Life Beyond Earth: Prospects Across the Solar System and Beyond

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Scientists search for life beyond Earth by examining the solar system and exoplanets, finding the Moon and Mercury too hostile for life as we know, Mars debated for past life but no organics found in tested areas, a contested 1996 meteorite claim, and while the Drake equation frames thinking about exoplanets, no definitive evidence exists yet and the search continues with ongoing missions.

Extraterrestrial life - Solar System, Planets, Astrobiology | Britannica
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Extraterrestrial life - Solar System, Planets, Astrobiology | Britannica

Extraterrestrial life - Solar System, Planets, Astrobiology: A brief survey of life’s prospects on the moons and planets of the solar system follows. In the solar system there are many different environments that could contain significant clues to the origin of life and perhaps even life itself. However, there is not yet definitive evidence for or against extraterrestrial life on these planets. The Moon’s surface is inhospitable to life of any sort. Diurnal temperatures range from about 100 K (−173 °C, or −279 °F) to about 400 K (127 °C, or 261 °F). In the absence of either an atmosphere or a magnetic field, ultraviolet light and