“Astrobiology” is a curious science. Like its predecessor “exobiology” it is, as George Gaylord Simpson once quipped, “a science without a subject.” We know about astrophysics and astrochemistry, but where is the biology in astronomy? So far, it’s only in the imaginations of evolutionists, who think the recipe for life is as simple as “just add water.”
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Today, astrobiology is a dynamic, interdisciplinary field that is (as long as the NASA money flows) attracting a great deal of vibrant research into many interesting questions: What is life? What are the conditions for life? How can we detect it? But it is still a science without its prime subject. Nevertheless, there is motivational power in a suggestive name like astrobiology.
Another phrase motivates much of NASA’s astrobiology quest: “follow the water.” Since life as we know it depends on liquid water, it seems that watery environments are the best places to look. Doubters that water is essential for life usually do more armchair speculation than lab work. Most realists understand water’s incomparable qualities….
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