Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Water, Water, Everywhere

We've found it on the Moon, it's probably on Mars. Ceres has a metric ton of it. Now we've found it in the atmosphere of Tau Bootis b, one of the first exoplanets to be discovered.

Water may be more commonly found in the universe than we thought. Water is, of course, necessary for our form of life (and possibly at least some other forms of life). It makes the best radiation shield we currently have for astronauts traveling long distances. It can be split into hydrogen and oxygen to make fuel.

Water is vital for space exploration, and we keep finding it. And the more we find it, the higher the chances of bumping into recognizable life - perhaps even intelligent life - out there.

What form that life will take? We won't know until we find it.


No comments:

Post a Comment