Marine Science Can Contribute to the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life

Abstract

Life on our planet likely evolved in the ocean, and thus exo-oceans are key habitats to search for extraterrestrial life. We conducted a data-driven bibliographic survey on the astrobiology literature to identify emerging research trends with marine science for future synergies in the exploration for extraterrestrial life in exo-oceans. Based on search queries, we identified 2592 published items since 1963. The current literature falls into three major groups of terms focusing on (1) the search for life on Mars, (2) astrobiology within our Solar System with reference to icy moons and their exo-oceans, and (3) astronomical and biological parameters for planetary habitability. We also identified that the most prominent research keywords form three key-groups focusing on (1) using terrestrial environments as proxies for Martian environments, centred on extremophiles and biosignatures, (2) habitable zones outside of "Goldilocks" orbital ranges, centred on ice planets, and (3) the atmosphere, magnetic field, and geology in relation to planets' habitable conditions, centred on water-based oceans.

Keywords: deep-sea; extraterrestrial intelligence; extremophiles; habitability; icy moons; term-map clusters.

Figure 1

Publication trend in astrobiology research, as represented by the total number of articles identified by our query per year. The 2023 drop in the number of published items results from the query being finalized prior to that year ending.

Figure 2

Term-map analysis results by VOSviewer depicting three major emerging clusters in astrobiology research with different levels of interconnection among terms. The top 300 linkages are represented. A term’s importance is indicated by the size of the circle.

Figure 3

CiteSpace map of research trends. The number and name of each group are assigned based on the quantity of references to selected articles and the articles’ contents.

Figure 4

CiteSpace analysis of keywords within papers quoted in research articles retrieved by the query. The colour bars on the right represent the following period ranges. Red: burst in the use of the keyword; dark blue-green: the keyword was used below the burst threshold; pale blue-green: the keyword was not used. “Begins” and “Ends” represent the time interval (i.e., “Year”) when each keyword was used.