Talk:Astrobiology

Forward contamination

Hello Drbogdan. Yes, I have been thinking of adding a section on forward contamination & back contamination as you mention above, but the information is so scant we may have to do with a few paragraphs only. For certain, there are protocols in place for inter-planetary spacecraft sterility, and regarding back-contamination, what is there besides Moon samples and Apollo astronaut quarantine? Share your thoughts and lets see how this develops. Cheers, BatteryIncluded (talk) 02:45, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for your comments - I've been somewhat side-tracked recently w/ some more pressing issues (this may occur from time to time due to my present circumstances) - but yes, I agree - doesn't seem to be much responsible literature on forward-contamination - at least after a casual search so far - just wondering - if microbes are mutiplying in fact inside some of the objects (and inside human astronauts?) that we've launched into space (I think this possibility likely at the moment), would the newly created microbe progeny be considered extraterrestrial? - after all, the newly created microbes would *not* have been produced on earth - and also - the newer microbe populations created *beyond* earth may actually differ (subtly or dramatically perhaps) from similar terrestrially-derived microbes - due to the "un-earthly" conditions of outer space - and in spite of any attempts to provide terrestrial-like conditions on-board the launched space objects. Further, and as noted in an earlier post, is there any real, and complete, assurance that there is not a single (at least potentially viable) microbe inside the Voyager spacecrafts being hurtled *out* of the solar system at this very moment? The related possible implications may be interesting to consider - in any case - Thanks again for your comments - and - Enjoy! :) Drbogdan (talk) 04:24, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Hello. In the past I have also worked on the Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment article. I believe that if launched and retrieved, it will finally yield evidence-based hypotheses regarding forward contamination. Untill then, there is not much solid data. I will search some more for quality references. Cheers, BatteryIncluded (talk) 17:21, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the wikilink re the 'LIFE' Experiment - I've heard of this way back when but lost track of it for some reason - the results, when/if carried out, may be *very* interesting - and should provide at least some worthy notion of possibilities I would think - somewhat related to all this - tardigrades and other xerophiles can live without nearly any water at all and can survive, apparently, quite well in outer space) - (Also, if interested, see my related published comments) - in any case - Thanks again - Enjoy! :) Drbogdan (talk) 23:23, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Interesting links. Admittedly humans have likely contaminated Mars and the Moon, but there is no evidence yet that the hitchhiking bacteria are successfully colonizing areas, so it will be challenging to create a related section here. I have seen papers expressing "concern", though. Cheers, BatteryIncluded (talk) 03:35, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

You're Welcome re Links - I Agree w/ you - developing a section covering some of this thinking and material might be challenging - but, if at all possible, worthy I would think - at least at the moment - suggested wording and all welcome of course - in the meanwhile, I've added several related wikilinks (Forward-contamination, Back-contamination, Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment) to the "See Also" Section in the main article - ok w/ me to change this of course - in any case - Enjoy! ;) Drbogdan (talk) 20:04, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

IMPORTANT FOLLOWUP - By Coincidence - Seems Some Of The Material We Were Seeking Was Already Written-Up As A Wikipedia Article - But "Deleted" In February, 2011 (?) (Also See -> Related Link) - Fortunately, The Article Has Survived And Can Be Viewed As Directed Panspermia (draft) - My Own Preliminary Comments On This Material Were Posted As Follows:

Copied From Talk:Panspermia#Separate_Article_on_Directed_Panspermia

FWIW - At First Glance, And At The Moment, The Material In The Proposed Article On "Directed Panspermia" Seems To Be A *Really, Really* Excellent Academic Effort - A Worthy Contribution To Wikipedia - And - Sufficiently Substantial To Be A *Separate* Article From The Main Article On Panspermia - After All, The Present Panspermia Article Seems To Be More About "In-Coming" [to planet Earth] Whereas "Directed Panspermia" Seems To Be More About "Out-Going" [from planet Earth] Instead - A *Very* Important (seemingly neglected?) Consideration In My Opinion At The Moment - Also, The Minimal Mention Of "Panspermia#Directed_panspermia" In The Present Main Panspermia Article Does *Not* Seem Sufficient For This Very Important Topic In My Opinion - That Said - In Some Ways, The Material In The Newly Proposed "Directed Panspermia" Article Seems Similar In Basic Notions (in a much more extensive way of course) To The (less extensive?) Material In The Present Forward-contamination Article - Perhaps The Two Articles Could Be Combined In Some Way? - Perhaps The " Directed Panspermia" Article Could Be Edited Into The Present Forward-contamination Article - Or - The Material In The Forward-contamination Article Could Be Merged Into A Newly Created "Directed Panspermia" (or related title) Article - In Any Case - Enjoy! :) Drbogdan(talk) 18:20, 5 September 2011 (UTC)

Any Comments On This Material, And The Way This Material Can Be Best Incorporated Into Wikipedia, Would Be Greatly Appreciated - Enjoy! :) Drbogdan (talk) 13:19, 6 September 2011 (UTC)

SETI ?? Article makes a giant leap from microbes to intelligent civilisations ...

This concept of this article is ok in my opinion HOWEVER the issue I have with it is that it makes a giant conceptual leap. On one hand it is talking about the scientific study of the basic ingredients for life and the next it is talking about attempts to communicate with intelligent civilizations. There is absolutely no link in between. Is SETI really astrobiology ? Evolvability of extraterrestrial life is not only assumed in this section, but stretched to its limits all the way to non-human intelligence which is not very encyclopedic and far too Earth-centric for my liking. --EvenGreenerFish (talk) 05:37, 15 November 2011 (UTC)