NASA has formed a new research team devoted to finding extraterrestrial life beyond Earth, and it’s officially called the “Center for Life Detection Science” (CLDS), and will be part of the agency’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. “The search for life beyond Earth cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach… to give ourselves the best shot at success, we need to develop tools and strategies that are tailored to detecting life in the unique conditions of other worlds, which are very different not only from Earth but also from each other,” said Tori Hoehler, the principal investigator of CLDS and a researcher at Ames. Read more for a video explaining how a nuclear robot could tunnel for life on Europa and additional information.
“We now have the scientific and engineering expertise to address this profound question [are we alone?] with the clarity of scientific evidence — and we have a great community of scientists ready for that grand challenge,” adds Tori Hoehler.
