CosmoCaixa organises conferences on advances in the search for extraterrestrial life
The 'la Caixa' Foundation presents the lecture series ‘The Frontiers of Astrobiology’ at the CosmoCaixa Science Museum, in which world-renowned experts will share the latest advances in the search for extraterrestrial life. This series, coordinated and moderated by Ignasi Ribas, a researcher at the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia and the Institute of Space Sciences of the CSIC, will explore innovative research and cutting-edge projects in astrobiology with figures such as Charles Cockell, David Kipping, Frances Westall and Laura Kreidberg.
On Tuesdays from 21 October to 11 November, the CosmoCaixa Science Museum will host the series of lectures ‘The Frontiers of Astrobiology’, which offers a journey to the limits of astrobiology to explore how and where life could exist outside Earth. In four lectures, different specialists will address the study of extremophile microorganisms as a model for assessing the habitability of other worlds, the origin of life on Earth to recognise biological signals on distant planets, the comparison between our solar system and other planetary systems to understand whether Earth is unique or shares features with other habitable worlds, and the latest advances in answering the big question: Are we alone in the universe?
The series of lectures is part of the exhibition ‘Extraterrestrials. Is there life beyond Earth?’, which explores our fascination with the idea of extraterrestrial life and how we have imagined worlds beyond our own, and projects some possible futures through science and technology. Those interested in this topic can take a guided tour of the exhibition before attending the lectures in the series (6 p.m.).
New clues to extraterrestrial life
The series kicks off on 21 October at CosmoCaixa with the lecture ‘Extreme Life on Earth and in Space’ by Dr Charles Cockell, an international authority on the study of life in extreme conditions. In this session, he will discuss how microorganisms manage to survive in inhospitable environments and what this reveals about the possible habitability of other worlds. Based on pioneering research, some of it carried out in underground laboratories or during space missions, the lecture will offer the keys to understanding this knowledge, which drives exploration and future human settlement in space, and will bring us closer to the possibility of determining whether microbial life could exist beyond Earth.
The second session will take place on 28 October and is entitled ‘Searching for extraterrestrials... through time’. In this meeting, David Kipping, PhD in Physics and Astronomy, will address the question of our place in the cosmos based on the few reliable data available. He will analyse the silence of the universe, without signals, and why these apparent absences impose limits on what could exist. With a critical eye, he will also explain how humanity's short technological history conditions the search and will present plausible scenarios for future contact and its impact on space exploration.
The series will continue on 4 November with the lecture ‘Geological perspectives for the search for life on exoplanets’ by astrobiologist Frances Westall, who will analyse the search for life beyond Earth as one of the great challenges of astrobiology. Understanding how life arose on our planet is key to identifying signals on other worlds. Dr Westall will also share with attendees her research on the oldest biological traces on Earth and how they guide the exploration of exoplanets. This scientist, whose career ranges from the discovery of fossilised bacteria in marine sediments to working at NASA, will offer a unique insight into early geobiological processes and their usefulness in recognising life on Mars and beyond.
To close this cycle, on Tuesday 11 November, Dr Laura Kreidberg, PhD in Astrophysics, will give a lecture entitled ‘Is Earth really special?’. The expert will discuss whether Earth is an exceptional planet or just one of thousands discovered outside the solar system. From the Copernican revolution to the era of exoplanets, science has shown that neither our planet nor the Milky Way occupy a privileged place. Thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope, it is now possible to study the atmospheres of similar worlds and assess their potential habitability. Kreidberg will explore the latest advances in this search and analyse Earth-like worlds, from lava planets with constantly changing atmospheres to systems that reveal unique secrets about planetary evolution.
Expert voices
Charles Cockell obtained his first degree in Biochemistry from the University of Bristol and his DPhil in Molecular Biophysics from the University of Oxford. He is Professor of Astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh and founder of the UK Centre for Astrobiology in Edinburgh, the national node of NASA's Astrobiology Institute. He has published numerous academic and popular articles and books. He is currently a member of NASA's Scientific Analysis Group for the Search for Life, which evaluates upcoming astrobiological missions to Mars.
David Kipping is a British-American astronomer and associate professor at Columbia University. He holds a PhD in Science from the University of Cambridge and a PhD in Physics and Astronomy from University College London. In 2009, he discovered the first evidence of the transit of the exoplanet HD 80606b around its star. He is the founder of the Hunt for Exomoons with Kepler project, which focuses on the search for exomoons and natural satellites of exoplanets. He has been recognised with several awards and distinctions, including the Kavli Fellow in 2019, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship in 2018, and Popular Science magazine's annual Brilliant 10 award in 2015. In October 2017, he was included in Science News' list of 10 notable scientists. He has created the YouTube channel Cool Worlds.
Frances Westall holds a PhD in Geology from the University of Cape Town and a postdoctorate in Marine Geology from the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, Germany. She was director of research at the CNRS laboratory, Centre for Molecular Biophysics, in Orleans, where she led the Exobiology Group until 2021. She has received prestigious awards from institutions such as NASA, the Italian Chemical Society, the University of Edinburgh, the Belgian Geological Society, the European Society for Microbiology and the International Society for Astrobiology. Since 2022, Westall has been professor emeritus at the CNRS laboratory and is dedicated to her research and writing scientific articles.
Laura Kreidberg is an astrophysicist and director of the APEx (Atmospheres and Processes of Exoplanets) Department at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany. She is a Clay Fellow at the Harvard & Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics and a Harvard Junior Fellow. She received the Doctoral Prize from Division F of the International Astronomical Union in 2016 and the Annie Jump Cannon Prize from the Astronomical Society of the United States in 2021.