NASA has revealed a series of new projects that could ultimately help prove the existence of extraterrestrial life.
It brings together a group of leading researchers in astronomy, biology and geology as part of the new project "to take stock of our knowledge in the search for life on distant planets and lay the foundation for advancing science related.
Called the Nexus for Exoplanet System Science, or NExSS, he hopes to answer the questions of what planets could accommodate life – and what could life look like
Scroll down for video [19659005] Could it be like living on another planet? NASA brings together a group of leading researchers in astronomy, biology and geology as part of a new project to "take stock of our knowledge of the search for life on distant planets and lay the groundwork for advancing related sciences ". In the photo, NASA artist's design of what life might look like on the surface of a distant planet. ” clbad=”blkBorder img-share” />
Is that what life might look like on another planet? NASA brings together a group of leading researchers in astronomy, biology and geology as part of a new project to "take stock of our knowledge of the search for life on distant planets and lay the groundwork for advancing related sciences ". On the photo, NASA artist's design on what life could look like on the surface of a distant planet.
WHAT DOES FOREIGN LIFE LOOK LIKE?
Many promising planets discovered by researchers are found around colder stars, which emit light in the infrared spectrum, rather than the strong emissions of visible sunlight
NASA says that this could mean should be open to the possibility that life can arise in many contexts in a galaxy with so many different worlds – perhaps with the life of purple color instead of the familiar life forms dominated by the green on Earth, by example.
"That's why we are considering a wide range of biosignatures."
"We move from the theory of life elsewhere in our galaxy to a robust science that will ultimately give us the answer we seek to this profound question: are we alone ? said Martin Still, NASA's exoplanet scientist at Headquarters, Washington.
In a set of five articles published last week in the scientific journal Astrobiology, NExSS scientists revealed their first project, inventorizing the most promising signs of life. biosignatures.
They considered how to interpret the presence of biosignatures, should we detect them on distant worlds.
A major concern is to make sure that science is strong enough to distinguish a living world from a sterile planet pretending to be one.
Through their work with NExSS, scientists aim to identify the instruments needed to detect the potential life of NASA. missions.
The detection of atmospheric signatures of some potentially habitable planets may occur before 2030, although the question of whether the planets are truly habitable or whether they have a life will require further study.
LOOKING FOR LIFE? ?
Researchers looking for extraterrestrial worlds should keep their eyes on some of the "basic ingredients" of life on Earth, including nutrients like phosphorus, say Harvard scientists
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Scientists claim that our research of ET is too focused on worlds that show signs of water – a tactic that may hinder efforts to discover if we are alone in the world. # 39; universe.
Missions to extraterrestrial worlds should instead look for "basic ingredients" for life on Earth, including nutrients like phosphorus, according to computer models. to find life because these "bioessential" elements probably only exist in the hard-to-reach areas of the underground oceans that the craft is tasked to explore.
As we will not be able to visit distant planets and collect samples anytime soon, the light that a telescope will observe will be all we have in the search for life outside our solar system.
Telescopes can examine the light reflected from a distant world to show us the types of gases in the atmosphere and their "seasonal" variations, as well as colors like green that could indicate life.
These types of biosignatures can all be seen on our fertile Earth from space, but the new worlds we examine will differ significantly.
For example, many promising planets that we have found are around colder stars, which emit light in the infrared spectrum, rather than high visible light emissions from our sun.
"What does a living planet look like? & # 39; said Mary Parenteau, an astrobiologist and microbiologist at NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, and co-author.
"We must be open to the possibility that life can arise in many contexts in a galaxy with so many different worlds – perhaps with a life of purple color instead of familiar life forms dominated by green on Earth, for example.
"That's why we are considering a wide range of biosignatures."
DOES THESE TELESCOPES DISPENSE FOREIGN LIFE?
The badessment comes as a new generation of space and ground telescopes are being developed.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope will characterize the atmospheres of some of the first small rocky planets.
Other Observatories – such as the giant Magellan telescope and the Extremely Large telescope, both in Chile – are planning to carry sophisticated instruments capable of detecting early biosignatures on distant worlds.
Work began on a giant telescope, 10 times sharper than Hubble, which could help astronomers find extraterrestrial life on distant planets . Called Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), it should be completed by 2024.
Scientists claim that oxygen – the gas produced by photosynthetic organisms on Earth – remains the most promising biosignature of the life elsewhere, but it's not infallible.
Abiotic processes on a planet could also generate oxygen.
Conversely, a planet devoid of detectable levels of oxygen could still be alive – which was exactly the case of the Earth before the global accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere.
"On the primitive Earth, we could not see oxygen, despite a plentiful life," said Victoria Meadows, astronomer at the University of Washington in Seattle and senior author of the University of Washington. one of the articles.
"Oxygen teaches us that seeing or not seeing a single biosignature is insufficient evidence for or against life – the general context is important."
Rather than measuring a single characteristic, scientists from NExSS argue that we should consider a series of traits.
A planet must be able to support life through its characteristics, and those of its parent star.
NExSS scientists will create a framework that can quantify the probability that a planet will have life, based on all available evidence.
With the observation of many planets, scientists can begin to clbadify more broadly the "living worlds" that show common features of life as opposed to "non-living worlds".
"We will not have a" yes " "or" no "to find life elsewhere," said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, an astrobiologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and co-author. "What we will have is a high level of trust that a planet appears alive for reasons that can only be explained by the presence of life."
