Space
'We’ll Discover Alien Life By 2025': Predicts NASA's Chief Scientist James Green
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First Posted: Sep 03, 2016 04:26 AM EDT
NASA Director of Planetary Science James Green predicts the discovery of possible alien life present in the solar system in 10 years. He also detailed on Ted Talk, why NASA thinks they're on the brink of answering this question and where in the solar system alien life is most likely to live.
"The data that we're receiving is really exciting in telling us, forcing us to think about this in new and exciting ways. I believe we're on the right track...If we answer it, and it's positive, then life is everywhere in the solar system. Just think about that-we might not be alone," he said.
Where to look?
It's all about the ingredients needed for life: liquid water, energy and organic material, he said during the talk. Recent observations have turned our attention to the right places to take a deeper look and start to answer our life question. So when you look out into the solar system, where are the possibilities, asks Observer.
- Mars: NASA recently learned of an ancient ocean where water flowed for possibly hundreds millions of years ago. A few months ago, NASA alluded that they found signs of liquid water in the craters on the Red Planet. Life needs water so there is always hope on Mars.
- Enceladus (Saturn's Moon): For decades, Enceladus left experts uncertain why it is the brightest in the solar system and how it is related to Saturn's ring. NASA director said that the moon has ice but surprisingly, it's blasting water out into the solar system. Silicon particles have also been found, according to a report by iTechPost.
- Europa (Jupiter's Moon): The Hubble Space Telescope discovered water shooting out from the surface of Europa. The tidal flexing caused by the gravity of Jupiter and other Jovian moons seems to be generating enough heat to Europa, which explains how there is liquid and plate tectonic activity in it despite being far away from the Sun and its icy state.
- Titan (Saturn's Moon): Lakes in Titan that are almost the same size as the Black Sea have been found. Methane has been found as well. "If there's any place in the solar system where life is not like us, where the substitute of water is another solvent and it could be methane, it could be Titan," Green said.
Probes are to be send to Alpha Centauri in the coming few years in search of Extra Terrestrial Organisms. Also, SpaceX is planning to send the first Commercial Space Shuttle to Mars. According to Space.com, the key to all the answers lies in the future.
See Now:
NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone
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First Posted: Sep 03, 2016 04:26 AM EDT
NASA Director of Planetary Science James Green predicts the discovery of possible alien life present in the solar system in 10 years. He also detailed on Ted Talk, why NASA thinks they're on the brink of answering this question and where in the solar system alien life is most likely to live.
"The data that we're receiving is really exciting in telling us, forcing us to think about this in new and exciting ways. I believe we're on the right track...If we answer it, and it's positive, then life is everywhere in the solar system. Just think about that-we might not be alone," he said.
Where to look?
It's all about the ingredients needed for life: liquid water, energy and organic material, he said during the talk. Recent observations have turned our attention to the right places to take a deeper look and start to answer our life question. So when you look out into the solar system, where are the possibilities, asks Observer.
- Mars: NASA recently learned of an ancient ocean where water flowed for possibly hundreds millions of years ago. A few months ago, NASA alluded that they found signs of liquid water in the craters on the Red Planet. Life needs water so there is always hope on Mars.
- Enceladus (Saturn's Moon): For decades, Enceladus left experts uncertain why it is the brightest in the solar system and how it is related to Saturn's ring. NASA director said that the moon has ice but surprisingly, it's blasting water out into the solar system. Silicon particles have also been found, according to a report by iTechPost.
- Europa (Jupiter's Moon): The Hubble Space Telescope discovered water shooting out from the surface of Europa. The tidal flexing caused by the gravity of Jupiter and other Jovian moons seems to be generating enough heat to Europa, which explains how there is liquid and plate tectonic activity in it despite being far away from the Sun and its icy state.
- Titan (Saturn's Moon): Lakes in Titan that are almost the same size as the Black Sea have been found. Methane has been found as well. "If there's any place in the solar system where life is not like us, where the substitute of water is another solvent and it could be methane, it could be Titan," Green said.
Probes are to be send to Alpha Centauri in the coming few years in search of Extra Terrestrial Organisms. Also, SpaceX is planning to send the first Commercial Space Shuttle to Mars. According to Space.com, the key to all the answers lies in the future.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone