus in Canterbury from 18–21 April. A total of 48 abstracts were submitted to the meeting. The final schedule featured 35 talks and 14 posters on a range of topics which included Mars, the Moon, comets, exoplanets, impacts, outreach and analytic techniques – all with an astrobiology flavour. With 62 attendees (including overseas delegates from Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Australia and the United States) the meeting also allowed for strong social interaction (and the building of new collaborations and networking) as well as showcasing ongoing research in the field.

The WASP consortium is conducting an ultra-wide field survey of stars between 8–15 mag from both hemispheres. Our primary science goal is to detect extra-solar ‘hot-Jupiter’-type planets that eclipse (or transit) bright host stars and for which further detailed investigation will be possible. We summarize the design of the SuperWASP instruments and describe the first results from our northern station SW-N, sited in La Palma, Canary Islands. Our second station, which began operations this year, is located at the South African Astronomical Observatory. Between April and September, 2004, SW-N continuously observed ~6.7 million stars. The consortium's custom-written, fully automated data reduction pipeline has been used to process these data, and the information is now stored in the project archive, held by the Leicester database and archive service (LEDAS). We have applied a sophisticated, automated algorithm to identify the low-amplitude (~0.01 mag), brief (~few hours) signatures of transiting exoplanets. In addition, we have assessed each candidate in the light of all available catalogue information in order to reject data artefacts and astrophysical false positive detections. The highest priority candidates are currently being subjected to further observations in order to select the true planets. Once the exoplanets are confirmed, a host of exciting opportunities are open to us. In this paper, we describe two techniques that exploit the transits in order to detect other objects within the same system. The first involves determining precise epochs for a sequence of transit events in order to detect the small timing variations caused by the gravitational pull of other planets in the same system. The second method employs ultra-high precision photometry of the transits to detect the deviations caused by the presence of exoplanetary moons. Both of these techniques are capable of detecting objects the size of terrestrial planets.

NASA's Stardust mission flew through the coma of comet Wild 2 in January 2004, capturing dust grains as it did so. The grains were returned safely to Earth in January 2006, and are in the process of being distributed to investigators. As members of the Spectroscopy Preliminary Examination Team, we are preparing to analyse Stardust grains. Our contribution is to measure the spectrum of the grains between 200 nm (in the near ultraviolet) and 800 nm (near infrared). The purpose of the measurement is to provide an additional technique for characterizing the grains, one that is complementary to other spectroscopic techniques and one that produces results that can be matched directly with spectra acquired remotely (with telescope or spacecraft instrumentation). As part of the preparation for analysis of Stardust materials, we are producing a database of spectra from appropriate minerals, and are honing the technique through analysis of primitive meteorites.

This paper delineates the cultural evolution of the ancient idea of a plurality of inhabited worlds, and traces its development through to contemporary extraterrestrialism, with its foundation in the physical determinism of cosmology, and its attendant myths of alien contact drawn from examples of British film and fiction. We shall see that, in the evolving debate of the existence of extraterrestrial life and intelligence, science and science fiction have benefited from an increasingly symbiotic relationship. Modern extraterrestrialism has influenced both the scientific searches for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), and become one of the most pervasive cultural myths of the 20th century. Not only has pluralism found a voice in fiction through the alien, but fiction has also inspired science to broach questions in the real world.

A number of studies have demonstrated that bacteria and fungi are present in the stratosphere. Since the tropopause is generally regarded as a barrier to the upward movement of particles it is difficult to see how such microorganisms can reach heights above 17 km. Volcanoes provide an obvious means by which this could be achieved, but these occur infrequently and any microorganisms entering the stratosphere from this source will rapidly fall out of the stratosphere. Here, we suggest mechanisms by which microorganisms might reach the stratosphere on a more regular basis; such mechanisms are, however, likely only to explain how micrometre to submicrometre particles could be elevated into the stratosphere. Intriguingly, clumps of bacteria of size in excess of 10 μm have been found in stratospheric samples. It is difficult to understand how such clumps could be ejected from the Earth to this height, suggesting that such bacterial masses may be incoming to Earth. We suggest that the stratospheric microflora is made up of two components: (a) a mixed population of bacteria and fungi derived from Earth, which can occasionally be cultured; and (b) a population made up of clumps of, viable but non-culturable, bacteria which are too large to have originated from Earth; these, we suggest, have arrived in the stratosphere from space. Finally, we speculate on the possibility that the transfer of bacteria from the Earth to the highly mutagenic stratosphere may have played a role in bacterial evolution.

