NASA’s NExSS Initiative to Look for Signs of Extraterrestrial Life

[thesolar65]

NASA’s Nexus for Exoplanet System Science coalition includes those who study our planet as a life-bearing planet, those researching the diversity of solar system planets, and those on the new frontier, discovering worlds orbiting other stars in the galaxy. Image credit: Ron Miller.

The study of extrasolar planets is a relatively new scientific field. The discovery of the first exoplanet (51 Pegasi b) around a Sun-like star was made in 1995.

Since the launch of NASA’s Kepler space telescope in March 2009, more than thousand exoplanets have been discovered, with thousands of additional candidates waiting to be confirmed.

Astronomers are developing ways to confirm the habitability of these worlds and search for signs of extraterrestrial life.

“The hunt for exoplanets is not only a priority for astronomers, it’s of keen interest to planetary and climate scientists as well,” said Dr Jim Green, NASA’s Director of Planetary Science.

NExSS is conceived as a virtual institute marshalling the expertise of ten universities, three NASA centers and two research institutes to better understand the various components of an exoplanet, as well as how the parent stars and neighboring planets interact to support life.

This system approach will help scientists better understand how to look for life on exoplanets.

NExSS will tap into the collective expertise from each of the science communities supported by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.

NExSS’s geoscientists will develop a systems approach by studying our home planet; planetary scientists will study a wide variety of Solar System planets and moons; heliophysicists will look in detail at how the Sun interacts with orbiting planets; astrophysicists will provide data on the exoplanets and host stars for the application of this systems science framework.

The coalition will help classify the diversity of exoplanets being discovered, understand the potential habitability of these alien worlds, and develop tools and technologies needed in the search for extraterrestrial life.

“NExSS scientists will not only apply a systems science approach to existing exoplanet data, their work will provide a foundation for interpreting observations of exoplanets from future exoplanet missions such as the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST),” said Dr Paul Hertz of NASA Headquarters, Washington.

The TESS is working toward a 2017 launch, with the JWST scheduled for launch in 2018. The WFIRST is currently being studied by NASA for a launch in the 2020s.

NASA’s NExSS Initiative to Look for Signs of Extraterrestrial Life | Space Exploration | Sci-News.com
NASA is Getting Serious About the Search for Alien Life | Gizmodo India

 

[kaonalpha]

ET go home !