Radiolysis and Subsurface Habitability: Expanding the Search for Life Beyond the Classical Habitable Zone

To the point

People are exploring life beyond Earth that might not need surface water or a warm star, including subsurface oceans on Enceladus and Europa powered by radiolysis, life in unconventional solvents like glycine–sulfuric acid ionic liquids, and even rogue planets or hidden pockets heated by radioactive decay, with missions like NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory and ESA’s LIFE hunting for such life, and researchers such as Ngoc Truong, Zach Adam, Peter Girguis, Sara Seager, James Kasting, Dimitra Atri, and the fictional Ryland Grace reminding us life could be very different from Earth.