Is there anybody out there? With developing science and technology Astrobiology is a growing field of study. And NASA missions past, present, and future are all looking for life in space. To date, human beings on Earth are the only intelligent life we know for certain.

With the release of the newly declassified  “Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena”  headlines explore the possibility of aliens in UFOs visiting Earth. And through the quickly developing study of astrobiology, NASA is trying to help the US intelligence community to answer some age-old questions. 

But for almost 50 years our space agency has been looking for the truth. And NASA is just starting to search this solar system and beyond into the vast universe.

The NASA website summarizes its missions which are currently studying the habitability of Mars, probing the ocean worlds of Titan and Europa, and identifying Earth-size planets circling distant stars. 

Astrobiology science was first used 45 years ago with the launch of Viking 1. Since then many missions have had one goal. And that’s to find and study signs of life on other planets. 

Past Missions   

• Viking Project (1 & 2) 
• Cassini  
• Galileo
• Spirit and Opportunity and Curiosity Mars Robotic Rovers
• Kepler and K2  
• Spitzer  

Current Missions  

Hubble  

The Hubble Space Telescope sent into space in 1990 has made significant contributions to our knowledge of astrobiology. Although it was only supposed to operate for 15 years it was seamlessly sending data until June 2021.

Many Hubble observations are providing clues about the formation of planets. Hubble has also been used to study asteroids, comets, moons, and planets throughout the solar system.

MAVEN  

NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission began orbiting Mars in 2014. It has been sending the atmosphere, climate and weather info from the red planet, ever since.

 Mars Odyssey  

For twenty years the NASA  Mars Odyssey has been mapping the geography, chemical elements, and minerals on the surface of Mars.

 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter  

The NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) searches Mars for evidence that water was once present on the surface. If water was ever on any part of the planet’s surface it may have enabled life to exist.  

TESS Mission  

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is searching for planets outside of our solar system. NASA hopes to find an exoplanet that supports life. Launched in 2018, TESS is on a mission to survey the sky. So far 120 confirmed exoplanets have been discovered. And more than 2,600 planet candidates have been identified.

Perseverance Mars Rover  

The Perseverance Mars rover landed on February 18, 2021. It gives NASA the ability to drill down and collect core samples of Martian rock and soil. The upgraded Mars rover stores the samples in sealed tubes. They will be picked up by a future mission that will return them to Earth.

Future Missions  

• James Webb Space Telescope

• Europa Clipper Mission  

• Dragonfly Mission to Titan  

• Nancy Grace Roman Telescope  

The Webb is scheduled to take off in the Fall of 2021. Much like its predecessor, the Hubble, it will give NASA star-glasses to see distant stars up-close and personal.   

All these future missions will continue to make images and analyses of all their target planets. They are searching for habitable zones in the stars nearby to Earth. And all the observations will likely lead to the discovery of new worlds. And the hope remains that somewhere in the stars we will find life.