"For thousands of years, humans have looked up at the stars and wondered whether life exists beyond our home planet."
December 4, 2013
Statement of Dr. Mary A. Voytek Senior Scientist for Astrobiology
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
before the Committee on Science, Space and Technology U.S. House of Representatives
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear today to discuss the topic of Astrobiology. For thousands of years, humans have looked up at the stars and wondered whether life exists beyond our home planet. This curiosity was renewed with the latest discovery by NASA's Kepler mission of 833 new candidate planets outside our solar system. Ten of these candidates are less than twice the size of Earth and orbit in their star's habitable zone. With Kepler's help, more than 3,500 potential worlds have now been identified orbiting stars other than our Sun, reminding us just how important NASA's work is to understand the universe and the potential for life beyond our solar system.
Even today, children wonder, where did I come from? Astrobiology seeks to answer this enduring question.
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