The Earth’s biosphere contains all the known components necessary for life as we know it, which are: liquid water, at least one source of energy, and a list of elements and molecules that are biologically beneficial, but the recent discovery of phosphine, which is potentially vital in the clouds of Venus, reminds us that at least some of these components They exist elsewhere in the solar system as well, so the question here is what are the most promising other sites for life outside Earth?
Mars
According to the physics website, Mars is one of the most Earth-like worlds in the Solar SystemAnd it has polar ice caps that expand and contract with the seasons, and a wide range of surface features that have been carved by water throughout the history of the planet, and the discovery of a lake under the Antarctic Ice Sheet and methane in the Martian atmosphere is an important matter that qualifies it to be an exciting candidate for alien life.
–
Methane is important because it can be produced by biological processes. But the actual source of methane on Mars is not yet known.
It is possible that life may have gained a place for it in the past, given the evidence that the planet once had a milder environment, but today Mars has a very thin, dry atmosphere almost entirely made of carbon dioxide, and this provides little protection from radiation Solar and cosmic.
But if Mars manages to hold some water reserves below its surface, it is not impossible for life to survive.
Europe Moon
Galileo Galilei discovered Europe in 1610, along with Jupiter’s three larger moons, it is slightly smaller than Earth’s moon and orbits the gas giant at a distance of about 670,000 km once every 3.5 days.
–
Europe is constantly being compressed and expanded by the competing gravitational fields of Jupiter and other Galileo moons, a process known as tidal bending.
The Moon is thought to be a geologically active world, like Earth, because the strong tidal bending warms its rocky and metallic interior and keeps it partially melted.
Also, the surface of Europe is a vast area of water ice, and many scientists believe that under the frozen surface there is a layer of liquid water as a global ocean that is prevented by heat from bending, which may be more than 100 kilometers deep.
Enceladus moon
Enceladus is like Europe, it is an ice-covered moon with an underground ocean of liquid water, as Enceladus orbits around Saturn and drew scientists’ attention for the first time to a world likely to be inhabited by the sudden discovery of huge geysers near the moon’s south pole.
–
These jets escape from the water from the large cracks on the surface, and due to the weak gravitational field of the moon Enceladus, they are blown into space, which is clear evidence of the existence of an underground storage of liquid water.
Not only has water been discovered in these geysers, but a host of organic molecules have also been discovered, and most importantly, tiny grains of rocky silicate particles that can only exist if the ocean’s subsurface water comes into contact with the rocky ocean floor at a temperature of about At least 90 degrees Celsius.
This is very strong evidence of hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor, providing life’s chemistry and energy sources.
Titan moon
Titan is the largest moon of Saturn, and also the only moon in the solar system that has a large atmosphere, and it contains a dense orange fog of complex organic particles and a methane weather system instead of water, and is complemented by monsoon rains, droughts and surface sand dunes generated by the wind.
–
The atmosphere is composed mostly of nitrogen, an important chemical element used to build proteins in all known life forms.
Radar observations have revealed rivers and lakes of liquid methane and ethane, and possibly ice volcanoes that resemble volcanoes erupting in liquid water instead of lava.
Despite how cold this large moon is, the abundant chemicals available on Titan have sparked speculation that life forms, potentially of fundamentally different chemistry from terrestrial organisms, could exist there.
– .
