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PAPERBACK list:$16.00 Web:$14.40 add to cart Rights & Permissions Free PDF Access Free Resources Sign in to download PDF book and chapters PDF EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Display this book on your site! Related Titles Exploring Organic Environments in the Solar System Space Studies Board Annual Report 2003 Other Related Titles The Search for Life's Origins: Progress and Future Directions in Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution (1990) Space Studies Board (SSB) Web Search Builder Use this book's key terms to search within this book, across our collection, or across the Web. Skim This Chapter Skim this chapter and use this chapter's key terms to search within this book. Reference Finder Paste in your own text to find books that relate to your topic. Page 135   E-mail  Facebook  Digg  Stumble  Twitter More Page 135 Front Matter (R1-R12) Executive Summary (1-15) 1. Overview (16-20) 2. The Cosmic History of the Biogenic Elements and Compounds (21-55) 3. Early Planetary Environments: Implications for Chemical Evolution and the Origin of Life (56-77) 4. The Origin of Life (78-90) 5. The Evolution of Cellular and Multicellular Life (91-104) 6. Search for Life Outside the Solar System (105-122) 7. Major Research Recommendations (123-129) 8. Space Science Program and Policy Issues (130-132) References (133-134) Glossary (135-138) Appendix (139-140) Index (141-148)

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Glossary A: Angstrom; unit of length. achondrite: Differentiated meteorite. anticodon: Triplet of bases in transfer RNA complementary to the codon. archaebacteria: Organisms constituting one of the three biological king- doms. Archean: Period of Earth's history from 3.8 to 2.4 billion years ago. arc see: Arc second; unit of angular measurement in astronomy. ATF: Astrometric telescope facility. AU: Astronomical unit; mean distance between the Earth and the Sun. biogenic elements: Elements making up the bulk of living organisms. CAI: Calcium-aluminum inclusion, found in meteorites. carbonaceous chondrite: Meteorite with granules containing carbon-rich matter. CCD: Charge coupled device. CIT: Circumstellar Imaging Telescope. cm: Centimeter. codon: Triplet code of bases in DNA specifying an amino acid in protein synthesis. COMPLEX: Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration. CRAF: Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby mission. Cretaceous: Period of Earth's history from 145 to 65 million years ago. D/H: Deuterium-to-hydrogen ratio. DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid. DOE: Department of Energy. 135

OCR for page 136
136 ECHO: Evolution of Complex and Higher Organisms; report. EIRP: Effective isotropic radiated power. ESA: European Space Agency. eubacteria: All other bacteria besides the archaebacteria. eukaryote: Cells with true nucleus and other internal organelles. GLOSSARY FGS: Fine guidance sensor. FIRST: Far-Infrared Space Telescope. Fischer-Tropsch reaction: Process in which carbon monoxide and hydro- gen mixtures are converted into hydrocarbons and related compounds. FOS: Faint object spectrograph. genome: The complete set of genes in an organism. GHz: Gigahertz; unit of frequency. HD/H2: Ratio of deuterated hydrogen to hydrogen. heterocyclic organic polymers: Compounds consisting of monomeric units of organic ring molecules in which not all atoms in the rings are alike. heterotroph: Organism requiring organic compounds as food source. HIMS: Hubble imaging Michelson spectrometer. IR: Infrared region of electromagnetic spectrum. IRAS: Infrared Astronomical Satellite. ISO: Infrared Space Observatory. ISOCAM: Infrared Space Observatory camera. I: Joule; unit of heat energy. K: Kelvin; unit of temperature. KAO: Kuiper Airborne Observatory. L183: Interstellar cloud. LDR: Large deployable reflector. m: Meter. MAP: Multichannel astrometic photometer. MHz: Megahertz; unit of frequency. MIPS: Multiband imaging photometer for SIRTF. mRNA: Messenger RNA; directs the synthesis of proteins. NAB: Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide; coenzyme involved in redox reactions. NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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GLOSSARY 137 NICMOS: Near-infrared camera and multiobject spectrometer. NIH: National Institutes of Health. NMR: Nuclear magnetic resonance. NRAO: National Radio Astronomy Observatory. NRC: National Research Council. NSF: National Science Foundation. nucleoside: Precursor of nucleic acids; consists of an organic base and a sugar. nucleosynthesis: Production of elements heavier than hydrogen. oligonucleotide: Short chain of nucleic acid monomers. Oligopeptide: Short chain of amino acids. PAH: Polyaromatic hydrocarbon. Paleozoic: Period in Earth's history from 670 to 245 million years ago. Permian: Period of Earth's history from 285 to 245 million years ago. Phanerozoic: Period of Earth's history from 670 million years ago to present. phenotype: Observable physiological behavior of an organism. phosphomonoesterase: Hydrolytic enzyme; releases inorganic phosphate. pllototroph: Organism deriving its energy from light. phylogeny: Ordering of biological species based on their evolutionary relationships. planetesimal: Solar-system body; of the order of a kilometer in size. planetoid: Solar-system body; tens to hundreds of kilometers in size. prebiotic: Before the appearance of life on Earth. Precambrian: Period of Earth's history from its formation to 600 million years ago. prokaryote: Organism lacking a true nucleus. Proterozoic: Period of Earth's history from 2.5 billion to 600 million years ago. pyrolysis: Destruction of organic compounds by combustion. regolith: Surface debris on solar-system objects produced by impacting bodies. RFI: Radio frequency interferences. ribonucleotide: Monomeric unit of RNA. ribooligonucleotide: Short chain of ribonucleotides. ribosome: Cellular particle; site of protein synthesis. RNA: Ribonucleic acid. RNA polymerase: Enzyme that polymerizes ribonucleotides. RNase P: tRNA-processing enzyme containing a catalytic RNA subunit. rRNA: Ribosomal RNA; involved in protein synthesis.

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38 GLOSSARY S.: Svedberg unit; sedimentation constant used in ultracentrifugation. SAO: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. SETI: Search for extraterrestrial intelligence. SIRTF: Space Infrared Telescope Facility. SNC: Shergottite, nakhlite, and chassignite meteorites; possibly from Mars. SSB: Space Science Board/Space Studies Board. T4 RNA ligase: Enzyme causing ribonucleic acid fragments to join to- gether. template: Molecule that is copied to form its complement in nucleic acid synthesis. thiol ester: Sulfur-containing ester. TMC-1: Interstellar cloud. translation: Process by which DNA code specifies sequencing of amino acids. tRNA: Transfer RNA; combines with specific amino acid in protein syn- thesis. . . UV: Ultraviolet region of electromagnetic spectrum. Van der Waals force: Weak attractive force between nonpolar molecules. Viking: U.S. mission to Mars in 1975. W: Watt; unit of power. WFC: Wide-field camera.

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ribonucleic acid