Destinations:
Earth, the only true proof we have that there is life in our universe. We are venturing further into the depths of our oceans and into other extreme environments on Earth, continually discovering new species. Will the same be true about other parts of our solar system? What will we find, as advancements in space exploration allow us to venture farther? How will we know what to look for and how to identify life forms elsewhere in the solar system? NASA has embarked on an ambitious program to find life elsewhere in our solar system, with plans to explore Europa, Enceladus, Titan, and comets. We are also looking beyond our own solar system, to find planets around other suns, hoping to find planets that have similar characteristics as our home planet.
Two of NASA's new
Solar System Exploration Roadmap investigative framework questions directly address life:
"What are the characteristics of the solar system that led to the origin of life?"
"How did life begin and evolve on Earth and has it evolved elsewhere in the solar system?"
These questions can only be answered by continued exploration.
Missions:
The European spacecraft Corot launches this month. Once orbiting, Corot will be able to detect rocky planets around other stars.
Future planet finding research will be conducted with the two missions Terrestrial Planet Finder and SIM.
On October 23rd, the MESSENGER spacecraft will conduct the first of two planned flybys of Venus, on its way to the planet Mercury.
The STEREO mission is still scheduled to launch on a 2-year NASA voyage to provide the very first 3-D images of the sun.
Features: There are several features on our website to help you learn more about the search for life in the solar system including Rules for Identifying Ancient Life , Europa and Titan: Oceans in the Outer Solar System? and Titan's Surface Revealed. You can find even more information at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Planetary Science and Life Detection website.
Fast Lesson Finder: K-12 Activities: Search our Fast Lesson Finder to find classroom lessons related to the search for life. A long list of life lessions includes Searching for Habitable Worlds, It's Just Right , Mars Critters
, Can Photosynthesis Occur at Saturn? , Creature Feature , Stopped Dead in Its Tracks and Strange New Planet.
People: Meet Nathalie Cabrol: Mars Planetary Geologist with a zest for life.
Other Themes
