What NASA is really looking for in space

It's actually quite an exciting time to be looking for life in the universe

I don't think we know for sure how life will look like, right

I mean, we don't know that. We are absolutely biased by what is around us

I mean, we are a form of life searching for itself. Earth is our North Star

We have to find ogues on this planet that may resemble an ancient Mars surface

an ocean that may resemble the ice ocean of Europa. This is very important for search for life in the universe

This is also good for understanding human exploration of different planets too

as we may be close to visiting these planets ourselves. The more our telescopes are able to resolve more clearer pictures, the further we are able to see

And what we are truly seeking is some sort of signature that is created by life

And by that, what we mean is microbes. What is missing in our knowledge, however, is knowing what kind of different signatures can microbes release into the atmosphere that could be detectable

and that will be the next challenge for the field, connecting the observables with the producers of that observable It very optimistic to assume that a single smoking gun will be enough that there will be one thing and then we say

there it is, that's life. The complexity of biology shows us that over and over again

that it's not going to be the case. But that's not a bad thing. That means that we will have to look at multiple levels of evidence

We have to develop multiple levels of observations. What it eats may be different, right

and how its poops may be different. That's going to be the fun time

It's going to be so amazing for any biologist to want to know how this thing does what it does

It's really exciting to think about this. Regardless of the composition of the planet or the moon

regardless of the stuff that is on this floating rock, if there is life, that means there is some chemistry on this planet

That's, I think, the biggest shift in our minds. It is not just the stuff

but it is the relationship between the chemistry and the remainder of the planet

If, or maybe I should say when, we discover life elsewhere, I hope that it would not be anything

like we've ever thought of or imagined