Sustainability and the Astrobiological Perspective: Framing Human Futures in a Planetary Context
Adam Frank, Woodruff Sullivan

TL;DR
This paper integrates astrobiology with sustainability science, proposing a planetary perspective on human futures by analyzing life-planet co-evolution, planetary habitability, and atmospheric changes through the lens of dynamical systems and the Drake Equation.
Contribution
It introduces a novel framework connecting astrobiological studies to sustainability, emphasizing the mean lifetime of technologically advanced species and modeling their evolution as dynamical trajectories.
Findings
Astrobiology informs concepts of planetary habitability.
Mass extinctions relate to current Anthropocene challenges.
Historical atmospheric changes offer insights into climate dynamics.
Abstract
We explore how questions related to developing a sustainable human civilization can be cast in terms of astrobiology. In particular we show how ongoing astrobiological studies of the coupled relationship between life, planets and their co-evolution can inform new perspectives and direct new studies in sustainability science. Using the Drake Equation as a vehicle to explore the gamut of astrobiology, we focus on its most import factor for sustainability: the mean lifetime <L> of an ensemble of Species with Energy-Intensive Technology (SWEIT). We then cast the problem into the language of dynamical system theory and introduce the concept of a trajectory bundle for SWEIT evolution and discuss how astrobiological results usefully inform the creation of dynamical equations, their constraints and initial conditions. Three specific examples of how astrobiological considerations can be folded…
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Taxonomy
TopicsSpace Science and Extraterrestrial Life · Earth Systems and Cosmic Evolution · Global Energy and Sustainability Research
