Humans have alone in the universe? According to the leading scientists of NASA, the answer is almost certainly "no."
"I believe we will find the indication of the existence of extraterrestrial life in the next decade, as well as evidence to prove that within 10-20 years," Ellen Stofan, senior scientist at NASA said in a meeting in Washington last Tuesday.
"We know where to look, how to find, and in most cases we have the technology to support it," said Ellen Stofan.
However, the aliens living here according to the scientists are not aliens. "We're not talking about those little blue. We're talking about the tiny microorganisms."
In the presentation lasted 1 hour, leading scientists of NASA has launched a series of new discoveries show that humans are closer than ever to answer the question: are we may find life in the solar system and beyond or not.
Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary science has made a study of the atmosphere above the polar cap of Mars freeze, which showed that 50% of the northern hemisphere of the planet had the to 1 mile deep ocean, and the Red Planet once had water in a very long time - about 1.2 billion years.
Stofan said that a long time "is essential to the development of more complex life."
She also said that the introduction of geologists and biologists in the field space to Mars will help improve detection of fossil life forms exist on the planet's nearest neighbor we .
Another study by Jim Green made after measuring the light dawn on Jupiter's satellite Ganymede to prove that the existence of an ocean beneath its icy crust. Results of this study showed that previous ideas about finding the "area capable of settlement" is too limiting.
"We recognize that the region is capable of not only settlements located around the star, we can surround the large planet anymore," Green said.
He also revealed more about NASA's plans to explore Europa, one of Jupiter's satellites have different freezing ocean.
For his part, Jeffery Newmark, Director of Solar System Physics interim NASA has described the process learn more about the role of the magnetic field of the Earth in the fight against water and the atmosphere of the planet solar wind blows fly, thereby laying the foundation for the development of life.
"Mars has no magnetic field significantly, so the water and the atmosphere of it had been swept away by the solar wind," he said.
Paul Hertz, chief physicist at NASA Space said, the modern telescope is helping scientists to consider the atmosphere of large planets around distant stars in order to detect signs of school of life.
"We do not just study the water and habitat in the solar system, we seek to live in the planets around other stars." John Grunsfeld, deputy administrator of NASA said he was interested in the search for extraterrestrial life is largely because they want to know that life is shaped like.
"When I arrived in distant places than Mars, I believe that the ability to find similar life forms on Earth is very low."
Grunsfeld believe that the next generation of scientists and future astronauts will find extraterrestrial life, but he also hopes it will happen sooner.
"The scientific community is making great strides. And I told my colleagues that I will try to become the director of planetary science when we discover life in the solar system," said Grunsfeld .