2024-02-29 07:00:15
How to detect life on exoplanets? A promising space mission is being prepared.
The LIFE mission, a collaboration between ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich, aims to unravel the mystery of the existence of life on other planets. At the heart of this initiative, five satellites will work together to form a space telescope ofwingspan (Span is the distance between the tips of the wings. The term is valid for…), capable of analyzing infrared thermal emissions from exoplanets. This technology (The word technology has two meanings in fact 🙂 innovative technology could revolutionize our understanding of distant worlds and their potential habitability.
Credit: ETH Zurich / initiative LIFE
Through a recent study published in The Astrophysical Journalresearchers put the capabilities of the LIFE mission to the test using our own planet (A planet is a celestial body orbiting the Sun or another star in…) as objet (Generally speaking, the word object (from the Latin objectum, 1361) designates an entity defined in…) test. They exploited emission spectra thermal (Thermal is the science which deals with the production of energy, the use of…) infrared (Infrared radiation (IR) is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength…) real, collected by the satellite (Satellite may refer to:) d’observation (Observation is the action of attentively following phenomena, without wanting to…) from Terre (Earth is the third planet in the Solar System in order of distance…) NASA’s Aqua, to simulate what the LIFE telescope might observe when peering at Earth-like exoplanets. This unique approach made it possible to validate the measurement process envisaged for the mission.
The challenge was to determine whether, by observing Earth as a mere distant speck, the space telescope would be able to recognize signs of life. The results were promising: regardless of the geometry ofobservation (Observation is the action of attentively following phenomena, without wanting to…) and seasonal fluctuations, the LIFE telescope could identify significant concentrations of gases such as CO2, water,ozone (Ozone (or trioxygen) is a chemical compound with 3 atoms…) and the methane (Methane is a hydrocarbon with the chemical formula CH4. It is the simplest compound of…). These gases, notably ozone and methane, are crucial because they are produced by biosphere (The notion of biosphere designates both a space and a self-sustaining process (until…) land.
This detection capacity proves to be independent of the observation position, a major advance knowing that the exact geometry for future observations of terrestrial exoplanets remains uncertain. Although atmospheric seasonality proves difficult to observe, the study confirms that next-generation space missions will have the capacity to assess the habitability, or even habitation, of nearby temperate exoplanets similar to Earth.
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