AlisonMasonMs.GardnerEnglish10,Period43May2015TheInterstellarSearchNeildeGrasseTysonsaysinhisbook,DeathByaBlackHole,[I]foursolarsystemisnotunusual,thentherearesomanyplanetsintheuniversethat,forexample,theyoutnumberthesumofallsoundsandwordseverutteredbyeveryhumanwhohaseverlived.TodeclarethatEarthmustbetheonlyplanetwithlifeintheuniversewouldbeinexcusablybigheadedofus.Extraterrestriallifeislifeelsewhereintheuniverse;ithasbeenalongtermquestofhumanitytofindit.Findinglifecouldchangethefateandfutureofhumanity,givingusaccesstothingswecouldonlydreamof.Somescientistsbelievethesearchforlifehasnobenefitsandthatifweweredestinedtofindit,wewouldhavealready.Tosome,spendingmoneyandtimeonsomethingwithoutaprobableoutcomeisariskthey'renotwillingtotake.Buttothosewilling,theyseethevalueinsearchingforlifeandotherresourcesandknowagoodopportunitywhentheyseeit.Lifeformscouldvaryfromsmallcells,tonewenergysourcesallthewaytoadvancedlifeformsthatsomewouldconsideraliens.Searchingforextraterrestriallifewouldbenefittheearthbypotentiallyprovidingresources,energysources,habitableplaces,andpotentialallies.Manyscientistsareagainstthesetheoriesandbelievewewon'tfindlife;lookingwouldresultinfailure.AfterafailedtriptoMarsinthe1970s,scientistsinferredthatthetripwasnegativeandhopelessforlifediscovery(Achenbach,"ProofofLifeinSpaceStillStubbornlyElusive.").Also,otherscientistssuggestthatthereisamere.01%offindinglifeintheuniverseotherthanourown("WhatTookYouSoLong?").Conductingspaceexplorationisextremelycostlyandnumbersareeasytobecomeobsessedover.Whyspendmoneyonsomethingthatmaynothavingtheendingresultthateveryonehopedfor?Othersbelievethatifwehaven'tfoundlifeyetthenitisnotmeanttobe.Theirbeliefsinthechancesoffindinglifearebasedonafewfailedattemptsandlackoffaithandperseverance,however,thechancesandbenefitsofseekingextraterrestriallifecontinuetogrowastimeproceeds.Scienceandastronomyrevolvearoundlearninganddiscoverymoreaboutouruniverse,sotheonlywaytodothatistotry.Eventhoughspaceexplorationisexpensiveandhasfailedinthepast,thereissomuchmoretoexploreanddiscoveryotherthanaliens.Itsunderstandabletothinkthatifwehaventalreadyfoundlifeintheuniverse,weneverwill.Nevertheless,wehaveneverbeenthistechnologicallyadvancedinourexistencethanwearecurrently,increasingourchancesinfindingsomethingoutsideofourplanet.Butinmanyaspects,it'snotallaboutthedestination;thejourneytodiscoveringlifecontainsresourcesandthingsthatareandcouldbeusefultoEarth.Asmoreresearchisdone,scientistshavebeenusingtelescopesthathavediscovered21planetsaspossiblelifecontenders(Seidel).Inadditiontothe21potentiallifeinhabiters,thereisanestimated22%ofstarslikeourownwhichprovidesimilaritiesmakingtheareasmorelikelytobelikeourown(Achenbach,OtherPotentialEarth's?Try25BillionofThem.).Alongsidethat,accordingtotheauthorJoelAchenbachofthearticletitledOtherPotentialEarth's?Try25BillionofThem.,Roughlyoneineveryfivesunlikestarsisorbitedbyapotentiallyhabitable,Earth-sizeplanet,meaningthattheuniversehasabundantrealestatethatcouldbecongenialtolife.Thisresearchexpandsourpossibilities,increasingopportunitiesoffindinglifeandresources,resourceslikewater,nutrients,energysourcesandthingstheearthislackingorcouldusetoitsadvantages.Themoreresearchdone,themoreplanetswecandetectandbegintheprocessofnarrowingdowntothemostlikelyplanettoinhabitlifeandvaluableresources.Afterpickingthetopcontenders,wecanbeginsendingprobesandspacecraftstotheseplanetstoseeifthatparticularplanetholdswhatushumansandscientistsareseeking:life.Wecannotonlylookforotherlifebutalsobeginlookingforothernutrientsandresourcesthatwouldbebeneficialtoearth.Ifscientistshavealreadybegundetectingmanypotential,lifeinhabitingplanets,thenfindingoneisjustaroundthecorner.Furthermore,itshighlypossiblethatotherlifeformsonotherplanetsdontneedthesamelifecomponentsasustosurvive.TolivingthingsonEarth,waterisessentialbutperhapsnottootherlife.AccordingtoSteveNadis,authorof"DoesLifeReallyNeedWater?",theactivityofenzymesisextremelyhinderedbecauseoftheabsenceofwaterbutonotherplanets,waterdoesntseemtobeanabsoluterequirementforlife.Alongsidethat,JamieSeidel,thewriterof"It'sLife,Folks,butNotasWeKnowIt."statesthat,Others,likeonenewlydiscoveredspeciesofbacteria,actuallysurvivebyharvestingelectrons-bypassingnutrientsaltogether.Becauselifecanbecreatedfromdifferentmatter,thisopensthegatetoalargervarietyoflife,increasingthechancesofdiscoveryandgivingushumansnewspeciestoresearch.Discoveringnewbacteriathatcanmoresufficientlysustainlifegivesscientistsnewthingstoworkwith,potentiallyholdingthechancetohelptheearth,maybeevencurediseases.Findinganylifeformgivesussomethingtousesuchasresourcesorindependentlifeformsthatcouldbeusetocreatenewsubstances.Asmoretheoriesandideasaretested,moreevidenceiscollectedthatpossiblelifecanhabitcertainplacesundercertainconditions.Butwhatismoresignificantthanthatisalltheothersubstanceswecanfindwhileseekingoutlife.Somelifeformsaremadefromdifferentchemicalsmakingtheirlifeexistableindifferentcircumstances.Theydontrequirethesameconditionsandnutrientsthatarethesimplebuildingblocktoourlivesandthelivingthingsonearth(Seidel).OutofthesampleclaycollectedfromaMarsexploration,20to30percenthavecontainedsmectiteswhichforminwater,implyingthatwaterwasonceapartofmarssurface(Spotts).Theseclayrockshaveastrongelectricalchargeandcanbeasourceofenergy.ThisnewenergysourcecouldpotentiallybeharnessedandbroughttoEarthifitwasprovedreliabletoandworthy(Spotts).Sincecertainrocktypesformedfromwater,thisisevidencethatthisplanetmusthaveatonepointheldwater.Waterissomethingessentialtohumanitybutcouldalsohavesupportedotherlife.Thefactthatrockcanproduceenergygivesopportunitiesforlifetosurviveandexistsuccessfully.Asthesetwothingsshowpromiseforlife,italsocontainspossibilityforustousetheresourcesifnecessary.Oncethesesubstancesaretestedagain,wecaneventuallylaunchamissiontobringbacksomeofthesespecimensforfurtherresearch.Theseresourcesareimportanttodiscoverbecausetheycouldreplenishoursupplyofnon-renewablesourcesandorprovideuswithnewenergysourcesunfamiliartomankind.Discoveringnewsourcesofenergycouldhopefullybeachievabletohumanity,givingusmoreresources.Searchingandpotentiallyfindingformsofextraterrestriallifeopensupendlessdoorsofpossibility.Theexplorationcouldandcanleadtonewresources,anewplacetoeventuallyinhabitandpossiblyanewspeciestointeractwith.Thoughdiscoveringlifeissomethingthatwillbeansweredwithtime,thejourneytoitholdsthingspotentiallymorehelpfulthananotherspeciesoflife.Resources,newenergysourcesandnewtypesofbacteriaareallatourfingertipsaslongaswecontinuetosearchtheplanetsofouruniverse.

WorkCitedAchenbach,Joel."OtherPotentialEarth's?Try25BillionofThem."WashingtonPost.05Nov.2013:p.A.1.SIRSIssuesResearcher.Web.10Apr.2015.Achenbach,Joel."ProofofLifeinSpaceStillStubbornlyElusive."WashingtonPost.23Sep.2013:p.A.1.SIRSIssuesResearcher.Web.10Apr.2015.Nadis,Steve."DoesLifeReallyNeedWater?"AstronomyVol.34,No.11.Nov.2006:38-43.SIRSIssuesResearcher.Web.10Apr.2015.Seidel,Jamie."It'sLife,Folks,butNotasWeKnowIt."Advertiser(Adelaide).07Sep.2014:p.60.SIRSIssuesResearcher.Web.10Apr.2015.Spotts,Pete."CuriosityHits'PayDirt':MarsWasHabitable,EvidenceSuggests."ChristianScienceMonitor.12Mar.2013:n.p.SIRSIssuesResearcher.Web.10Apr.2015.Tyson,NeilDeGrasse.DeathbyBlackHole:AndOtherCosmicQuandaries.NewYork:W.W.Norton,2007.Print."WhatTookYouSoLong?."Search.Jul/Aug2008:n.p.SIRSIssuesResearcher.Web.10Apr.2015.

Mason