Is there life on other planets?
No one knows yet. Scientists have not found any confirmed evidence of life beyond Earth, but they are searching on Mars, icy moons and planets around other stars.
Mars once had rivers and lakes, and rovers like Perseverance are collecting rock samples that might hold signs of ancient microbes. In 2025, NASA reported that a rock called Cheyava Falls contained features that could be potential biosignatures, though they could also have non-biological explanations.
Moons such as Jupiter's Europa and Saturn's Enceladus have oceans of liquid water beneath icy shells, which might be habitable. NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft, launched in 2024, is traveling to study Europa. Saturn's moon Titan has lakes of liquid methane and complex chemistry.
Beyond the solar system
With thousands of exoplanets discovered, many scientists think life could exist elsewhere in the universe. Telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope study the atmospheres of distant planets for gases that could be linked to life. Projects like SETI listen for radio signals from intelligent civilizations.
Did You Know?
The Drake equation, written by astronomer Frank Drake in 1961, is a famous way of estimating how many communicating civilizations might exist in our galaxy.