A Ten Year Plan for Finding Life in the Universe, biology homework help

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Term Paper Topic:

A Ten Year Plan for Finding Life in the Universe

You have just been named the director of a world consortium charged with finding extraterrestrial life as quickly as possible. You proposal must convince scientists and non-scientists alike, so it needs to be both accurate and clear. Your plan should address the following issues:

1. Where should we focus our search? Choose one or more locations and argue why these are the best places to search for life. Use evidence from current research to make your argument.

2. What types of organisms should we look for? Choose one or more organisms and argue why these are the most promising life forms to search for in the location(s) you have selected. Use evidence from current research to make your argument.

A successful paper be at least 2500 words and will include:

  • A coherent scientific argument that uses scientifically valid articles (from the Internet or journals) - and many of the main concepts used in the textbook, articles, and assignments. These concepts might include: metabolism, respiration, reproduction, habitability zones, extremophiles, methods of searching for extrasolar planets, carbon-based life, universal solvents, planetary atmospheres, or many other concepts that are key to the search for life. Your paper should demonstrate your understanding of these concepts, not just the awareness of the terminology.
  • A clear organization and correct grammar to provide a readable and intelligent paper. It should be easy and pleasurable to read. This should include an introduction, conclusion, and appropriate headers to help make clarify your argument.
  • Individuality and creativity to show how you have digested and interpreted the information, and to show me it is your OWN work. Papers that read like a bunch of cut and paste text without any personality will be poorly graded.
  • A complete and consistent set of citations and references in APA, IEEE, or similar academic format. I don't care which format you use, but be consistent and thorough.
  • Pride in your work. If you don't love it, I won't love it.

You MUST do original work. I will be very strict on anything that is copied from the Internet or another student’s paper - it is plagiarism. Don't go there.


One more time...sorry....a VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Any paper that does not follow this format will not be graded and will be given a 0.

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Attached.

Running head: THE SEARCH FOR LIFE ON MARS

The Search for Life On Mars
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THE SEARCH FOR LIFE ON MARS

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Introduction

Analyzing the origin, nature, and evolution of life on the planet Earth is one way of
evaluating whether terrestrial life is present on other planets that are like Earth (Arrhenius &
Mojzsis, 1996). A direct approach is to look for traces of life on other alien bodies like in the
solar system of beyond. There are slim possibilities of stumbling upon nonhuman beings that are
intelligent like humans within space. However, planets like Mars could have some form of
primitive life because early literature indicates that the conditions on Mars are fairly similar to
those of life on Earth. Furthermore, places like the moons of Jupiter seems to have favorable
conditions that allow the existence of life (Bova, 2009). There have been extensive searches to
look for extraterrestrial life outside the solar system, and the only successful destination has
Mars. Therefore, this proposal highlights a ten-year plan of finding life on Mars because the
planet has conditions that are similar to Earth’s.
If extraterrestrial life exists, then Mars is the probable location for the survival of human
life. When we are searching for extraterrestrial life, we must look for a location that meets the
basic requirement for survival such as adequate oxygen, sufficient energy, aquatic conditions,
and suitable temperatures. Since the moon of the earth and Mercury lack oceans and an
atmosphere, there are slim chances of getting a life there (Bova, 2009). A planet like Venus is
too hot with surface temperatures of 480 Degrees Celsius and is covered by dense aerosol vapors
of sulfuric acid. Its atmosphere has traces of water, hydrogen sulphide, 3.5% Nitrogen and 96.5%
of carbon dioxide (Brown, 2015). Another factor that makes this planet uninhabitable is the
presence of the rocky surface. The same can also be noted for other planets like Neptune,
Uranus, Jupiter, and Saturn that are characterized by freezing temperatures, below -100 Degrees

THE SEARCH FOR LIFE ON MARS

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Celsius and deep ocean filled with Helium and hydrogen. Since both organic and inorganic
molecules are heavier than hydrogen and helium, then they will sink deep into these oceans.
The remaining likely place that can consider for extraterrestrial life is the Mars because it
rotates in the inhabitable zone ("Narrowing the search for alien life", 2016). Research indicates
that early history of this planet, it had liquid water and a dense atmosphere on its surface. These
conditions could support primitive life at that time, but it has since fossilized. In the 1950s,
American astronomers identified patches of colors on the planet that varied with season, and this
was thought to be vegetation changes in different season. In the solar system, Mars is special as
astronomers have discovered that early its early history it had characteristics of warmth and
wetness, just like the Earth (Brown, 2015). But at now it’s frozen. The existence of life needs
liquid water ad its constructed from carbon compounds. Similarly, Mars has these requirements
that could support primitive life.
The Age of Features on Mars
Astronomers have never collected any samples from Mars and determined the age and,
therefore, there is no direct way they can use to determine the features observed. However, there
has an indirect way of establishing the age of organism on Mars. Since Mars is rocky like other
planets, it’s created from the bombardment of dust, asteroids, comets, and meteorites and the rate
of bombardment was high for the existence of any life in space. Little is known about the
bombardment rates since the dating of samples from the Moon gathered during the Apollo
voyage was conducted Earth (Levin, 2013). These dates can be connected to...


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