The search for life beyond Earth has gone beyond Mars, Europa and our solar system to the billions of planets now known to orbit distant stars. A new, NASA-sponsored website that will explore the science and scientists of this cutting-edge and fast-growing field debuts today (Tues) at the address www.manyworlds.space.
The site grew out of NASA’s Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS) initiative, an interdisciplinary endeavor to help differentiate between planets in the Universe that are ‘habitable’ and those that are ‘inhabited.’ The goal of NExSS is to bring together researchers from the different communities NASA funds to answer these questions.
The site will be authored by Marc Kaufman — writer of two books on space and a former reporter and editor for The Washington Post and Philadelphia Inquirer. Guest columnists will also appear regularly. If you are interested in what researchers are beginning to learn about the attributes of these distant worlds, take a look at the site, feel free to comment, and pass it on to friends and colleagues who might share your curiosity.