Life? Close by?

There is likely life in the universe, but we still have not ruled out life in our solar system. Besides Earth, there are a few other areas that are possibly habitable. Take Mars, for example, it does not really look habitable now. But 4 billion years ago. There is evidence suggesting Mars was habitable.  But just because it is habitable does not mean it has ever had life. But Mars is still a pretty cool place with or without life. And has been explored a lot. You can even see it on Google!

Another potential place for life in our solar system is not a planet, but a moon, on Jupiter's moon Europa. Europa is an icy planet with a subsurface ocean.  Europa’s ocean may not be too cold with warm rock at the bottom and Europa’s interior flexes, forcing energy into its interior and is coming out as heat. According to NASA, it is similar to how repeatedly bending a paperclip generates heat. This October, NASA is sending a probe to Europa to see if it has life. It is called the Europa Clipper. A very interesting prospect for life, but we have to wait and see. It won't be landing on Europa for quite a while.

Lastly, we have the moon Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. What makes Titan also a prospect is because of its atmosphere. It has the 3rd most robust atmosphere other than Earth and Venus (Venus is a bit too hot for life though) Another thing it has are rivers, lakes, and seas. But the seas are liquid methane. Another thing it has is organic materials, Titan is very rich in materials for life. NASA also has a mission for Titan, called the “Dragonfly Mission” And it will launch in 2027.

In or out of our solar system, there are many places for life, and I have barely scratched the surface of habitable planets in just our solar system. Thank you for reading this blog.