'Do aliens need planets?': Study hints at space habitats sustaining life
Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
Planetary Bias
It’s assumed planets are essential for life, but researchers now suggest ecosystems could sustain themselves without a planet’s stabilizing conditions.
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Self-Sustaining Systems
In Astrobiology, Harvard’s Robin Wordsworth and Edinburgh’s Charles Cockell propose biological barriers that mimic planetary habitats in space.
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Liquid Survival
Life requires liquid water. Biologically created structures, like walls, could sustain temperatures and pressures necessary for water to remain liquid even in space.
Volatile Barriers
Structures could prevent volatile loss, retaining atmospheric conditions while blocking harmful radiation, yet allowing light for photosynthesis.
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Thermal Stability
Examples like Saharan silver ants and aerogels show organisms can regulate temperature. Silica-based barriers could balance heat and energy flow to sustain life.
Pressure Proof
Seaweed and human circulatory systems demonstrate the ability to sustain 10 kPa pressure differences, crucial for survival in the vacuum of space.
Solar Power
Photosynthetic life thrives in weak sunlight, as seen with Arctic algae. Solar energy in space could fuel self-sustaining ecosystems far from the Sun.
Nutrient Cycles
For ecosystems to survive autonomously, internal processes must recycle waste and sustain redox gradients, mimicking Earth’s nutrient cycles and compartmentalization.
Evolutionary Pathways
The study suggests non-sentient life could evolve to create its own habitats, challenging assumptions of habitability and opening pathways to detect alien biosignatures.