Alien Oceans
(eBook)

"Longlisted for the Young Adult Science Book Award, AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books" "One of NPR's best books of 2020" Kevin Peter Hand is a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he has served as deputy chief scientist for solar system exploration and is leading an effort to land a spacecraft on the surface of Europa. He has helped lead expeditions to the glaciers of Kilimanjaro, the Dry Valleys of Antarctica, and the sea ice of the North Pole. He lives in Los Angeles. Twitter @Alienoceans Inside the epic quest to find life on the water-rich moons at the outer reaches of the solar system Where is the best place to find life beyond Earth? We often look to Mars as the most promising site in our solar system, but recent scientific missions have revealed that some of the most habitable real estate may actually lie farther away. Beneath the frozen crusts of several of the small, ice-covered moons of Jupiter and Saturn lurk vast oceans that may have existed for as long as Earth, and together may contain more than fifty times its total volume of liquid water. Could there be organisms living in their depths? Alien Oceans reveals the science behind the thrilling quest to find out. Kevin Peter Hand is one of today's leading NASA scientists, and his pioneering research has taken him on expeditions around the world. In this captivating account of scientific discovery, he brings together insights from planetary science, biology, and the adventures of scientists like himself to explain how we know that oceans exist within moons of the outer solar system, like Europa, Titan, and Enceladus. He shows how the exploration of Earth's oceans is informing our understanding of the potential habitability of these icy moons, and draws lessons from what we have learned about the origins of life on our own planet to consider how life could arise on these distant worlds. Alien Oceans describes what lies ahead in our search for life in our solar system and beyond, setting the stage for the transformative discoveries that may await us. "If you enjoy imagining a mission in which humans launch a rocket that contains a spacecraft that releases a lander that launches a space boat - or even a space submarine - Hand's book will help you grasp the full picture."---Philip Ewing, NPR's best books of 2020 "A NASA scientist looks to the water-rich moons of Jupiter and Saturn, such as Europa, Titan, and Enceladus, as promising sites for the search for life beyond the Earth." "[Alien Oceans] describes why studying Earth's own ocean is a crucial chapter in the quest to explore the shores of extraterrestrial seas."---Nadia Drake, National Geographic "Alien Oceans offers a historical look-as well as a peek into the future-at one of the most exciting aspects of space exploration. With the technology at hand, we could determine whether there's life beyond Earth."---Sid Perkins, Science News "A book that is likely to prove one of the year's most enthralling first-person accounts of a life in science."---Simon Ings, New Scientist "Alien Oceans successfully straddles a fine line between accessibility and scientific thoroughness. Hand's book is as fascinating as it is optimistic."---Tobias Mutter, Shelf Awareness "A maritime tale like no other. . . . For those who dream of plying the South Seas with Cook, or descending in the Bathysphere with Beebe, Alien Oceans provides an appealing guide to seas undreamt of until now."---Andrew H. Knoll, Times Literary Supplement "What is so captivating about this book is that it isn't just a solid survey of what we've learned in recent decades about the icy moons, but that the narrative is told by an active researcher deeply embedded in these endeavours. Through Hand's eyes we meet many of the key personalities involved and feel the sting of disappointment at cancelled funding or a malfunctioning probe, as well as the soaring excitement of a new discovery."---Lewis Dartnell, BBC