They’re shooting for the stars.
Scientists have developed a laser that could detect extraterrestrial life in outer space, which could speed up the decades-long quest to find other beings “on faraway moons and planets.”
The NASA-backed research conducted at the University of Maryland shows that the laser technology could potentially identify signs of life and analyze materials from other planets.
The study was published Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy.
“The good thing about a laser source is that anything that can be ionized can be analyzed,” lead study author Ricardo Arevalo, a UMD associate professor of geology, said in a statement. “If we shoot our laser beam at an ice sample, we should be able to characterize the composition of the ice and see biosignatures in it.”
“This tool has such a high-mass resolution and accuracy that any molecular or chemical structures in a sample become much more identifiable,” he added.
To read more, click here.