Search for Life
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![Active vents from Earth's "Lost City" hydrothermal system could be similar to features found in the oceans of Europa and Enceladus.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7Bt9Lm7cwcjAqFJyEu6jui-320-80.jpg)
Surprising newfound ocean bacteria could aid search for alien life
By Sharmila Kuthunur published
A newfound, highly adaptable bacterium shows the kind of diverse life to look for on Europa or Enceladus, astronomers say.
![an illustration of Jupiter's icy moon Europa. it is an orangeish orb covered in deep cracks](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/sAY6F2ycuhXAfU39JVcrHF-320-80.jpg)
Melting ice cores on frozen worlds could speed up the search for alien life
By Laurence Tognetti published
The Melter-Sublimator for Ice Science (MSIS) instrument offers a unique opportunity to help scientists process ice deposits on other worlds in a much more efficient way.
![Satellite imagery of Lakes Huron and Michigan.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/m9zhLXzaHhG5fkfvDbVV3k-320-80.jpg)
US shoots down UFOs over Lake Huron and Canada
By Tia Ghose last updated
The U.S. shot down a UFO over Lake Huron on Sunday, while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the U.S. shot down an unidentified flying object over the Yukon, Canada at his request.
![Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/iv4Vs7bRqbKqBDyhsahu28-320-80.jpg)
Previous Chinese spy balloons over US were classified as UFOs: report
By Mike Wall published
Some previous detections of Chinese surveillance balloons in U.S. airspace were initially categorized as "unidentified aerial phenomena," according to a report in The New York Times.
![An artist's depiction of the Green Bank Telescope hooked up to a machine learning system.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WVBd7BEHP5tgL3JVteLZhQ-320-80.jpg)
Machine learning spots 8 potential technosignatures
By Robert Lea published
Humans have five new leads in the search to find life beyond our solar system.
![An illustration of a flying saucer above a country road.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/DyTBoAmsKzTLkSECkcYHUW-320-80.jpg)
Unidentified aerial annoyance: Full disclosure or dubious UFO nonsense?
By Leonard David published
The coming year will surely see a persistence of debate, discussion and disbelief regarding unidentified anomalous phenomena.
![An artist's depiction of a mission concept known as LUVOIR, which helped inform the decadal survey directing NASA to construct the Habitable Worlds Observatory.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7WaGUoS4najND8hPk94zKi-320-80.png)
NASA starts designing futuristic space telescope to hunt for alien Earths
By Meghan Bartels published
NASA's latest flagship telescope is still in its first year of science, but the agency isn't only hard at work building its successor — it's starting to plan that next mission's successor as well.
![The Pentagon and the seal of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/DDZ69uxzqq6ghDzwzrhXFb-320-80.jpg)
Pentagon releases its long-awaited 2022 UFO report
By Brett Tingley published
The ODNI's report shows that the U.S. government appears to be taking UFOs and airspace safety issues seriously.
![fanciful image of an alien spacecraft beaming up an individual into the ship, set against a stormy sky](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/P3kPUw6MX9cePe49CjD6eX-320-80.jpg)
10 things we learned about UFOs and aliens (or the lack thereof) in 2022
By Robert Lea published
From investigating UFOs over Earth to using the most powerful telescope ever devised to peer into the atmosphere of alien worlds, 2022 has been a banner year in the search for extraterrestrial life.
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