To date, scientists have catalogued more than 3,500 exoplanets, some of which may even be capable of fostering life. But we simply don’t know. The ability to detect life on distant worlds still eludes us, but a new project coordinated by NASA now takes us a significant step closer to achieving that goal.
Six new papers published in the science journal Astrobiology are providing a launching point for scientists on the hunt for signs of life on planets outside our Solar System. The new papers outline various ways in which extraterrestrial “biosignatures” could be detected using current and future technologies, and what scientists should be looking for in the data. Encouragingly, the scientists say it’s entirely possible that we’ll detect atmospheric biosignatures of potentially habitable planets by the year 2030, while cautioning that definitive proof of alien life will likely only come later, after more rigorous analysis and more powerful telescopic techniques.
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