from Part IV - Life and habitability
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 September 2020
Autotrophic microorganisms, regardless of whether they are using light insolation or chemical reactions to acquire energy for the production of organic compounds, represent the only source of carbon for carbon-based life evolution in a planetary biosphere (Schulze-Makuch & Irwin, 2018). The incorporation of inorganic carbon into organic carbon compounds requires large amounts of energy: light is one of the most available sources of energy for life on the surface of planets orbiting in the habitable zone (Schulze-Makuch & Irwin, 2018) and as an additional energy source for the moons of the Jovian planets in the Solar System.
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