"In all the known Universe, at least as of 2026, the only world known to support life is planet Earth. Despite all we've learned about the Universe, including: the vast abundance of exoplanets, including rocky exoplanets with Earth-like temperatures, the ubiquity of heavy elements, the commonness of organic molecules that are known precursors to life, and the long cosmic timescales over which stars with such planets form, there are no known examples of worlds, other than our own, where life processes or definitive biosignatures have been detected."
"It makes sense that, as we hunt for life beyond Earth, we look for the type of signals that life creates here on Earth. Among the things we can look for, we seek: signals that an intelligent species of alien would generate, like mathematically ordered radio pulses, signs like atmospheric gases and mixtures of gases that arise from biological processes here on Earth, the presence of liquid water on the surface, as here on Earth water is a nearly universal en"
Earth remains the only confirmed life-bearing world despite discovery of thousands of exoplanets. Rocky exoplanets with Earth-like temperatures, heavy elements, organic precursor molecules, and long cosmic timescales favor life, yet no definitive biosignatures have been detected elsewhere. Solar System exploration with orbiters, landers, and rovers and decades of searches for extraterrestrial intelligence have produced only ambiguous hints. Current search methods—technosignature detection, atmospheric biosignature analysis, and searches for surface liquid water—have not yielded unambiguous evidence. A search bias toward modern-Earth-like conditions overlooks that Earth was unlike its current state for most of its inhabited history.
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