In our search for life - whether within the earliest part of Earth's geologic record, on planets within our solar system such Mars, or especially for extrasolar planets - we must infer the presence of life from its impact on the local or global environment. These "biosignatures,"
Selection note: Curated because “Biosignature False Positives” covers In our search for life - whether within the earliest part of Earth's geologic record, on planets within; it materially informs GShips work on biosignatures and target characterization.
Evidence boundary: NTRS provides open full text, but this book chapter was screened for curation rather than independently or domain reviewed; inclusion is contextual, not automatic claim evidence.
Stable record
ntrs-20180004768
Topic
destinations-astrobiology
Type
Book Chapter
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Authors
Harman, Chester E.; Domagal-Goldman, Shawn
Year
2018
Editorial state
metadata curated editorial draft
Reviewer
GShips Project editorial synthesis
Official link checked
2026-07-25
Source-supplied abstract
In our search for life - whether within the earliest part of Earth's geologic record, on planets within our solar system such Mars, or especially for extrasolar planets - we must infer the presence of life from its impact on the local or global environment. These "biosignatures," often identified from the known influence of terrestrial organisms on the Earth's atmosphere and surface, could be misdiagnosed when we apply them to alien worlds. The so-called false positives may occur when another process or suite of processes masks or mimics a biosignature. Here, we examine several leading biosignatures, then introduce potential false positives for these signals, and finally discuss methods to discriminate between the two using current and future detection technologies. We conclude that it is the astrobiology community's responsibility to thoroughly exhaust all possibilities before we resort to "life" as an explanation.
Abstract text has not been adopted as a GShips conclusion.
What would change this record?
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NTRS provides open full text, but this book chapter was screened for curation rather than independently or domain reviewed; inclusion is contextual, not automatic claim evidence.
Source-supplied titles, abstracts, authors, and dates may require correction against the canonical full text.
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People, review, and conflicts
Prepared by
GShips Project
Editorial status
metadata-curated-editorial-draft
Editorial reviewer
GShips Project editorial synthesis
Last editorial review
No editorial-review date recorded
Independent review
pending
Independent reviewer
No independent reviewer assigned
Last independent review
No independent-review date exists
Last content edit
Not recorded separately
Official source or link verified
2026-07-25
Declared conflicts
The maintainer intends to explore a commercial venture based on some GShips work. No entity, outside funding, customer, sponsor, or indexed-organization relationship currently exists.