A search for life on Earth from the Galileo spacecraft
- PMID: 11536539
- DOI: 10.1038/365715a0
A search for life on Earth from the Galileo spacecraft
Abstract
In its December 1990 fly-by of Earth, the Galileo spacecraft found evidence of abundant gaseous oxygen, a widely distributed surface pigment with a sharp absorption edge in the red part of the visible spectrum, and atmospheric methane in extreme thermodynamic disequilibrium; together, these are strongly suggestive of life on Earth. Moreover, the presence of narrow-band, pulsed, amplitude-modulated radio transmission seems uniquely attributable to intelligence. These observations constitute a control experiment for the serach for extraterrestrial life by modern interplanetary spacecraft.
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