NASA Says They're Close to Finding Life on Other Planets
Fans of ET and other alien life forms, rejoice: NASA experts say they are now closer than ever to discovering life on another planet. This is because how much technology has advanced in the past few years. With increased tech comes increased opportunities for locating life beyond our stars. While plenty of us have imagined that there is life out there, NASA making it an official stance is a pretty big deal.
The statements were delivered during a panel discussion by some NASA big shots, including Ellen Stofan, NASA's chief scientist; John Grunsfeld and James Bolden, both former astronauts; John Mather, a senior project scientist; and Dave Gallagher, NASA's director of astronomy and physics. As The Los Angeles Times noted, Bolden set the tone right off the top. "Do we believe there is life beyond Earth?" he asked those gathered at NASA's Washington, DC headquarters. "I would venture to say that most of my colleagues here today say it is improbable that in the limitless vastness of the universe we humans stand alone."
The push to discover new planets and life was advanced with the launch of the Kepler Space Telescope in 2009. That giant telescope has located 5,000 potential planets, and confirmed 1,700 of them. But to really make progress, NASA said new tech would be necessary. "To find evidence of actual life is going to take another generation of telescopes," Matt Mountain, director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, told The Huffington Post. "And to do that, we're going to need new rockets, new approaches to getting into space, new approaches to large telescopes — highly advanced optical systems."
Mountain was referring to advancements like the new James Webb Telescope, which will be ready for use in 2018. The telescope uses infrared technology to "see" back in time, which will allow scientists to analyze heaps of data. "The Webb will be the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide," explained NASA's report on the Webb Telescope. "It will study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System."
Even with the Webb, some of the NASA experts said they'd need to get everything right to locate something as interesting as new life. We believe we are very close in terms of science and technology to finding another Earth, and signs of life on another world," explained Stofan, according to CNN. "With the James Webb, we have the first capability of finding life on other planets, but we have to get lucky; we have to beat the odds."
The fact that NASA is even talking about beating the odds means it's worth the gamble. That's exciting news for all of us. We're coming for you, aliens! Sorry in advance about Pitbull.
[Image via Flickr - NASA]
