In the midst of our fascination with aliens portrayed in books, movies, and conspiracy theories, real-life efforts to find extraterrestrial life are underway, and scientists predict results within the next decade.
Multiple initiatives are currently in progress to search for alien life. On Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover is collecting samples from an ancient lakebed to determine if life ever existed on the red planet. Probes are exploring icy moons in our solar system for signs of habitability, while astronomers are scanning the atmospheres of planets outside our solar system for clues of alien life. Additionally, efforts to detect signals from intelligent civilizations are ongoing.
“I think in 10 years we’ll have some evidence about whether there’s anything organic on some nearby planets,” says Lord Martin Rees, the UK astronomer royal.
The focus on Mars is due to its past potential habitability. Recent discoveries hint at the possibility of liquid water beneath its surface. The Perseverance rover aims to collect samples for a mission known as Mars Sample Return, set to bring them back to Earth in the early 2030s for detailed analysis.
Susanne Schwenzer, a planetary scientist, mentions that signs of past life on Mars could be hidden in the interaction of rocks and water. The hope is to find evidence, possibly even fossilized microbes.
While Mars is a primary target, icy moons like Europa and Enceladus are also under scrutiny. Europa Clipper and Juice, two upcoming spacecraft, are set to explore Europa’s vast ocean beneath its icy surface. Detecting life on these moons would indicate a separate origin of life from Earth.
Beyond our solar system, over 5,500 exoplanets have been identified. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is currently studying rocky exoplanets for potential atmospheres, and future telescopes will further investigate these distant worlds.
The search for intelligent life involves radio observations and upcoming telescopes like the Square Kilometer Array. Jason Wright, an astronomer, notes that while much has been explored within 100 light-years of Earth, ongoing programs like Breakthrough Listen aim to find signals from more distant planets.
The discovery of alien life, if it occurs, may not be a sudden revelation but a gradual process. Scientists emphasize the importance of conveying any findings accurately to the public. If no evidence is found, it would still provide valuable information about the rarity of life in the universe.
In the quest for the unknown, scientists remain hopeful, acknowledging that whether evidence of alien life is found or not, the journey itself is a significant scientific endeavor.
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