We discuss whether sulphur traces on Jupiter's moon Europa could be of biogenic origin. The compounds detected by the Galileo mission have been conjectured to be endogenic, most likely of cryovolcanic origin, due to their non-uniform distribution in patches. The Galileo space probe first detected the sulphur compounds, as well as revealing that this moon almost certainly has a volcanically heated and potentially habitable ocean hiding beneath a surface layer of ice. In planning future exploration of Europa there are options for sorting out the source of the surficial sulphur. For instance, one possibility is searching for the sulphur source in the context of the study of the Europa Microprobe In Situ Explorer (EMPIE), which has been framed within the Jovian Minisat Explorer Technology Reference Study (ESA). It is conceivable that sulphur may have come from the nearby moon Io, where sulphur and other volcanic elements are abundant. Secondly, volcanic eruptions in Europa's seafloor may have brought sulphur to the surface. Can waste products rising from bacterial colonies beneath the icy surface be a third alternative significant factor in the sulphur patches on the Europan surface? Provided that microorganisms on Europa have the same biochemical pathways as those on Earth, over geologic time it is possible that autochthonous microbes can add substantially to the sulphur deposits on the surface of Europa. We discuss possible interpretations of the non-water-ice elements (especially the sulphur compound mercaptan) in the context of the studies for future missions. To achieve reliable biosignatures it seems essential to go back to Europa. Our work highlights the type of biogenic signatures that can be searched for when probing Europa's icy and patchy surface.

Collisions amongst comets create belts of orbiting debris and, by using submillimetre wavelength observations, these collision zones can be imaged around nearby stars. An image of the closest Solar analogue, τ Ceti, shows that it possesses at least 20 times the content of the outer Solar System in cool debris particles. The inferred population of parent colliders is around 1 M[oplus ], also much larger than in the Sun's Kuiper Belt of comets. This system represents a different evolutionary outcome for a Sun-like star, with no Jupiter-like planet but many cometary bodies, and thus a potentially heavy and prolonged history of impacts on any inner terrestrial planets. Since τ Ceti is 10 Gyr old, life would have had to deal with massive bombardment over very long timescales. Furthermore, impactors in the 10 km-upwards class could arrive at intervals of 1 Myr or less, longer than recovery times on Earth, and so similar biology is unlikely. It is presently unknown whether nearby stars typically have comet belts similar to that of the Sun or of τ Ceti; extrapolations of existing data suggest many stars could be at least 2–5 times above the Solar debris level. Future large telescopes will be able to probe down to Solar System levels of cometary debris.

