We are not alone in the universe - this is the conviction of the staff of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States (NASA). Moreover, the agency is so confident that they are right that they promise to find traces of extraterrestrial life within the next 20 years.
"I am confident that we will find signs of extraterrestrial life within the next ten years," - said Ellen Stofan, chief scientific adviser to NASA.
Making such loud statements, NASA experts refer to the amount of water found in the solar system. Water is the main condition for the emergence of life. Recently, its presence has been discovered on many planets. For example, on the surface of Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede, entire oceans are hidden under layers of ice. Recent research has shown the presence of hot springs on Enceladus, the moon of Saturn.
Not so significant, but theoretically sufficient to support life, sources of water exist on many planets of the solar system.
“We know where to look. We know how to search. We have all the necessary tools and we are on the right track,”added Ms. Stofan.
The main subject of attention in the search for extraterrestrial life is the so-called "habitable zones" - places with temperatures that allow the presence of water in liquid form. Previously, it was assumed that such zones can only be located near sufficiently warm objects, such as the Sun or Earth. Recent discoveries have shown that water can remain liquid and away from heat sources. So, in Europa, water is heated by the force of gravity, which continuously "pulls" the satellite, creating enough friction and energy to maintain the required temperature.
“Now we know that life can exist not only near stars, but also near large planets,” NASA scientists note.
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The agency has a number of major projects planned, the goals of which include the search for extraterrestrial life forms. The most promising is a flight mission to Europe. It is scheduled for 2021, the estimated cost of the flight is $ 2 billion.