Are There Any More Habitable Planets

How close is NASA to finding a habitable planet? What I want to learn about this topic is if humans will be able to live on a different planet in my lifetime. I’ve known about space exploration for a while and I’m very intrigued by the vastness of space. Planet Earth can’t possibly be the only planet in the universe that is habitable for humans. That leaves the question, are we even close to finding another Earth?

Finding another habitable planet, in case of disaster to our own Earth, is not the worst idea.

Technology is advancing which means we are traveling further and further and exploring so much every single day. We are able to see into other galaxies and who knows how far we will be able to get. Only 49 years ago, the first person stepped foot on the moon and now we have advanced immensely. The rate at which technology is advancing is very alarming and I wonder if in another 49 years, will we be looking to live on another planet.

To find out about my topic, I went specifically on NASA’s website and looked at many of the articles they provide. I also went on a database and advanced searched using keywords like “habitable planet”, “NASA”, and “space exploration”. This helped narrow my search to specific journals about habitable planets and the search. I sorted my thoughts into 3 parts. The first part is centered around the habitable zone. This is the zone in which a planet could support liquid water based on a sufficient atmospheric pressure.

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The planet must orbit around a star (similar to Earth orbiting the sun). Part 2 includes NASA’s research and how they find habitable planets. This includes the use of technology such as telescopes and satellites. They also face setbacks that have slowed down the search. The 3rd part I would like to focus on is the actual research question and what we can expect for the future of space exploration for a habitable planet.

Searching for another Earth is very important not only for research purposes but for the understanding of our galaxy. Sara Seager, a professor of planetary science and physics at MIT quotes, “If we can identify another Earth-like planet, it comes full circle, from thinking that everything revolves around our planet to knowing that there are lots of other Earths out there” (Habitable 1). I love this quote because we have so much yet to explore and it’s exciting to think about. So far, 3,826 exoplanets have been discovered and confirmed which is not a huge number of candidates but it’s a place to start and build off of.

NASA in their article “Finding Another Earth” focuses on Exoplanets which are planets orbiting stars outside of the solar system. They explain “Kepler Planets” found by the Kepler space telescope within the Milky Way Galaxy (Brennan 1). These planets are found within the habitable zone where the temperatures are not too hot or not too cold for life. The planets in this area need to be a comfortable level which also includes liquid water. Humans need water to survive and if a planet is too close or too far from the star it orbits, the water could boil or freeze making it difficult to work with. The size of the star and planet that orbits it makes a huge difference in habitable zone energy output (heat energy). If the star is bigger in size, the planet must keep a safer distance to be considered in the habitable zone.

Much of NASA’s research is done by telescopes (Kepler) or satellite (TESS). While the Kepler telescope had been in use since 2009 and only recently shut down October 30th of 2018, TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) is NASA’s newest release. On April 18th of 2018, TESS began its 2-year mission. In a quote from astrophysics division director at NASA headquarters, Paul Hertz, “In a sea of stars brimming with new worlds, TESS is casting a wide net and will haul in a bounty of promising planets for further study” (Kazmierczak 2). TESS can help other technologies, such as telescopes, with spectroscopy. This deals with electromagnetic radiation that emits from a spectrum of matter that interacts together. Telescopes such as the James Webb Space telescope can learn more about the exoplanets that are found including information about habitability for humans.

With any exploration or research comes complications. Unfortunately, many setbacks are caused by knowledge or lack-there-of. Researches have high expectations for finding these planets. These researchers must work with engineers who know how to fix the technology when a crisis occurs. This takes patience, time, and accountability. In order to find these exoplanets, scientists must watch thousands of vast gulfs in space to find the one spec among thousands of other stars. Technology can help with that but there are standards and fixations that the telescopes must maintain in order to even see light. This doesn’t stop space exploration from happening though, it only makes the reward that much more significant. “The coming technological innovations will open a new chapter in the search for life beyond Earth… and closing the book on humanity’s long age of cosmic solitude” (Inventing 18).

So what can we expect for the future? Many are looking at Mars. Mars is only half the size of Earth, does not have the same atmosphere, and takes a lot of money to transport equipment to. Researchers across the world are preparing for a future on Mars. In an article by Megan Ray Nichols, this future is very near. As 6 companies work to create habitat prototypes and working environments in space, we could be seeing human life on Mars as soon as 2030. (Nichols 7). “In fact, if you ask Stephen Petranek, author of How We’ll Live on Mars, there is no question about it. If we want to ensure our survival as a species we have to colonise Mars. ‘There is a 100 percent probability that Earth will again be hit by a very large asteroid, like the one that killed the dinosaurs,’ says Petranek, ‘and there would be nothing we could do about it.’ If it happens on Earth, all humans would die. The only way to guarantee our species does not go extinct, he says, is to move some of it to Mars” (Beall 3).

I think it’s safe to say that humans could be living Mars in my lifetime but I think we will stuggle to find another planet more similar to Earth. There will have to be tons of research and tests before people will be sent to space. This could take any amount of years depending on technology advances as well as human advances. I think another option would be similar to the ISS (international space station). I’m not quite sure how this will happen but there’s still a lot of research to be done and I’ll leave that to the professionals.