US EditionNew Model Helps to Figure Out Which Distant Planets May Host Life
- An astrophysicist and astrobiologist and their colleagues developed a new quantitative habitability framework in 2025 to identify promising planets or moons for life searches.
- This effort arose from challenges in interpreting distant biosignatures and deciding where to focus, amid disputed claims like April 2025 reports of life signs on exoplanet K2-18b and earlier Venus claims.
- The framework refines habitability by assessing conditions suitable for specific species or ecosystems and is supported by a NASA-funded Alien Earths project involving experts across astrobiology and planetary science.
- Available as an open-source model, the framework will integrate data on terrestrial extremophiles to improve interpreting new observations from missions like NASA's proposed Habitable Worlds Observatory and the Nautilus telescope constellation.
- This method seeks to direct efforts in identifying extraterrestrial life by emphasizing quantitatively characterized habitats outside our planet, while taking into account the uncertainties in detecting biosignatures and the potential variability in alien life forms.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Future Telescopes Could Detect Life Managing their Planet Atmospheres
The challenge in the search for habitable worlds is clear. We need to be able to identify habitable worlds and distinguish between biotic and abiotic processes. Ideally, scientists would do this on entire populations of exoplanets rather than on a case-by-case basis. Exoplanets' natural thermostats might provide a way of doing this.
The Conversation
New model helps to figure out which distant planets may host life
Some 'water worlds' like Jupiter's moon Europa could potentially be habitable for life. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI InstituteThe search for life beyond Earth is a key driver of modern astronomy and planetary science. The U.S. is building multiple major telescopes and planetary probes to advance this search. However, the signs of life – called biosignatures – that scientists may find will likely be difficult to interpret. Figuring out where exactly to …
A new study highlights the errors of a research published in 2023 by researchers from Cambridge University who claimed that the Space Telescope James Webb (JWST) has detected signs of the existence of a liquid ocean - and possibly life signs - on the K2-18b exoplanet, a world of sub-neutulin dimensions located at 124 years of light of the sun, transmits the specialized Space.com site, quoted by Agerpres.
Signatures from the exoplanet K2-18b arouse hope to find extraterrestrial life. But how do researchers look for it – and why haven't they discovered one yet?
New model helps to figure out which distant planets may host life - Tech and Science Post
The search for life beyond Earth is a key driver of modern astronomy and planetary science. The U.S. is building multiple major telescopes and planetary probes to advance this search. However, the signs of life – called biosignatures – that scientists may find will likely be difficult to interpret. Figuring out where exactly to look also remains challenging. I am an astrophysicist and astrobiologist with over 20 years of experience studying extr…
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