WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The world is not prepared to discover life on another planet, although it could only take a few years, NASA's chief scientist warned on Monday.
Two NASA and one European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft are expected to blast off to Mars for horizontal drilling in the rocks and the depth of the Red Planet, hoping to find clues about the existence of organisms.
These two tasks are the best chance for humanity to answer the question: "Are we alone in this universe or are there extraterrestrials?"
There is a real possibility that one or both of these missions will succeed, and will have far-reaching implications, said Dr. Jim Green, who has been active in NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) space missions. Discovery.
"It would be quite revolutionary to find evidence of extraterrestrial life or life on Mars. I don't think we're ready for the results. I was worried about that because I think we're about to find that evidence and make some announcements about it."
"What happens next is to ask a whole new set of scientific questions, such as is the newly discovered life resembling life on Earth? How do we relate to it? Can life move from one planet to another?"
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The European exo Mars Rover is scheduled to land on the Red Planet in March 2021, where it will drill six and a half feet deep into Mars for sampling.
After Mars's organic matter is examined, confirmation or denial of life on the Red Planet can be obtained within weeks or months of the spacecraft's return to Earth.
Similarly, NASA's March 2020 spacecraft will drill into the rock formations on Mars, then put samples into test tubes that will be collected later and returned to Earth for testing, marking the first time materials from Mars have been brought to Earth.
The spacecraft will search near the site of the ancient Martian ocean, where life is thought to have formed billions of years ago, when the red planet was "blue" like Earth.
Dr. Jim Green expressed his enthusiasm for the trips, saying that the two missions have a real chance to discover life outside our planet.
