NASA’s newest space observatory could sniff exoplanet atmospheres for signs of life

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Over the course of our existence, humanity has struggled to definitively answer the question: “Are we alone?”

Is Earth the only planet in the vast cosmic sea that contains life? As our technology becomes more advanced, we get closer and closer to the answer.

Our solar system contains a multitude of worlds, planetary bodies ranging from ice planets to gas giants with magnificent rings to rocky, terrestrial worlds like our own. But what lies out beyond our stellar neighborhood?

It’s only been in the last few decades that scientists have detected planets orbiting other stars. We call them exoplanets. Since that initial discovery, researchers have trained their telescopes on the cosmos in search of new and different worlds.

Their efforts were not in vain, as thousands of exoplanets have been detected. Now, scientists are starting to shift their focus to the individual planets and learning as much as they can about them. Do they contain life? What are they made of? What kind of atmosphere do they have?

These are the types of questions we hope to answer about the alien worlds that fill our universe.