You should submit ~1 typed page (single spaced) for each assignment.

• #1 (due 9/11): The British scientist James Lovelock has proposed that Earth's living organisms, in conjunction with its physical components (atmosphere, oceans, etc.), can be considered together as the equivalent of a single "superorganism". Do you feel that such an entity (dubbed "Gaia" by Lovelock) can satisfy all, some, or none of the definitions of "life" that we have discussed in this class? Write a statement explaining and justifying your answer to this question.
• #2 (due 9/18): Rutgers is just starting the process of hiring a new university president, who will take office in summer 2020. Please provide a short (~1 page) statement at a level that can be shared with the new president (whoever he or she is) that describes what you believe to be the appropriate level of involvement of Rutgers in the field of astrobiology. For example: do you favor a new department? an interdisciplinary degree program? an undergraduate major? no commitment at this time to such a speculative enterprise?
• #3 (due 9/25): In discussing the properties and history of life on Earth, we've talked about the important roles played by a number of specific molecules — DNA, RNA, ATP, phospholipids, oxygen, etc. Which molecule do you feel has been most important (or, if you prefer, most underappreciated) in the development of life on Earth? Explain and justify your answer, and comment on whether you expect this molecule would play an equally significant role in an extraterrestrial biosphere.
• #4 (due 10/2): The International Astronomical Union (IAU), the organization that expelled Pluto from the "planet club", is responsible for choosing official names for minor solar system bodies (satellites, asteroids, dwarf planets, etc.). After reading the guidelines for naming minor planets, explain your views on whether and how you believe these rules (e.g., prohibitions on names that are longer than sixteen characters, inspired by living politicians, or "in questionable taste") should be modified.
• #5 (due 10/9): High school students are often taught that scientists make progress by strictly following a fixed "Scientific Method," whose steps are to (1) choose a problem, (2) formulate a hypothesis, (3) make a prediction based on the hypothesis, (4) design and conduct an experiment to test the prediction, and (5) evaluate (and, if necessary, revise) the hypothesis in light of experimental results. (One among many lengthier descriptions of this sequence can be found here.) Choose one or more of the scientists whose work or writing we have already discussed in this class (this may be a single individual, or multiple sets of researchers), and discuss the extent to which you feel his/her/their scientific activity matches the steps of the Scientific Method.
• #6 (due 10/16): Explain whether and/or how you think that study of the other planets (and their satellites) in or beyond the solar system has improved, or can in the future improve, our understanding of our own world.
• #7 (due 10/30): Assuming that NASA only has enough money to fund one astrobiological mission (i.e., a search for evidence of life) in the next ten years, should this mission focus on Mars, Europa, Enceladus, or Titan? Explain and justify your views.
• #8 (due 11/15): Scientific progress occurs when the results of an observation, an experiment, or a theoretical investigation (even if accidental or unexpected) allow us to improve our understanding of the natural world. Choose one or more scientific advances that we have already discussed in this class-- whether due to the work of a single individual, or of multiple sets of researchers-- and explain what factors you feel were most important in enabling that progress to be made.
• #9 (due 11/22): The Arecibo Message, the Pioneer Plaques, and the Voyager Golden Records are three examples of deliberate efforts to communicate with extraterrestrial civilizations. Assess the effectiveness of one or more of these communications, and describe what information you feel our next such electromagnetic or physical message to the cosmos should contain.
• #10 (due 12/4): The late sociologist Marcello Truzzi deserves credit for the axiom (often attributed to Carl Sagan) that "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof." Discuss whether and how this axiom applies to one or more of the subjects we have discussed in this class.