With a constellation of five satellites, the international LIFE initiative led by ETH Zurich hopes to one day detect traces of life on exoplanets. A laboratory experiment in the Department of Physics is now set to demonstrate the planned measurement method.

Its an important step on a very long road, says Adrian Glauser, a senior scientist at the Institute for Particle Physics and Astrophysics at ETH Zurich. In late March, he and Sascha Quanz, a professor of astrophysics at ETH Zurich and head of the Exoplanets and Habitability Group, learned that the Swiss government will contribute nearly three million euros to support the NICE project as part of PRODEX (PROgramme de Dveloppement dEXpriences scientifiques), a European Space Agency (ESA) programme. This funding will enable ETH researchers to develop important technological foundations that are indispensable to realising the ambitious LIFE space mission.

The hunt for traces of life

The LIFE (Large Interferometer for Exoplanets) initiative is aimed at undertaking a more detailed study of Earth-like exoplanets planets that are similar to Earth in size and temperature but orbit other stars. It will focus particularly on planetary systems within a distance of up to 65 light years from our solar system. The plan is to position five smaller satellites at L2, the Lagrange point that is home to the James Webb Space Telescope. Together, these satellites will form a large telescope that will act as an interferometer to pick up the exoplanets infrared thermal radiation. The spectrum of the light can then be used to deduce the composition of those exoplanets and their atmospheres. Our goal is to detect chemical compounds in the light spectrum that hint at life on these exoplanets. Earths atmosphere, for example, contains oxygen and methane produced by biological activity, explains Quanz, who leads the LIFE initiative.

Its an important step on a very long road, says Adrian Glauser, a senior scientist at the Institute for Particle Physics and Astrophysics at ETH Zurich. In late March, he and Sascha Quanz, a professor of astrophysics at ETH Zurich and head of the Exoplanets and Habitability Group, learned that the Swiss government will contribute nearly three million euros to support the NICE project as part of PRODEX (PROgramme de Dveloppement dEXpriences scientifiques), a European Space Agency (ESA) programme. This funding will enable ETH researchers to develop important technological foundations that are indispensable to realising the ambitious LIFE space mission.

The hunt for traces of life

The LIFE (Large Interferometer for Exoplanets) initiative is aimed at undertaking a more detailed study of Earth-like exoplanets planets that are similar to Earth in size and temperature but orbit other stars. It will focus particularly on planetary systems within a distance of up to 65 light years from our solar system. The plan is to position five smaller satellites at L2, the Lagrange point that is home to the James Webb Space Telescope. Together, these satellites will form a large telescope that will act as an interferometer to pick up the exoplanets infrared thermal radiation. The spectrum of the light can then be used to deduce the composition of those exoplanets and their atmospheres. Our goal is to detect chemical compounds in the light spectrum that hint at life on these exoplanets. Earths atmosphere, for example, contains oxygen and methane produced by biological activity, explains Quanz, who leads the LIFE initiative.

This article was first published on 14 April by ETH Zurich.

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ETH Zurich's LIFE space mission aims to detect life on exoplanets - Science Business