The number of potentially habitable planets in our galaxy is close to one hundred billion.

Most are far away, but other worlds that could have life are even closer. Mars and several of Jupiter’s and Saturn’s moons have environments that could support biology. Beyond our solar system, there are so many planets it’s reasonable to imagine that at least some are populated by intelligent beings.



SETI Institute researchers look for both microscopic and macroscopic life using a variety of instruments and strategies: rovers, orbiters, field expeditions, and radio telescopes are just a few. Understanding where biology may gain a foothold and detecting its presence is the goal of these scientists, and they hope to establish whether life is commonplace or rare.