Structures, termed microbioids, comforming to bacteria in size and shape (e.g. rods, spheres, chains and clusters of spheres) have been observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) on coalified Silurian and Lower Devonian spores, sporangia, cuticles and coprolites. Some were sectioned for transmission electron microscopy. The elemental composition of both microbioids and ‘substrates’ was investigated using a X-ray microanalysis system. These analyses combined with comparative studies on recent bacteria and cyanobacteria were undertaken to evaluate the biogenicity, nature and age of the microbioids. Spheres with a Si signature (0.03–0.5 μm diameter) and assumed composed of silica are interpreted as artefacts produced abiotically during the extraction procedures. A similar origin is proposed for hollow spheres that are composed of CaF2. These occur singly, in short chains simulating filaments, and in clusters. Considerable differences in size (0.2–2.0 μm diameter) and appearance relate to local variation in the chemical environment during extraction. Spheres (0.2–1.5 μm diameter), that lack a mineral signature, with a framboidal surface ornament and occur within sporangia are identified as by-products of spore development. A biotic origin is also postulated for C-containing rod-shaped structures (>3.1 μm long, <1.4 μm wide), some with collapsed surfaces, although comparisons with living bacteria indicate recent contamination. More elongate rod-shaped microbioids (<8.6 μm long, 1.2 μm wide) have been identified as detrital rutile crystals (TiO2). Minute naviculate structures (<2.2 μm long) resembling diatoms are of unknown origin but are probably composed of thorium hydroxide. Unmineralized filaments of cyanobacterial morphology are recent contaminants. Some of the sporangia and spore masses are partially covered by associations of fragmented sheets, interconnecting strands, rods and spheres that are interpreted as dehydrated biofilms. Being unmineralized they are probably also of recent origin, although they might have survived wild-fire along with the charcoalified mesofossils. Many of the structures illustrated here were initially identified casually as bacteria on the small fossils extracted for biodiversity studies using well-tried, conventional, palaeobotanical techniques. Our subsequent more detailed analyses have shown how such processes can produce artefacts that are morphological analogues of mineralized bacteria, leave residues that mimic bacterial shapes and, despite some efforts such as storage in dilute HCl to eliminate living bacteria, introduce contamination. They reinforce previous concerns that verification of the biogenicity and syngenicity of bacterial-like objects in ancient Earth and extra-terrestrial rocks should not only rely on size and morphological look-alikes, but must encompass a thorough understanding of fossilization processes and extraction techniques plus, ideally, other measures of biogenicity (e.g. biomarkers) and syngenicity.

We propose that the photochemical smog mechanism produced substantial ozone (O3) in the troposphere during the Proterozoic period, which contributed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation shielding, and hence favoured the establishment of life. The smog mechanism is well established and is associated with pollution hazes that sometimes cover modern cities. The mechanism proceeds via the oxidation of volatile organic compounds such as methane (CH4) in the presence of UV radiation and nitrogen oxides (NOx). It would have been particularly favoured during the Proterozoic period given the high levels of CH4 (up to 1000 ppm) recently suggested. Proterozoic UV levels on the surface of the Earth were generally higher compared with today, which would also have favoured the mechanism. On the other hand, Proterozoic O2 required in the final step of the smog mechanism to form O3 was less abundant compared with present times. Furthermore, results are sensitive to Proterozoic NOx concentrations, which are challenging to predict, since they depend on uncertain quantities such as NOx source emissions and OH concentrations. We review NOx sources during the Proterozoic period and apply a photochemical box model having methane oxidation with NOx, HOx and Ox chemistry to estimate the O3 production from the smog mechanism. Runs suggest the smog mechanism during the Proterozoic period can produce approximately double the present-day ozone columns for NOx levels of 1.53×10−9 by volume mixing ratio, which was attainable according to our NOx source analysis, with 1% of the present atmospheric levels of O2. Clearly, forming ozone in the troposphere is a trade-off for survivability – on the one hand, harmful UV radiation is blocked, but on the other hand ozone is a respiratory irratant, which becomes fatal at concentrations exceeding about 1 ppmv.

Although it might not be self-evident, it is in fact entirely possible to calculate the probability of detecting alien radio signals by understanding what types of extraterrestrial radio emissions can be expected and what properties these emissions can have. Using the Drake equation as the obvious starting point, and logically identifying and enumerating constraints of interstellar radio communications, may yield the possibility of detecting a genuine alien radio signal.

