NASA Prepares to Search for Life on Mars, Eyes Moon Exploration

NASA's Perseverance Rover is exploring Jezero Crater on Mars, searching for signs of past life. The agency is also working on plans to return astronauts to the lunar surface and develop technologies for discovering life beyond Earth.

NASA is gearing up for a historic mission to search for life on Mars and continue its exploration of the lunar surface. The Perseverance Rover, currently exploring Jezero Crater, is drilling core samples that could potentially contain evidence of past life on the Red Planet.

"Scientists believe there may have been life there in the distant past," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "We're trying to figure out right now how we're going to go back and get [the samples] and bring them back to Earth."

NASA is collaborating with companies to develop a plan for the return mission, which could take place in the 2030s. The agency is also partnering with Firebird Diagnostics to advance its search for extraterrestrial life.

Firebird Diagnostics specializes in synthetic DNA, which has been used to detect diseases on Earth and could potentially aid in identifying alien life. Founder Steven Benner explained that the company's approach is based on the possibility that life beyond Earth may not share a common ancestor with terrestrial organisms.

"It's a big question as to how molecular biology could be done if it was, done by an organism that does not share a common ancestor, a common origin, with you and me," said Benner.

Parallel to its Martian endeavors, NASA plans to return astronauts to the Moon in the near future. According to Nelson, the agency's lunar mission is not merely about revisiting the Moon but rather about gaining new knowledge and preparing for future exploration of Mars.

"We're going back to learn new things. In order for us to go to Mars and beyond," said Nelson.

NASA is embracing advanced technologies to enhance its space exploration capabilities. Nelson has directed scientists to incorporate artificial intelligence into spacecraft software, allowing them to autonomously communicate with other spacecraft.

"In a spacecraft like Voyager, that is out in interstellar space, that is beyond our solar system, if it came upon another spacecraft, it could real time learn to communicate with that other spacecraft," said Nelson.

While the likelihood of discovering life beyond Earth remains uncertain, NASA is preparing for the possibility. Nelson estimates that the vastness of the universe may hold trillions of habitable planets, potentially teeming with life.

"If you ask me, ‘Do I think there's life out there in the cosmos?’," said Nelson. "I ask our NASA scientists that question, ‘how many possibilities in the vastness of this universe are there, that there's another planet like Earth that would be habitable for life as something like we know it?’ They said at least a trillion."

Even if the discovery of alien life proves elusive due to the long distances involved, NASA's exploration efforts provide valuable insights into the origins and destiny of life in the universe.