NEWSLINE PAPER,- Get past the cheesy tales of alien abductions and UFOs; actual hunt for life outside of Earth is currently being driven by serious scientific study. Methodically working on this initiative, scientists worldwide should see tangible benefits in the next ten years.
Many projects are now underway to look into the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Using laborious sample collection, a rover is searching Mars for evidence of past life. Probing the frozen moons in our solar system is another goal of the mission. Astronomers are also seeking for distinctive elemental traits that may indicate extraterrestrial life by examining the atmospheres of exoplanets, or planets outside of our solar system. Further work is being done to determine whether signals from potential sentient civilizations are intentional or not.
Positively, British royal astronomer Lord Martin Rees thinks that in ten years, evidence of organic matter on nearby celestial bodies may come to light. It was not an easy journey to get here, though. Early on in the hunt for extraterrestrial intelligence, or Seti, there were no clear answers. Thought to be a lush, life-filled planet, Mars turned out to be a desert. Exploring distant planets presents daunting challenges because they are so little and far away.
Anticipating modest early results, such as microbial life or chemical indicators in distant atmospheres, scientists have refined their methods in their hunt for extraterrestrial life. Even in its most rudimentary forms, the finding of extraterrestrial life would drastically alter people's perceptions of their place in the cosmos, but it lacks the thrill of Hollywood representations.
