The question of the existence of life outside our planet has been asked by scientists around the world for many decades. They argue on this topic, give a lot of examples both confirming and denying this fact, and are constantly in search of an exact answer to this assumption. However, there is still no official data on the existence of life elsewhere than on Earth. Researchers are painstakingly studying the planets of the solar system for the possible origin of life, and a list of those places where, in their opinion, there is life, or conditions suitable for life, have already been compiled. Over the years, through various experiments and observations, scientists have come to the conclusion that the appearance of life on earth is the result of a combination of certain factors. Accordingly, if they are on other planets, then life there can also arise at a certain moment.
Researchers have found that life requires water, some kind of energy source, and some chemicals (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur). The energy source can be, for example, the sun or geothermal sources.
The assumption that our planet is the only place where intelligence and life are present gives the right to think about the special location of the Earth in the Universe as a whole. This is exactly what scientists used to think. But studies have shown that there are many planets with a similar, no less advantageous, arrangement, and each of them can become the place where a new civilization began. Particularly attractive for scientists working on the issue of the presence of life outside of Planet Earth, now are 2 planets: Jupiter's satellite - Europa, and Saturn's satellite - Enceladus. It is to these places that researchers are now planning to pay close attention. Activities are being developed that will help more likely to confirm or deny information about a favorable environment for the creation of life on their surface.
When scientists began to closely study the image of the satellite of Jupiter, they were amazed at what they saw. It was a sensational event in science, because the picture showed that the surface of Europa was covered with ice. After taking repeated images, they confirmed that there is a frozen ocean on the surface of the planet, and the overall picture is strikingly similar to the Arctic. The depth of this ocean is about 100 km, which means that the water on the satellite is twice as much as on our planet. This discovery gave rise to many questions, because now it's worth figuring out whether liquid water has ever existed here? And is this even possible with such a distance from the Sun? The temperature on the surface of Europe now reaches -130 degrees. But has it always been this way? Scientists suggest that under the multi-kilometer crust of ice blocks there may well be water in liquid form with a plus temperature, as on the Earth's surface. Absolute darkness reigns there, but for some creatures the presence of sunlight is not necessary for development and growth. This gives the right to think about the presence of microbes in the oceans of the satellite or even more complex organisms.
During the research activities, scientists discovered water emissions through a huge thickness of the ice surface, and this was not an isolated case, they were regular. This conclusion was not made by chance, the place of the water release was the warmest place of the satellite. It is to this place that close attention is riveted, since it is interesting from a scientific point of view and can help in the discovery of living organisms here.
In 2020, it is planned to launch another probe to Europe, a more modern and improved one. He will be faced with the task of determining the composition of the satellite's ocean and making a more accurate analysis of its conditions as a whole. Even if the data obtained do not coincide with the composition of the earth's oceans, where a huge number of fish and other organisms live, the likelihood of finding something living on a satellite is very high. In modern biology, there are many examples of such living organisms living at the bottom of the oceans, to which sunlight has never penetrated. They do not need it, for life they need methane, not oxygen. Scientists know how inventive life can be, and what forms it can take. Also, her ability to survive in incredible conditions is striking. Scientists believe that complex organisms will be found in Europe,capable of comprehension, but their development to civilization becomes impossible due to the huge layer of ice.
Observations of Saturn's moon Enceladus led to the discovery of a large number of hydrogen molecules in those jets of water that emerged from the crevices of its ice cover. This fact was established with the help of a satellite launched on its surface. When examining the inner surface of Enceladus, the fact of geothermal activity was discovered, and this could mean the presence of life here, if this heat is generated in the right amount. From this, one can also make the assumption that in the ocean of Saturn's moon, another substance necessary for life can be formed - methane. The researchers suggested during the study of the satellite that there are conditions on it that are close to the conditions for the emergence of life in the oceans on the earth's surface.
To be completely sure that the conditions of Enceladus are suitable for the emergence of life, scientists have yet to conduct a number of studies to detect sulfur and phosphorus on it. It is this task that scientists set themselves in the first place, but another apparatus will already be engaged in its solution, since the action of the previous one has come to an end.
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The search for life outside our planet is still relevant and still continues. Scientists do not get tired of coming up with more and more perfect methods of working in this direction, thanks to which life will finally be found. Perhaps, it will be a person who will create life in an artificial environment, which will become a guide in the study of space, which is still alien to him. And this will be the point when life will return to its cosmic origin.