Secondary School Students' Knowledge and Opinions on Astrobiology Topics and Related Social Issues

Abstract

Astrobiology is the study of the origin of life on Earth and the distribution of life in the Universe. Its multidisciplinary approach, social and philosophical implications, and appeal within the discipline and beyond make astrobiology a uniquely qualified subject for general science education. In this study, student knowledge and opinions on astrobiology topics were investigated. Eighty-nine students in their last year of compulsory education (age 15) completed a written questionnaire that consisted of 10 open questions on the topic of astrobiology. The results indicate that students have significant difficulties understanding the origin of life on Earth, despite exposure to the topic by way of the assigned textbooks. The students were often unaware of past or present achievements in the search for life within the Solar System and beyond, topics that are far less commonly seen in textbooks. Student questionnaire answers also indicated that students had problems in reasoning and critical thinking when asked for their opinions on issues such as the potential for life beyond Earth, the question of whether UFOs exist, or what our place is in the Universe. Astrobiology might help initiate student awareness as to current thinking on these matters and should be considered for general science education.

Reflections about a Scientific Dissemination Web Conference on Astrobiology

“…Mesmo com o tema discutido na webconferência estando situado na fronteira da ciência atual, o conferencista o abordou com bastante responsabilidade, de forma clara e simples, e até mesmo com humor, quando, por exemplo, fez uma brincadeira, logo no primeiro slide, se referenciando a movimentos de ufologia, movimentos que acreditam que a Terra já foi e ainda é visitada por extraterrestres ou alienígenas: como algumas pessoas leigas em um primeiro momento confundem Astrobiologia e Ufologia, este tipo de esclarecimento inicial é importante. A Astrobiologia é um assunto que pode ser bastante útil para o ensino de ciências e, também, para aprofundar reflexões acerca do nosso lugar no Universo em paralelo ao estudo da probabilidade de existência de vida fora da Terra (Oreiro & Solbes, 2017). Deste modo, a Astrobiologia pode ajudar a promover uma educação científica que motive os interesses dos alunos e permita uma aprendizagem com maior profundidade sobre os métodos usados pela ciência para tentar resolver problemas que ainda estão em aberto e sem respostas definitivas, como este acerca da existência ou não de vida fora de nosso planeta.…”

The Human Microbiota and the Immune System; Reflections on Immortality

“…i.e. the hypothesis that life exists throughout the Universe, distributed by meteoroids, asteroids, comets, planetoids, self-replicating spacecraft and, man-made spacecraft in the form of unintended contamination, is very well contemplated by biologists up to the point that astrobiology is taught in schools [24]. Therefore, we may reasonably assume that our third brain will live forever, at least in this universe.…”

Astrobiocentrism: reflections on challenges in the transition to a vision of life and humanity in space

“…When non-astrobiologists think about extraterrestrial life, they seem most of the time to think about complex life rather than microbial life (Offerdahl et al ., 2002; Oreiro and Solbes, 2017). In many cases when talking to the public about astrobiology it becomes clear that what really interests people is the chance of finding life with a level of intelligence (to the extent that it makes sense to talk about intelligence in terms of levels of intelligence) similar to ours and with motivations, emotions, sense organs and perspectives similar to ours (Chon-Torres et al ., 2020; Schwartz, 2020).…”