NASA Chief: Space Agency "Well on Our Way" to Discovering Aliens

Life on Mars

The sad report that the Opportunity Mars rover had died was accompanied by a bit of exciting news last week: NASA thinks it's close to discovering alien life.

During a ceremony announcing Opportunity's death, NASA chief Jim Bridenstine shared an update on the agency's Mars 2020 mission, which will hunt for signs of alien life on the Red Planet.

"We're going to be able to look at samples and determine if there's a biosignature in there," he said, according to Space.com. "The goal is to discover life on another world; that's what we're trying to achieve. And because of so many great people in this room, friends, we are well on our way to doing that."

Alien Assessment

Bridenstine isn't the only NASA administrator that believes in the existence of extraterrestrial life. Earlier this month, Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission directorate, said he thought it was likely that life exists beyond Earth.

As for where we might find it, NASA isn't pinning all of its hopes on Mars. The agency is considering missions to two other potentially life-supporting bodies: Saturn's moon Titan and Jupiter's moon Europa.

READ MORE: We're 'Well on Our Way' to Discovering Alien Life, NASA Chief Says [Space.com]

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