New Technique Could Help in the Search for Life on Other Planets

In the search for Earth-like planets, researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Caltech have proposed a method to identify unique chemical signatures from various surface materials by studying exoplanets via infrared.

By doing so, the scientists believe the astronomers would be able to more efficiently determine whether or not the ingredients of life are present on different worlds under examination.

“We’re most likely to discover signs of life through atmospheric discoveries,” Space.com reports Mark Swain of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as having said.

Among some of the most hopeful candidates that may be among the first to be studied in infrared are those that may have rocky surfaces, making them especially conducive to the method.

“We propose to determine whether an exoplanet has rocky surfaces by astronomical observations via the unique thermal emission feature of silicate rocks,” lead author Renyu Hu said. “By spectroscopy one may literally ‘see’ the rocks, or more precisely the planetary regoliths.”

The discovery of the potential use of infrared in the discovery of Earth-like planets comes even as announcements that NASA’s Kepler space telescope went into safe mode after tilting in an unexpected direction when one of its wheels used to point the machine stopped spinning.

“I wouldn’t call Kepler down-and-out just yet,” NASA scientist John Grunsfield told the Associated Press; however, the mishap marks the second wheel to lose control of its orientation while in space.

Launched in 2009, the telescope has confirmed 132 planets and spotted more than 2,700 potential ones.

Meanwhile, however, NASA has yet another trick up its sleeve when it comes to the discovery of Earth-like planets: the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, also known as TESS, is anticipated to cover some 400 times as much sky as any previous satellite after its launch, which is estimated to take place in 2017.