THE ROLE OF PALEONTOLOGY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW FIELD OF ASTROBIOLOGY

Astrobiology is the study of life in the Universe. It is concerned with many questions, including the following: How does life begin and evolve? Is there life elsewhere in the Universe? What is the future of life on Earth and beyond? Here I will show that the traditional field of Paleontology has had a large role in the intellectual development of Astrobiology for both scientific and sociological reasons. First, the fossil record is our only source of information about life’s history on Earth. Since the Earth is the only known planet with life, its study is paramount in understanding the nature of life beyond Earth, assuming that it exists. Secondly, by necessity, paleontologists have always been practitioners of multidisciplinary science. Fossils are part of the geological record, but were once also members of the biosphere, and their study thus requires both geological and biological approaches. Astrobiology also requires multidisciplinary approaches, and for this reason (as well as the similarity in scientific questions posed), paleontologists are “pre-adapted” for this new field, and have played a major role in the development of Astrobiology.