Having opened the way to space, we, of course, did not stop there and began to look for signs of living organisms in it, proving that we are not alone in this Universe. Unfortunately, so far no progress has been made in this direction. However, the accumulating body of research data has given us a clearer hint of where in the solar system we should be looking better.
Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the Search for Extraterrestrial Life (SETI) Institute, suspects that there may be places within our system where at least microbial life is most likely to exist.
“There are at least seven such places within our system. Seven places where microbial life can exist All of them are practically at arm's length from us. All that remains is to get into the rocket and reach them,”Shostak shares with the Futurism portal.
He also believes that we are more likely to discover this microbial life before we find extraterrestrial intelligent life. Can you guess which places are we talking about?
Mars is certainly one such place, Shostak says. It is possible that lower life forms are hiding under the surface of the Red Planet at a depth of about 30 meters and below, where water reserves may still be stored.
Apart from Mars, the three moons of the gas giant Jupiter are also likely candidates. One of them, Europa, is a planetoid with subsurface oceans capable of supporting microbial life in theory. It is more likely that the main cluster is located near the hot springs at the bottom, which act as "tiny mini-volcanoes that provide you with energy for life," says Shostak. The other two are Ganymede, the largest satellite of all the satellites in the solar system and a planetoid containing water very similar in composition to Earth's, but hidden under a thick layer of ice, scientists say; and Calisto, whose scientists also suspect the presence of an ocean, as well as an atmosphere.
Saturn, the other gas giant in our system, also has a couple of moons that are theoretically capable of supporting life. We learned this thanks to the Cassini space probe, may God rest his “digital soul”. One of these satellites is Titan, which has natural gas liquid lakes. Another is Enceladus, which, according to the same Shostak, as, indeed, other scientists, has even more suitable conditions for life. Finding microbial life there will be easier, because "the satellite has a habit of spitting geysers into space." You don't even have to sit there. As well as not have to drill, the scientist explains.
"You just need to grab the dumped material, bring it back to Earth, and we will finally find the real aliens."
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The last is Pluto.
"Pockets filled with liquid water may be lurking under Pluto's surface," Shostak says.
"Wherever you find liquid water (however, like any liquid in one form or another), there can be microbes."
Nevertheless, the scientist makes some remark and adds:
“I’m not saying that we will definitely find the 'plutons' there.
In the seven above-mentioned places, the right and necessary organic processes take place, which can serve as a source of food or energy, and there is also a supply of fluids - not necessarily water - to support microbial life.
"You have what gives you food, and in a fundamental sense, it gives you the opportunity to create life, which is essentially a simple set of organic chemistry."
When asked when, in his opinion, humanity will find extraterrestrial life, Shostak replied that this topic is the next two decades.
“There are many places where it could theoretically be. There are trillions of planets in one Milky Way. We can see a trillion other galaxies, each of which again may contain a trillion planets. If there is no one among all this diversity, then we, apparently, are really unique in our own way."