‘Astrobiology’ is a brand new field of science, encompassing research into the origins and limits of life on our own planet, and where life might exist beyond the Earth. But what actually is ‘life’ and how did it emerge on our own world? What are the most extreme conditions terrestrial life can tolerate? And where in the cosmos might we reasonably expect to find ET?

Join Dr. Lewis Dartnell on a tour of the other planets and moons in our solar system which may harbour life, and even further afield to alien worlds we’ve discovered orbiting distant stars, to explore one of the greatest questions ever asked: are we alone…?

Dr. Lewis Dartnell (www.lewisdartnell.com) is a UK Space Agency research fellow based at the University of Leicester, studying how life, and signs of its existence, might survive the intense cosmic radiation on the surface of Mars. Alongside his astrobiology research he writes regular science articles in newspapers and magazines, and has appeared in TV shows such as BBC Stargazing Live, Wonders of the Universe and Horizon.

He has published a popular science book introducing astrobiology, “Life in the Universe: A Beginner’s Guide” (tinyurl.com/LifeInTheUniverse) and also an illustrated children’s book with Dorling Kindersley, “My Tourists Guide to the Solar System” (tinyurl.com/TouristsGuide).