An ambitious programme of lunar exploration will reveal much of astrobiological interest. Examples include: (i) better characterization of the impact cratering rate in the Earth–Moon system, with implications for understanding the possible ‘impact frustration’ of the origin of life; (ii) preservation of ancient meteorites blasted off Earth, Mars and Venus, which may preserve evidence of the early surface environments of these planets, as well as constraining models of lithopanspermia; (iii) preservation of samples of the Earth's early atmosphere not otherwise available; (iv) preservation of cometary volatiles and organics in permanently shadowed polar craters, which would help elucidate the importance of these sources in ‘seeding’ the terrestrial planets with pre-biotic materials; and (v) possible preservation of extraterrestrial artefacts on the lunar surface, which may permit limits to be placed on the prevalence of technological civilizations in the Galaxy. Much of this valuable information is likely to be buried below the present surface (e.g. in palaeoregolith deposits) and will require a considerable amount of geological fieldwork to retrieve. This would be greatly facilitated by a renewed human presence on the Moon, and may be wholly impractical otherwise. In the longer term, such lunar operations would pave the way for the human exploration of Mars, which may also be expected to yield astrobiological discoveries not otherwise obtainable.

A mechanism that permits the separation and concentration of particles in natural systems is proposed. According to the mechanism, the particles in an aquifer are moved by an alternating flow of ground water. The retardation factor oscillates in synchronism with the alternating water flow. The retardation factor or the flow depend on the position in the aquifer (the particle velocity is u=v/R, where v is the water velocity and R is the retardation factor). The alternating flow is induced by tides, geysers or periodic rains. The alternating water flow produces temperature and water composition oscillations in the aquifer. Moreover, the alternating flow is caused by pressure oscillations: therefore, the retardation factor (which depends on pressure, temperature and water composition) oscillates. The dependence of the retardation factor on position is due to the inhomogeneity of the aquifer medium or to the position dependence of temperature, composition or pressure. Different particles may be concentrated at different places in the aquifer or in different aquifers. The particle concentration and the time necessary for concentration are estimated. The particles may be atoms, molecules, colloids or microorganisms. Such a mechanism may have played a role in chemical evolution.

Viable, organic material has been discovered at altitudes of around 40 km above the Earth (Wainwright et al. (2004). Int J. Astrobiol. 3(1), 13–15). Assuming an extraterrestrial origin, this raises the question of how the material survived air breaking in the atmosphere from hypervelocity speeds. The Earth is under constant bombardment from interplanetary and interstellar dust particles, with a daily influx of over 60 tonnes of material incident upon the upper atmosphere. The majority of this material is in the form of micro-meteoroids with typical radii ranging from 0.01 μm to a peak of around 200 μm (Ceplecha et al. (1998). Space Sci. Rev. 84, 327–471).

Classical work on meteoroid ablation suggests that these particles should be annihilated by atmospheric deceleration. Recent work suggests that molecular sputtering of surface molecules may provide an alternative way to decelerate, without such intense heating. In general, the mathematics of atmospheric entry are complex; here we review some of the main parameters (particle size, initial velocity, entry angle and composition) that contribute to the heating of meteoroids during their descent. Comparing the heating profiles for meteoroids descending from inside and outside of the Earth's shadow, it is found that the maximum temperatures reached by 10 μm meteoroids can be 10–15% lower if the meteoroid descends from within the shadow of the Earth, compared to those decelerating during daylight. The possibility that micrometre-sized particles can decelerate subject to maximum temperatures ~300 K offers a mechanism for the survivability of the recovered organic material.

Extremophiles use a range of pigments for protection against low-wavelength radiation in exposed terrestrial habitats and photoaccessory materials are synthesized for the effective harnessing of photosynthetically active radiation. Raman spectroscopy has been demonstrated to be a useful probe for information on the survival strategies employed by extremophilic bacteria through the identification of key biomolecular signatures of the suite of protective chemicals synthesized by the organisms in stressed environments. Raman spectroscopic analyses of Bacillus spp. spores, Bacillus atrophaeus (DSM 675: deep red) and Bacillus subtilis (DSM 5611: light grey and DSM 7264: dark grey), Deinococcus radiodurans (pink) and Natronomonas pharaonis (red), of visually different pigmentation showed the presence of different carotenoids and other protectant biomolecules, which assist microorganisms against UVA radiation. The implications for the survival of extremophilic microbes in extraterrestrial habitats and for the detection of the protectant biomolecules by remote, robotic Raman spectroscopic instrumentation in an astrobiological search for life context are discussed.

