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Exoplanets and Excellence NASA's Search for Life in Our Galaxy

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Exoplanets and Excellence NASA's Search for Life in Our Galaxy Exoplanets and Excellence NASA’s Search for Life in our Galaxy Dr. Gary H. Blackwood Manager, NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology May 12, 2021 Citi Program Management Awareness Week © 2021 All rights reserved URS300140 Artist concept of Kepler-16b There Are More Planets than Stars “And on those other worlds, are there beings who wonder as we do?” - Carl Sagan 1 ex·o·plan·et [ˈeksōˌplanət] a planet which orbits a star outside our solar system 2 The Search for Life in our Galaxy Excellence: Explore, Inspire, Aspire ! Planet Earth 3 NASA Highlights 4 Where’s NASA? Jet Propulsion Laboratory Pasadena, California 6 How is NASA Organized? Mission Directorates: • Human Exploration and Operations • Science • Space Technology • Aeronautics Research 7 Moon to Mars 8 Space Launch System 9 NASA Key Science Themes Discovering the Secrets of the Universe Searching for Life Elsewhere Safeguarding and Improving Life on Earth 10 NASA Science Mission Directorate SOLAR JASD SYSTEM HELIOPHYSICS ASTROPHYSICS EARTH 11 NASA Science Fleet 12 GRACE Follow-On Tracking Earth’s Water Movement across the Whole Planet GRACE Data 2002–2017 13 James Webb Space Telescope 2021 Launch 14 Voyager 2 Enters Interstellar Space 15 16 The Search for Life in our Galaxy Are We Alone? Do We Understand Life? NASA/Joyce Definition: “A self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution” Traits Common to Life on Earth • Ordered structure • Reproduction • Growth and development • Response to environment • Homeostatis • Evolutionary adaptation • Energy utilization 20 What Is Essential for Life? Source of Energy Essential Elements Solvent to Host Chemical Reactions 21 Extreme Environments Support Life 22 Exploring the Red Planet Search for Technosignatures Probing the Atmospheres of Exoplanets “Astronomers think that many stars besides the sun have their own planetary systems, and that some of these planets may support some form of life” 1962 27 Seeing an Exoplanet Is as Hard as… How Are Exoplanets Discovered? Two Popular Methods Doppler Spectroscopy Transit (Radial Velocity) 29 Where Are the Eggsoplanets? 30 HR 8799 31 When Were Exoplanets Discovered? Credit: Hugh Osborn 32 Kepler Mission: Three Key Results 1. There are more planets than stars in the galaxy 2. Small planets are common 3. Small planets in the Habitable Zone are common 33 A Familiar Habitable Zone 34 Diversity of Exoplanets 35 Exoplanet Types 36 Understanding Exoplanets Transmission Spectroscopy: Sunny with a Chance of Clouds 37 Spectroscopy Detection of Biosignatures Light from Star Light from Star Light from Planet and Planet - = 38 Habitable Zone 39 Exoplanets in the Habitable Zone 40 Spectra of Our Solar System Planets 41 “Blue of the sky” measures total amount “Vegetation Earth’s Spectra of atmosphere jump” indicates Carbon dioxide presence of suggests possible land plants volcanic activity Methane indicates presence of anaerobic bacteria Oxygen Water and ozone vapor were produced suggests by living organisms habitability Credit: M. Turnbull 42 Starlight Suppression External Occulters (Starshades) Internal Occulters (Coronagraphs) 43 44 Starshade (External Occulter) 45 WFIRST JWST2 PLATO Missions TESS Kepler LUVOIR5 CHEOPS 4 Spitzer Gaia Hubble1 Starshade HabEx5 CoRoT3 Rendezvous5 OST5 NASA Non-NASA Missions Missions W. M. Keck Observatory Large Binocular 6 1 WIYN 6 SMARTS 1.5m NASA/ESA Partnership Telescope 2 NASA/ESA/CSA Partnership 5 2020 Decadal Survey Studies 3 CNES/ESA Ground Telescopes with NASA participation 6 NSF Partnership (NN-EXPLORE) 4 ESA/Swiss Space Office Excellence: Explore, Inspire, Aspire! 47 Explore: to traverse for the purpose of discovery; to scrutinize, to examine Inspire: to fill with animating influence; to impel Aspire: to seek ambitiously, with intent, towards a goal with high value; ascend, soar. The Search for Life is Aspirational It Draws us, and Impels us Credit: Nick Siegler To Explore and Inspire 48 49 Ingenuity on Mars Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech 50 Exploration: Inquiry Kepler Mission • Prioritization • Problem Solving • Decision Making • Risk Mitigation Roman • Inclusive Space • Transparent Telescope 51 Inspiration Exploring a Galaxy of Worlds while Inspiring Our Own 52 Exoplanet Travel Bureau 53 “Exoplanet Earth” Edition We Are a Leo Sun from Trappist-1 • S o l 54 Return to Our Solar System, to Planet Earth Pale Blue Dot Image by Voyager 1 beyond Neptune Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Earth and Moon From Cassini Mission at Saturn Credit: Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Credit: Credit: NASA Credit: Credit: NASA/Johnson Credit: NASA “All these worlds are yours” - Arthur C. Clarke 63 Thank you! 64 Acknowledgements This work was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. © 2021 All rights reserved. Tau Ceti e Likely Rocky Super-Earth Orbiting a Nearby Sun-like Star Credit: F. Feng, University of Hertfordshire 66 Our Place in the Universe The Universe The Local Supercluster The Local Group The Milky Way Size: 93 billion light years Size: ~110 million light years Size: We are ~10 million light years here Size: ~100 kilo light years 67.
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