--- title: "To Find Alien Life, Scientists Suggest Searching Space for This Party Drug" description: "Scientists believe that there could well be nitrous oxide, better known as whippets or laughing gas, in space — and that it could indicate life." date: "2022-10-09" modified: "2022-10-09" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/biosignature-nitrous-oxide" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "astrobiology" - "biosignatures" - "habitable planets" - "the digest" --- # To Find Alien Life, Scientists Suggest Searching Space for This Party Drug ![Scientists believe that there could well be nitrous oxide, better known as whippets or laughing gas, in space — and that it could indicate life.]() *\Image: Getty Images/NASA/Futurism\* ## Party on, Planets If the concept of space itself isn't trippy enough for you, we have good news — scientists believe that there could well be nitrous oxide, better known as whippets or laughing gas, somewhere out there. As scientists at the University of California Riverside suggest in a new paper [published in the *Astrophysics Journal*](), the concept that space could be full of the same stuff that [college students huff for a quick high]() isn't just fun to consider, but could also be a new indicator for whether or not a planet is habitable. "Fewer researchers have seriously considered nitrous oxide," UCR astrobiologist Eddie Schwieterman [said in a press release](), "but we think that may be a mistake." ## Whippet Good Schwieterman and his team at UC Riverside's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences calculated how regularly living organisms produce nitrous oxide, and then entered that data into a planetary model. They then determined that habitable exoplanets with nitrous oxide-rich atmospheres could be detected by tech like the James Webb Space Telescope. While there are some non-biological situations that produce nitrous oxide, such as the small amount released by lightning strikes, the UCR team accounted for that possibility in its modeling, and noted that lightning also releases nitrogen dioxide, which could also be detected in small levels and used to rule a planet out. Others who've considered nitrous oxide as a biosignature have, as the press release noted, pointed out that the compound doesn't exist in high quantities in Earth's atmosphere in spite of the billions upon billions of life forms living here. But Schweiterman has an answer for that too. "This conclusion doesn't account for periods in Earth's history where ocean conditions would have allowed for much greater biological release of \[nitrous oxide\]," the astrobiologist said. "Conditions in those periods might mirror where an exoplanet is today." With the JWST offering the greatest space data-collecting capabilities to date, the UCR team hopes their fellow scientists will begin taking the nitrous oxide-as-biosignature hypothesis seriously — and maybe, like so many drug enthusiasts before them, broaden their horizons. **More life off Earth:** [*Swiss Government Scientist Says We May Be on the Brink of Discovering Alien Life*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()