New Telescope Technology Could Allow Us to See Alien Life within 20 Years

There is a lot of the solar system that remains to be seen and NASA are working hard to take a real close look at what is out there. A panel convened recently to discuss future projects that include incredibly powerful telescopes, which would be capable of viewing planets in so much details we could potentially see if there was life there.

NASA believes that this level of technology will be available to us within the next twenty years, and with recent projects such as the new Kepler Telescope, Dark Energy Survey and the Very Large Telescope already up and running, all working to detect the presence of planets and their atmospheres, the next wave of telescopes are going to offer even more details. The Transiting Exoplanet Surveying Satellite (TESS) and of course the mighty James Webb Space Telescope, which are set to go into service in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

The two new projects are set to find planets and beyond that we’ll start searching those planets for features such as water and gases such as carbon dioxide.

“it’s highly improbable in the limitless vastness of the universe that we humans stand alone.” said Astronaut Charles Bolden.

Of course it is all speculation that there is life elsewhere in the universe, but the only true way to find out if we are alone in the cosmos is to get out there and take a look. Even if it means looking far beyond out technical range in terms of space travel.

Thank you Engadget for providing us with this information.

Image courtesy of Engadget.