The search for the next habitable planet continues, and NASA will stop at nothing to find Earth 2.0. However, one NASA director claims the search will be over in the next decade. Are scientists at the space agency close to finding it?
"This next decade, we're going to hopefully answer the question, 'Is there life beyond Earth in the solar system?'" stated Jim Green, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division.
Green added that there have been rapid advancements in the research. Planets that have been observed by NASA contain all the necessary ingredients for life, which include organic material, energy, and water. In fact, some of these planets are close to Earth namely Mars, Saturn's moon Titan, another Saturn moon Enceladus, and Jupiter's moon Europa.
The findings on Mars include lakes and snowmelt-fed streams which scientists had previously thought was impossible. Such findings were taken after images from the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter were analysed.
However, the discovery of the lakes and streams apparently appeared after a billion years. These findings also suggest that the red planet had been suitable to carry microbial life.
In addition to talking about the search for the next habitable planet, Green answered questions about conspiracy theories involving government secrets on unidentified flying objects (UFOs). According to Green, there is nothing that the space agency is hiding from the public.
"As a scientist, because we know the concept of life beyond earth - if it exists - is revolutionary, there would be no reason we would hide it. I would dearly like to find life and announce it. The last thing I would ever want to do would be to hide it," explained Green.
With the statements from NASA's director, it can be concluded that the search for Earth 2.0 will end in 10 years. The question now is would this new Earth indeed be Mars, of which scientists at NASA have been obsessively researching on?