Scientists talk about space, aliens at SMS

Students at Somers Middle School got a special treat last week when two of the managers of MSU's Space Public Outreach Team (SPOT) in Bozeman paid the school a visit to provide some insight into the search of extra-terrestrial life.

SPOT, a division of the Montana Space Grant Consortium (MSGC), provides Montana schools, youth and other community groups with interactive presentations about current NASA missions, free of charge. The presenters canvass schools throughout the state to present material related to Gravitational Wave Astronomy, in "Listening to the Universe," and the search for extra-terrestrial life in our solar system, in "Aliens and Astronauts."

Two out of three SPOT managers, Adam Kobelski and Kathryn Williamson, presented "Aliens and Astronauts" at Somers. The two noted that SPOT reached 15,000 students - about nine percent of the students in the state - last year alone, highlighting NASA research and careers in Montana. The Montana Space Grant Consortium took shape in 1991 as part of a national network whose goal is to expand aerospace research and education in the United States.

As for the search for extra-terrestrial life, Williamson explained that the search begins right here on earth, since one of the ways NASA attempts to better understand the likelihood of life in space is by exploring extreme environments on Earth in search of what are called extremeophiles.

Extremophiles are microbes that are capable of living in conditions in which other life forms cannot exist, such as extreme hot and cold temperatures and in harsh chemical environments or radiation that would seriously harm or destroy most other life.

The one thing that must be present in order for life to exist is liquid water, upon which all life seems to depend. Understanding this, NASA has turned its focus upon those planets and moons within our solar system on which they believe liquid water might be present.

Unfortunately, liquid water is a scare commodity in our solar system - and probably most other solar systems, as well. Kobelski explained that around every star there exists a narrow band that scientists refer to as the "Goldilocks Zone," "habitable zone," or "green belt," where stellar conditions are favorable for liquid water and, thus, life.

In our solar system, three planets - Venus, Earth and Mars - fall within the "Goldilocks Zone," but only Earth presently possesses liquid water. Kobelski said that the atmosphere of Venus is so hostile and hot that even the strongest metals melt, making it near impossible to explore. On the other hand, Mars, which shows signs of having once possessed both an atmosphere and liquid water, presently has neither. Without an atmosphere, Mars has become a cold, dead planet, incapable of supporting life.

However, other possibilities exist because of some things that scientists have learned on Earth. Scientists have found microbial life in Antarctica far beneath the ice, near the liquid water of the ocean upon which the ice continent floats. Many scientists believe that similar life could exist beneath the ice of certain moons, like Jupiter's smallest moon, Europa, or Saturn's sixth largest moon, Enceladus.

NASA scientists once believed that there may have been water on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, which has a dense atmosphere. Because of thick, orange haze that surrounds Titan, we were not able to see its surface without paying Titan a visit.

When such a visit was made by the Huygens probe in January 2005, the probe sent back images of rain and even drainage channels that seemed to flow into a dark lake or sea - actual liquid flowing over Titan's surface. However, instead of water, Titan's rain and lakes turned out to be liquid methane, creating an environment devoid of life.

But scientists remain hopeful that microbial life will yet be discovered in our solar system. In fact, the New Horizons probe was launched in 2007 and is currently in route to Pluto, which it is scheduled to reach in 2015. New Horizons, Kobelski said, is the fastest craft NASA has ever built, capable of traveling 47,000 mph.

Scientists have also discovered an earth-like planet in a neighboring solar system, orbiting one of the stars closest to our own sun. Gliese 581 is a red dwarf that lies just 20.3 light years away from Earth, with at least three planets.

The star system gained attention when its second planet, Gliese 581 c, was discovered in April 2007, which lies within that star's Goldilocks Zone. Gliese 581 c has a radius 1.5 times the Earth's radius and a mass that is five times larger than the Earth's. Although it is the most earth-like planet scientists have discovered, a runaway greenhouse effect may have made it uninhabitable.

However, 20.3 light years - 119 trillion miles - is still much further than we are likely to visit anytime soon. Even at New Horizon's top speed of 47,000 mph, the trip would take 289,000 years to complete.