A Cambridge team of researchers are contending the strongest indication so far of extraterrestrial life. Led by professor Nikku Madhusudhan, the group of researchers studying the atmosphere of a planet called K2-18b has detected signs of molecules that, on Earth, are produced only by living organisms like marine algae.
Naturally, the astronomers behind the study, published Wednesday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters are not jumping to any conclusive statements on the matter, but that isn’t dampening excitement at the preliminary discovery. “This is a revolutionary moment,” Dr. Madhusudhan said during a conference on Tuesday, while also emphasizing that no one is claiming to have found life. “It’s the first time humanity has seen potential biosignatures on a habitable planet.”
Hopes for continuing this level of research and exploration face an uphill battle as President Donald Trump has moved to slash NASA’s science budget by nearly half under an early version of the administration’s proposed budget to Congress; terminating billions of dollars and effectively pulling the rug out from under current and potential research like Habitable Worlds Observatory, an upcoming NASA mission which could build on Dr. Madhusudhan and his team’s findings.
In a statement, NASA pointed to a study of Hycean exoplanets—which researchers proposed K2-18b could be classified as—as a new frontier for scientists, but one that “requires tens to hundreds of hours of observing time for a single planet.” “To deduce the presence of life from an atmosphere alone, we would also need to know about the planet’s surface, interior, and environment,” the statement continued. “For biosignatures, context is key.”
Without funding though, it’s unclear whether American scientists could continue their search for context—or life.