Habitability Models for Planetary Sciences

TL;DR

This paper proposes a unified habitability model combining ecological and astrobiological approaches to standardize planetary habitability assessments for space missions.

Contribution

It introduces a mass-energy habitability model and advocates for its integration into a NASA standard to improve habitability evaluation of planetary environments.

Findings

Development of a mass-energy habitability model.

Proposal for a NASA Habitability Standard.

Enhanced comparison of habitable environments.

Abstract

Habitability has been generally defined as the capability of an environment to support life. Ecologists have been using Habitat Suitability Models (HSMs) for more than four decades to study the habitability of Earth from local to global scales. Astrobiologists have been proposing different habitability models for some time, with little integration and consistency between them and different in function to those used by ecologists. In this white paper, we suggest a mass-energy habitability model as an example of how to adapt and expand the models used by ecologists to the astrobiology field. We propose to implement these models into a NASA Habitability Standard (NHS) to standardize the habitability objectives of planetary missions. These standards will help to compare and characterize potentially habitable environments, prioritize target selections, and study correlations between habitability and biosignatures. Habitability models are the foundation of planetary habitability science. The synergy between the methods used by ecologists and astrobiologists will help to integrate and expand our understanding of the habitability of Earth, the Solar System, and exoplanets.