Venus and Mars, our closest neighbours, have not offered very encouraging signs of supporting life forms, and scientists have now turned the gaze towards the outer planets in the solar system (Express Photo)
The possibility of another object within the solar system hosting life forms would, statistically speaking, mean that extra-terrestrial life is extremely common in the universe, not rare. Our solar system, after all, is little more than a tiny speck of sand on a sprawling beach
By: Editorial
Updated: April 12, 2023 07:16 IST
The universe is a pretty big place. If it is just us, seems like an awful waste of space” – this oft-quoted remark, attributed to Carl Sagan, has been one of the most forceful, and hopeful, arguments in favour of the existence of life beyond Earth. Essentially, it is a statistical argument.
Even if there was only one in a billion chance for life-supporting conditions to all come together, the fact that there are many trillions of potential places in the universe where life can evolve means that there is a very real chance that we are not alone in this universe.
A European space mission, imaginatively called Juice (for Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer), which is getting ready to begin its journey to three such potential places in our neighbourhood, is expectedly creating a lot of excitement. Venus and Mars, our closest neighbours, have not offered very encouraging signs of supporting life forms, and scientists have now turned the gaze towards the outer planets in the solar system. Juice is supposed to make detailed observations of Jupiter and three of its ocean-bearing moons — Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. It is these moons which are seen as potential habitats for evolution of life.
Ice-covered planetary objects probably are not the best starting points to begin the search for life but the likelihood of presence of water on these places is keeping the possibilities open. The excitement would need to be tempered a bit, however.
The possibility of another object within the solar system hosting life forms would, statistically speaking, mean that extra-terrestrial life is extremely common in the universe, not rare. Our solar system, after all, is little more than a tiny speck of sand on a sprawling beach.
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