?Where is the search for extraterrestrial life
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?Can a form of life really exist outside Earth?
This question has fascinated scientists for decades.
To date, no scientific evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial life has been found despite the efforts of researchers. But the scientific community is not losing hope.
No proof of life, but signs to dig for
According to Nikku Madhusudhan, professor of astrophysics and exoplanetary sciences at the University of Cambridge, interviewed by Live Science, there is currently “no clear evidence of any kind of extraterrestrial life”, but there is some “here and there” clues that certain planets and moons could support life.
This could, for example, be the case for Europa, Jupiter's moon: scientists have indeed discovered, under its icy crust, an ocean of salt water which could be conducive to the development of a form of microbial life. Professor Madhusudhan also highlighted, as part of a study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, evidence of an ocean and dimethyl sulfide (an element produced only by life on Earth) on the planet K2- 18 b, located more than 100 light years from our planet. Astrophysicist and planetary scientist Sara Seager participated in a study suggesting the presence of phosphine gas on Venus, which could be a marker of life.
Collect samples
All of this data, of course, remains hypothetical. According to Sara Seager, also interviewed by Live Science, such discoveries will only be made possible and confirmed by the collection of samples from different moons and planets. But some explorations could wait millions of years, due to the immensity of Space and the time needed to make the journey: “It would take more than a million years for humans to visit K2-18 b with traditional rocket propulsion” we can read on Live Science. In the meantime, scientists are therefore focusing on the planets and moons of our system, accessible in “only” a few months or a few years.
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