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NASA to Unveil Discovery That Affects Search for Extraterrestrial Life
• Space.com NASA to Unveil Discovery That Affects Search for Extraterrestrial Life By Mike Wall SPACE.com Senior Writer posted: 30 November 2010 01:19 pm ET |
NASA is expected to make an announcement Thursday (Dec. 2) about a new scientific finding that "will impact the search for extraterrestrial life," the space agency said in a statement.
NASA has scheduled a press conference for Thursday at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT) at the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C. Agency officials said the discovery is in the field of astrobiology, which is the study of the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the universe.
The press conference will be broadcast and webcast live on NASA TV. SPACE.com's NASA TV feed is available here.
Participating in the press conference will be:
Mary Voytek, director, Astrobiology Program, NASA Headquarters, Washington Felisa Wolfe-Simon, NASA astrobiology research fellow, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, Calif. Pamela Conrad, astrobiologist, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Steven Benner, distinguished fellow, Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, Gainesville, Fla. James Elser, professor, Arizona State University, TempeThe results will also be published in a paper in the journal Science at 2 p.m. Thursday, according to NASA officials.
The announcement comes closely on the heels of several other major milestones in the search for life and possible habitable environments beyond Earth.
In late September, for example, researchers announced the discovery of the first potentially habitable alien planet. And less than two weeks ago, astronomers discovered the 500th planet beyond our own solar system.
The Strangest Alien PlanetsIs Earth Unique or Is Life Common Across the Universe?10 Alien Encounters DebunkedYou can follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter: @michaeldwall.
4 Comments in Response to NASA to Unveil Discovery That Affects Search for Extraterrestrial Life
media leaks have already established that the findings relate to a bacteria that survives and grows on arsenic, uncovered deep in a California lake.
The discovery of a bacteria that can incorporate arsenic into its DNA adds a new dimension to what has long been accepted as the building blocks of life as we know it....
http://podlogs.com/slavens/files/2010/06/allTheseWorlds.jpg
Now they're just dicking with us:
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2010/12/01/fact_check_speculation_feeds_flap_on_alien_life/
http://www.space.com/news/nasa-announcement-alien-life-rumors-101201.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20101201/sc_ac/7316534_what_is_nasas_secret_astrobiology_announcement
If I were NASA, I'd forget about that search for intelligent life out there. Look at what supposedly intelligent life has done to this planet. Darwin must be rolling in his grave.