--- title: "James Webb Turns to Examine Planet Showing Potential Sign of Life" description: "NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has turned its full attention towards the distant ocean-covered world called K2-18b last week." date: "2024-04-29" modified: "2024-04-29" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/james-webb-k2-18b-life" categories: - "James Webb Space Telescope" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "exoplanet" - "habitability" - "james webb space telescope" - "the digest" --- # James Webb Turns to Examine Planet Showing Potential Sign of Life ![NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has turned its full attention towards the distant ocean-covered world called K2-18b last week.]() *\Image: Getty Images\* ## Second Glance NASA [made a huge splash]() in September when it [announced]() that its James Webb Space Telescope had spotted potential sign of life on an exoplanet dubbed K2-18b in the form of "dimethyl sulfide," (DMS) a gas that's produced exclusively by lifeforms on Earth. Now, the telescope has turned its full attention towards the distant ocean-covered world. On Friday, it [took another eight-hours-long peek]() to further investigate the tantalizing findings, as [*The Times* reports](), an exciting step in our efforts to probe what has been described as [one of the most promising known locations]() to look for extraterrestrial life. ## Plank Call The ramifications of the discovery of DMS on the exoplanet are considerable. The gas is, [per NASA](), "only produced by life" here on Earth, with the majority being accounted for by "phytoplankton in marine environments." Whether that holds true on K2-18b is anything but certain — which is particularly frustrating because the exoplanet is located a whopping 124 lightyears away, making it practically impossible to visit and investigate firsthand. Nonetheless, excitement has been steadily growing. The JWST's spectrometer readings found that methane and carbon dioxide were abundant, which led to scientists concluding that the "sub-Neptune" planet was likely covered in a massive ocean hundreds of miles deep and a hydrogen-rich atmosphere. "That right away said you need to have an ocean," Cambridge astrophysicist Nikku Madhusudhan, lead of the ongoing research, told *The Times*. "This is the first time we’ve detected methane in a small planet ever. It solved a more than decade-long mystery, literally called the 'missing methane problem.'" Meanwhile, confirming the presence of DMS could "revolutionize scientific history," he argued. But before we can do that, Madhusudhan and his colleagues have much work to do. The team is planning to spend the next ten months poring over the results of the James Webb's latest observations. Early results could be revealed as soon as four to six months from now, according to the report. "If we do detect DMS \[on K2-18b\] it does put it basically at the top for potential signs of habitability," Madhusudhan told the newspaper. **More on the discovery:** *[James Webb Spots Possible Signs of Life on Distant Planet]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()