Now Life Will Be Searched On Satellites

Is there another world beyond the stars? Space scientists from all over the world are searching for the answer to this question for us, for the whole world, for humanity that if there is life somewhere else in the universe, then where is it?

Now the universe has no end. That is why the search for life is going on at a faster pace around the Earth i.e. in our solar system, except on Earth. There are still many such secrets of the solar system which are unknown. That is why scientists are hopeful that there is life somewhere else in the solar system.

First of all, it was searched on planets. Mars is close to Earth. The atmosphere here seemed like the atmosphere of Earth. That is why life was first searched on Mars. Many space missions were sent.

But now the possibility of life on Mars has faded. All the Mars missions are indicating that the chances of life on Mars are very less.

Evidence of water on the moon

Apart from Mars, the other planets in our solar system are so far from the sun. They are so cold that there seems to be less possibility of life flourishing there.

So, the focus of scientists has turned to searching for life on the satellites of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus-Neptune planets i.e. moons.

When NASA’s Voyager spacecraft passed near Saturn’s moon Enceladus, it found evidence of water there. Voyager planet raised the hope of water being present several kilometers in the icy atmosphere, so NASA sent another space mission i.e. Cassini-Huygens to investigate Saturn.

Now NASA has ended the Cassini mission as well. This spacecraft has got absorbed in Saturn’s rings. That means now if we have to search for signs of life on Saturn’s moon Enceladus, then a new mission will have to be sent.

Searching for life on satellites on planets

NASA and the European Space Agency are also preparing for this. There are discussions going on about at least four such missions, which will be sent to search for life in our solar system.

NASA scientist Chris McKay says that now the focus is more on searching for life on the satellites of planets rather than Mars.

The biggest candidate for this is Saturn’s Enceladus. The Cassini mission has discovered that there may be water at a depth of several kilometers below the surface on Enceladus. The atmosphere of this satellite also contains carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen, which are necessary for life to flourish. Therefore, a new mission is being considered to be sent to investigate Enceladus in the next few years.

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Apart from this, the US space agency NASA is considering sending spacecraft to investigate some comets, asteroids and planets. Chris McKay feels that Enceladus will win in this.

However, Enceladus is not the only satellite on which scientists have their eyes. Jupiter’s moons Europa, Callisto and Ganymede are also expected to have life. Scientists are speculating about Neptune’s moon Triton.

Mission on Jupiter’s moon

Today, Jupiter’s moon Europa is the biggest target for future space missions. In the 60s itself, it was said that there could be life on Europa. Famous fantasy writer Arthur C. Clarke had even imagined a whole world living under a thick layer of ice in one of his books.

It is said about Europa that there are seas and lakes of water under a kilometer-thick layer of ice. NASA’s spacecraft Galileo had told us in the 90s itself that there is water at a depth of 15-20 kilometers in Europa.

Even though we will have to wait for a few years before sending a mission to investigate Enceladus. But, the European Space Agency has started preparations to send a spacecraft named Juice to Europa. This space mission will be sent in 2022 to investigate Jupiter’s satellites Europa, Callisto and Ganymede.

Similarly, NASA is also going to send a space mission named Europa Clipper to investigate Europa.

The most important thing for such a space mission is a robot that can go inside the thick layer of ice and search for water and life.

Robots working in ice

NASA and the European Space Agency are still working in this direction. Many models are being tested, which can cross the ice layer several kilometers thick.

NASA scientist Hari Nair says that many scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena are busy preparing a robot rover that can work in an icy environment. Nair says that preparations are on to build some such spacecraft that can land on these cold moons and do the digging work.

The challenge is to develop robots capable of working in cold environments. For this, robots running on nuclear batteries are being tested. Nair believes that it may take 15 to 20 years to develop such a robot.

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Finding a place in the universe or our solar system where life is flourishing has been a dream of humanity for centuries. If a space mission is able to do this, it will be a great discovery.

Chris McKay says that whenever we think about searching for life elsewhere in the universe, we think that it exists. But this is not necessary. At present, no such evidence has been found.

Yes, there is a hope in the light of which humans are engaged in searching for other worlds, sometimes in the solar system, and sometimes outside it.

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