In 2010, to celebrate 50 years of Exobiology and Astrobiology research at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) they commissioned a graphic history of the people and events that have shaped the science of nascent Exobiology and Astrobiology research.

Of course, how we came to be is not a new field, for as long as mankind was able to take a break from grinding out life we've wondered how it all came to be.

They were well-received and they have continued to produce them and now they have out #7, Prebiotic Chemistry and the Origin of Life, which moves from telescopes to microscopes in order to see how prebiotic chemistry works and learn more about how life on Earth arose from chemical precursors, which is essential in determining whether or not life could originate on other worlds. 

Our own Professor Dave Deamer (well, not ours, U.C. Santa Cruz pays his bills, but if you are a scientist here you're family) has written extensively on this fascinating subject and you can read his work here.

But if you also want a very elegant and informative graphical book, give NASA a try. If you liked the Avengers movies, yeah, it's like that. It isn't, but that's okay, you will enjoy it.


Art and writing: Aaron L. Gronstal