Astrobiology is a scientific field within the life and environmental sciences that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe by investigating its deterministic conditions and contingent events. As a discipline, astrobiology is founded on the premise that life may exist beyond Earth.
Hypothetical types of biochemistry are forms of biochemistry agreed to be scientifically viable but not proven to exist at this time. The kinds of living organisms currently known on Earth all use carbon compounds for basic structural and metabolic functions, water as a solvent, and DNA or RNA to define and control their form. If life exists on other planets or moons it may be chemically similar, though it is also possible that there are organisms with quite different chemistries – for instance, involving other classes of carbon compounds, compounds of another element, or another solvent in place of water.
The NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) was established in 1998 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) "to develop the field of astrobiology and provide a scientific framework for flight missions." In December 2019 the institute's activities were suspended.
The Journal of Physical Oceanography is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Meteorological Society. It was established in January 1971 and is available on the web since 1996. Online articles older than one year are available as open access. The editor-in-chief is Jerome Smith.
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics is an open access peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the European Geosciences Union. It covers research on the Earth's atmosphere and the underlying chemical and physical processes, including the altitude range from the land and ocean surface up to the turbopause, including the troposphere, stratosphere, and mesosphere. The main subject areas comprise atmospheric modelling, field measurements, remote sensing, and laboratory studies of gases, aerosols, clouds and precipitation, isotopes, radiation, dynamics, and biosphere and hydrosphere interactions. Article types published are research and review articles, technical notes, and commentaries.
The Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by IOP Publishing, the publishing branch of the Institute of Physics. It is part of the Journal of Physics series and covers theoretical physics focusing on sophisticated mathematical and computational techniques.
The International Journal of Astrobiology (IJA) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal established in 2002 and published by Cambridge University Press that covers research on the prebiotic chemistry, origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life on Earth and beyond, SETI, societal and educational aspects of astrobiology. It also contains papers in astronomy, space science, planetary science, and biology that have a strong connection to astrobiology. Occasional issues are dedicated to research papers from international astrobiology meetings. The editor-in-chief is Rocco Mancinelli (NASA). According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2019 impact factor of 2.026.
Astrobiology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research on the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life across the universe. The journal's scope includes astrobiology, astrophysics, astropaleontology, bioastronomy, cosmochemistry, ecogenomics, exobiology, extremophiles, geomicrobiology, gravitational biology, life detection technology, meteoritics, origins of life, planetary geoscience, planetary protection, prebiotic chemistry, space exploration technology and terraforming.
Astrophysics and Space Science is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering astronomy, astrophysics, and space science and astrophysical aspects of astrobiology. It was established in 1968 and is published by Springer Science+Business Media. From 2016 to 2020, the editors-in-chief were both Prof. Elias Brinks and Prof. Jeremy Mould. Since 2020 the sole editor-in-chief is Prof. Elias Brinks. Other editors-in-chief in the past have been Zdeněk Kopal (1968–1993) and Michael A. Dopita (1994–2015).
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by IOP Publishing, a subsidiary of the Institute of Physics in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1968 from the division of the earlier title, Proceedings of the Physical Society. It has a broad coverage, including five main focus areas: magnetism; photonics and semiconductors; plasmas and plasma-surface interactions; applied surfaces and interfaces; structure and properties of matter and renewable energy/sustainability. The current editor-in-chief is Huiyun Liu.
Nature Geoscience is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Nature Publishing Group. The Chief Editor is Tamara Goldin, who took over from Heike Langenberg in February 2020. It was established in January 2008.
In biology, abiogenesis or the origin of life is the natural process by which life has arisen from non-living matter, such as simple organic compounds. The prevailing scientific hypothesis is that the transition from non-living to living entities on Earth was not a single event, but a process of increasing complexity involving the formation of a habitable planet, the prebiotic synthesis of organic molecules, molecular self-replication, self-assembly, autocatalysis, and the emergence of cell membranes. Many proposals have been made for different stages of the process, but the transition from non-life to life has never been observed experimentally.
The Bulletin of Volcanology is a peer reviewed scientific journal that is published ten times per year by Springer Science+Business Media. It is the official journal of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI). The focus of the journal is volcanoes, volcanic products, eruptive behavior, and volcanic hazards. The Executive Editor is Marie Edmonds.
Reviews of Geophysics is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Geophysical Union. The current editor-in-chief is Fabio Florindo.
Acta Palaeontologica Polonica is a quarterly peer-reviewed open access scientific journal of paleontology and paleobiology. It was established by Roman Kozłowski in 1956. It is published by the Institute of Paleobiology of the Polish Academy of Sciences and edited by Richard L. Cifelli and Jarosław Stolarski.
The Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas is a triannual peer-reviewed open-access scientific journal published by the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Sociedad Geológica Mexicana, Instituto Nacional de Geoquímica, and Sociedad Mexicana de Paleontología. It covers the field of geology and related Earth sciences, primarily on issues that are relevant to Latin America and Mexico. It was established in 1976 and the editors-in-chief are Angel F. Nieto Samaniego and Peter Schaaf.
Remote Sensing is a semimonthly peer-reviewed open access academic journal focusing on research pertaining to remote sensing and other disciplines of geography. It was established in 2009 and is published by MDPI. The founding editor-in-chief was Wolfgang Wagner until September 2, 2011, when he resigned over the journal's publication of a paper co-authored by Roy Spencer, which had received significant criticism from other scientists soon after its publication. Since then, the editor-in-chief has been Prasad S. Thenkabail.
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences is a monthly peer-reviewed open access scientific journal that covers research in hydrology and related fields like water resource management. The journal is published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. It was established in 1997 and the editors-in-chief are Theresa Blume and Alberto Guadagnini.
Sara Imari Walker is an American theoretical physicist and astrobiologist with research interests in the origins of life, astrobiology, physics of life, emergence, complex and dynamical systems, and artificial life. Walker is deputy director of the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University (ASU), associate director of the ASU-SFI Center for Biosocial Complex Systems and an associate professor at ASU. She is a co-founder of the astrobiology social network SAGANet, and on the board of directors for Blue Marble Space, a nonprofit education and science organization. As a science communicator, she is a frequent guest on podcasts and series, such as Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman.
Annales Geophysicae is an open-access peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing research within Earth science. It is published by Copernicus Publications on a bimonthly basis.
