Although it may seem like science fiction, is “a matter of time” before we encounter extraterrestrial life. Europa, one of Jupiter’s icy moons, holds the most potential for harboring alien life within our solar system.
Many are optimistic about the possibility of detecting signs of life on a distant world during our lifetimes, possibly in the coming years. The focus is on Jupiter’s mission, where it would be “surprising” not to find life on one of the planet’s icy moons.
The science community assures that we are close to finding extraterrestrial life
Astrophysicist Sasha Hinkley, from the University of Exeter and leader of a team of 120 international astronomers, who leads the James Webb Telescope, stated that it is possible that humanity will discover extraterrestrial life in the coming years, mainly with the help of that instrument. He believes that signs of life can be found on other planets in the universe.
This assertion arises after many habitable exoplanets have been discovered thanks to JWST, indicating promising signs of life on a planet outside our Solar System. Numerous ongoing or upcoming missions mark a new space race towards the greatest scientific discovery of all time.
One of the planetary systems where there is confidence in finding extraterrestrial life is TRAPPIST-1, located 40 light-years away. In this system, there are 7 planets very similar to Earth in size, mass, and density.
Additionally, one of the main indications of this possibility occurred earlier this month with the potential signal of a gas produced by simple marine organisms on Earth in the atmosphere of a planet called K2-18b, which is 120 light-years away. This situation helps us understand that telescopes can now analyze the atmospheres of planets orbiting distant stars in search of signs of chemical substances that, at least on Earth, can only be produced by living organisms.
However, as powerful as JWST may be, it also has its limitations. The size of Earth and its proximity to the Sun allow it to harbor life. But JWST could not detect distant planets as small as Earth (K2-18b is eight times larger) or as close to their parent stars due to glare.
Thus, NASA is planning the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), scheduled for the 2030s. Using what is essentially a high-tech sunshield, it minimizes the light from the star orbiting the planet. This means it can detect and sample the atmospheres of planets similar to ours.
It may not even be necessary to go far; we may just need to look at our Solar System. The most likely home for life is one of Jupiter’s icy moons, Europa. But research is ongoing, and results will not be clear until 2030 when NASA’s Clipper and Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer missions arrive there.
If it’s not Jupiter, it could be any other, but the fact is that there is extraterrestrial life
According to the astrophysicist, there are currently 5,332 exoplanets orbiting 3,931 planetary systems. But this “isn’t even the tip of the iceberg,” given that there are over 100 billion stars in the Milky Way, and most of these celestial bodies host planets.
This situation opens up the possibility of finding other types of life not too far away. Especially because we live in an infinite Universe, with countless stars and planets. For many, it has been obvious that we cannot be the only intelligent life that exists.
This story was written in Spanish by Perla Vallejo in Ecoosfera.
