Earth Science Current Events
Shannon Hendrick
David, Leonard. "Listening for Alien Life: Could New Tech Detect Microbe Movements? | Space.com." Space.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
The article I read, “Listening for Alien Life: Could New Tech Detect Microbe Movements?” by Leonard David talks about the ability for new technology to be able to detect life on other planets in our solar system. The technology that scientists have found that may one day be used for this is called the remote acoustic sensor (RAS). It would be used to detect and capture sounds that alien life could be making, which would lead to more discoveries later on about life on planets. “A miniaturized version of the device could theoretically make its way to Mars or to Jupiter's ocean-harboring moon, Europa, to listen for signs of life”, explained the researchers currently working on this project. The RAS can pick up sounds from miles and miles away, which is useful when listening for life in our solar system, because planets and objects are very spread out. Scientists conclude that RAS will also be able to pick up when something comes in and out of our atmosphere. It could potentially travel to Mars, Europa, or Saturn’s moon, Enceladus. Basically, the RAS is a piece of technology that will be able to pick up microbe movements and sounds, which can help determine life.
“RAS could help scientists listen remotely to natural phenomena such as lightning, the northern and southern lights, and solar eruptions, to name only a few, he concluded”. If RAS were to work as it is supposed to, it could impact the way scientists learn about our solar system. RAS could visit these planets and see if there is life which would then allow people to conclude not only if there is life, but also if the planet is habitable, and what types of organisms it is habitable for. By doing so, planets will be better understood by not only scientists, but also by students. In recent years, it has been a topic of discussion if Mars is habitable for humans once Earth dies out. Scientists could better figure this out with technology such as the RAS because they would be able to know what kind of life is already on the planet, and if this life has similar needs to is essential for humans to survive. Recently, water has been discovered on Mars which is necessary for life, and people could further expand on this idea of life on Mars using the RAS to hear and listen to the sounds on the planet possibly resulting in life.
Overall, I think that this article was well-written, however, there are some parts that could be worked on to allow students to better understand the concept. For example, I think that the author could have used smaller words. In this sentence, the author is explaining what the RAS is, “which is capable of capturing sounds within extreme and often inaccessible aerospace environments”, I personally had some difficulty with this sentence because I do not know what aerospace is, so I had to look up the definition to find out. This is okay because often people have to look up words while reading articles, but it would have been nice to see a simpler word in replace. Also, I wish that the author expanded more on plans for the RSA. I understand that it might travel to planets such as Mars, but I would like to know how it would get there, or how it would land, and how long it would take to get there. If these are ideas that the scientists do not know the answers to yet, the author could have stated that. Other than that, I think that this article is well written, and gives an idea of what the RSA is, and why they are building it.
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