Plant-based life support systems that utilize bioregenerative technologies have been proposed for long-term human missions to both the Moon and Mars. Bioregenerative life support systems will utilize higher plants to regenerate oxygen, water, and edible biomass for crews, and are likely to significantly lower the ‘equivalent system mass’ of crewed vehicles. As part of an ongoing effort to begin the development of an automatic remote sensing system to monitor plant health in bioregenerative life support modules, we tested the efficacy of seven artificial illumination sources on the remote detection of plant stresses. A cohort of pepper plants (Capsicum annuum L.) were grown 42 days at 25 °C, 70% relative humidity, and 300 μmol m−2 s−1 of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR; from 400 to 700 nm). Plants were grown under nutritional stresses induced by irrigating subsets of the plants with 100, 50, 25, or 10% of a standard nutrient solution. Reflectance spectra of the healthy and stressed plants were collected under seven artificial lamps including two tungsten halogen lamps, plus high pressure sodium, metal halide, fluorescent, microwave, and red/blue light emitting diode (LED) sources. Results indicated that several common algorithms used to estimate biomass and leaf chlorophyll content were effective in predicting plant stress under all seven illumination sources. However, the two types of tungsten halogen lamps and the microwave illumination source yielded linear models with the highest residuals and thus the highest predictive capabilities of all lamps tested. The illumination sources with the least predictive capabilities were the red/blue LEDs and fluorescent lamps. Although the red/blue LEDs yielded the lowest residuals for linear models derived from the remote sensing data, the LED arrays used in these experiments were optimized for plant productivity and not the collection of remote sensing data. Thus, we propose that if adjusted to optimize the collection of remote sensing information from plants, LEDs remain the best candidates for illumination sources for monitoring plant stresses in bioregenerative life support systems.

Monocyanopolyynes are formed by arcing graphite electrodes in ammonia. This work completes the parallelism existing between the polyynes formed by laser ablation experiments of graphite targets and those produced from the submerged electric arc. In both cases the same products are obtained. The products consist of hydrogen-terminated polyynes if water is present, monocyanopolyynes (mixed with hydrogen-terminated polyynes) if the carbon arc is sparked in acetonitrile or ammonia and dicyanopolyynes if the arc is struck in liquid nitrogen. The mechanism of formation of polyynes in the submerged carbon arc involves essentially neutral species; similar species and pathways may also occur in the circumstellar environment where polyynes have been detected by radioastronomy. It is shown that the relative abundances of the polyynes formed in the submerged carbon arc or in a carbon arc in vacuum decrease by a factor between three and five as the chain length increases by a C2 unit. Exactly the same trend has been observed by radioastronomy both for polyynes and cyanopolyynes in the circumstellar environment around red giants and asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. This fact may be a simple coincidence or may suggest that the mechanism of formation of the polyynes in the carbon arc is the same as that occurring in the surroundings of carbon-rich stars.

About a fifth of the exoplanetary systems that have been discovered contain a so-called hot-Jupiter – a giant planet orbiting within 0.1 AU of the central star. Since these stars are typically of the F/G spectral type, the orbits of any terrestrial planets in their habitable zones at ~1 AU should be dynamically stable. However, because hot-Jupiters are thought to have formed in the outer regions of a protoplanetary disc, and to have then migrated through the terrestrial planet zone to their final location, it is uncertain whether terrestrial planets can actually grow and be retained in these systems. In this paper we review attempts to answer this question. Initial speculations, based on the assumption that migrating giant planets will clear planet-forming material from their swept zone, all concluded that hot-Jupiter systems should lack terrestrial planets. We show that this assumption may be incorrect, for when terrestrial planet formation and giant planet migration are simulated simultaneously, abundant solid material is predicted to remain from which terrestrial planet growth can resume.