From ajp@astro1.bnsc.rl.ac.uk Tue Mar 4 14:53:37 2003 Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 17:19:52 +0000 (GMT) From: "Alan Penny " To: kdh1@st-andrews.ac.uk Cc: gil@ast.cam.ac.uk, csco@bas.ac.uk, hraj@astro.livjm.ac.uk, gms@star.sr.bham.ac.uk Subject: SR2004 - 'Life on other Earths' (fwd) Folks, Alan Rodger said 'thanks' to us for sending this to the SSAP. Alan ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 16:35:30 +0000 (GMT) From: "Alan Penny " To: a.rodger@bas.ac.uk Cc: d.burgess@qmw.ac.uk, s.k.dunkin@rl.ac.uk, sdh@aber.ac.uk, s.miller@ucl.ac.uk, opg@irfu.se, bernie@mcs.st-and.ac.uk, sue.horne@pparc.ac.uk Subject: SR2004 - 'Life on other Earths' Dear Alan, Below is an 'exoEarths' input from some exoplanet people for the SR2004. Regards, Alan --------------------------------------------------------------- Life on other Earths -------------------- Alan Penny (RAL), Charles Cockell (BAS), Gerry Gilmore (Cambridge), Keith Horne (St Andrews), Hugh Jones (Liverpool JMU), and George Simnett (Birmingham) Science ------- - Are there other planets like the Earth? - Do they have surface conditions suitable for life? - Do any show the oxygen tracer of existing life? - How does microbial life on our own Earth affect our own atmosphere, and how does this match with the atmospheres of other Earths? Activities ---------- This is a 20M pound package of complementary activities building on UK strengths. (The balance between them is to be defined.) - A UK contribution to the technology precursors to ESA's Darwin via ESA's Smart-3 (formation flying) and (possibly) NASA's FKSI (space infrared interferometry) missions. - Robotic search facilities to detect planetary systems and other Earths, and other observational and theoretical work on planetary systems. - A new biological and environmental programme of computer modelling studies of the roles and feedbacks of biota with the Earth's atmosphere and of laboratory studies to examine biogeochemical cycles in primitive photosynthetic organisms. The aim is to understand how changes in climate and microbial processes may influence our own atmosphere, and thus how they may influence the atmospheres of extrasolar Earth-like planets. Timeliness in 2006-2010 ----------------------- The Darwin (2015) mission will address the first three science questions. In 2006-2010 the UK could play a major role in the development of the space technology for Darwin, of value in itself, and also positioning the UK for a major role in Darwin. Robonet and other robotic search facilities could find cool Earths at the time that Eddington and Kepler are finding warm Earths. The other observational and theoretical work would increase our understanding of planetary systems. The biological and environmental work will build on existing work in allied fields and provide important information for the interpretation of the Darwin observations of other Earths. Distinctive ----------- There is an opportunity now by making a cross-Council programme to move the UK from its present significant role in these fields into a world-leading role. Multi-Council ------------- This package mainly concerns funding by PPARC and NERC. But for these fundamental scientific questions links are also already being forged between PPARC, NERC, BBSRC, EPSRC and UK industry. Out-reach Potential ------------------- Enormous, not only in the 'search for life' and 'other Earths', but also in 'understanding our own Earth'. Industrial Benefits ------------------- The development of space formation flying and interferometry will have technology base in fields useful for commercial space missions, and the studies of the atmosphere-biota links will have both biological and environmental prospects. ------------------------------------------------------------------