Project Hail Mary and Five Paths to Alien Life: Exploring non-Earth biochemistries, metabolism cues, mineral signatures, and technosignatures

To the point

Project Hail Mary teams with five astronomers—Cole Mathis, Amirali Aghazadeh, Chris Impey, Macy Huston, and Jason Wright—who outline five possible non‑Earth life forms from infrared-emitting space microbes to ammonia-breathing rocklike beings, explain why searches usually start with water and habitable zones but could involve other chemistries, propose looking for metabolism and evolution patterns, consider mineral and technosignatures as clues, and stress that extraordinary evidence and rigorous verification are needed before claiming a discovery.