The alien expert is in.
Time to get to work.
As Carl Sagan once said,
"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."
Sorry you didn't get sent into space, RoboSimian.
But you can still have plenty of fun here with us. But you can still have plenty of fun here with us.
They're not programmed for fun, sir.
[scoffs] We'll see about that.
Please stop dribbling Jupiter.
Hello, honorary NASA scientists.
I'm glad to see you all making yourselves at home.
[music plays]
[clears throat]
Maybe a little too at home.
[Charlie Brown] Excuse me, CARA.
I know we're looking for life, but what kind of life are we looking for exactly?
Well, the life we're looking for could be incredibly simple.
Perhaps even made up of only one cell.
Very different from the human body, which is made up of trillions of cells.
But the kind of life we're looking for
could also be all weird and green and blobby, right?
Well, technically, I suppose anything is possible. But most likely not.
How will we know when we find it? How will we know when we find it?
[CARA] So glad you asked.
All life forms, even the simplest,
need a few basic things, beginning with water.
Scientists have looked all over Earth
and discovered wherever there's liquid water, there's life.
Even in the most unlikely places or extreme conditions.
We think that's probably true for life beyond Earth too.
Life also needs organics, which are molecules that contain the element carbon.
On Earth, every living thing contains carbon,
from a flea to a tree.
Next, life needs energy to support it.
And time to evolve.
So, if NASA can find all these things somewhere outside Earth-- So, if NASA can find all these things somewhere outside Earth--
We might find life!
[all] Ohhh.
Well, what are we waiting for?
Everyone knows Saturn is the best planet.
It has its own jewelry.
All the best alien movies are about Martians.
How about we start with Mars?
[CARA] That's an excellent idea.
Mars has been at the center of a lot of NASA's search for life.
In fact, NASA has rovers collecting data there right now.
[imitates racing noises]
[clears throat]
Sorry, ma'am.
Wow. Mars, the famous Red Planet.
Fourth farthest from the sun.
Home to two moons and the largest dust storms in the solar system.
Can you imagine how amazing it would be to actually go there
and search for clues to the existence of life?
[Lucy] But the kind of life we're looking for
could also be all weird and green and blobby, right?
[gasps] Wait. Go back. I think I found something.
Is that ice?
[gasps] Ice is frozen water!
That's a huge clue that there could be life.
[all] Wow.
Great first discovery, scientists.
The water on Mars appears to be mostly in the form of ice.
But based on the pictures from our telescopes and rovers, But based on the pictures from our telescopes and rovers,
we believe that liquid water might have existed on the surface of Mars
a long time ago.
Mars is extremely promising
as a place where we might soon find evidence of past life.
In the meantime, there is lots of space to keep exploring.
Hmm. Snoopy illustrates an important point.
Good job, Snoopy.
If we wanna keep finding more places where there could be potential for life,
we need to follow the water.
Bleah. I'd rather not.
[Lucy screams] I've been licked by a dog!
[groaning]