A Japanese scientist proposes a new methodology for discovering life in space

 After massive asteroid impacts in space, some material from these asteroids may be ejected into space. These materials can travel great distances and for very long periods of time to reach the Earth's surface.

Theoretically, these materials could contain direct or indirect signs of life in outer space, such as fossils of microorganisms. Professor Tomonori Totani of the University of Tokyo espouses this new insight in a new paper published Wednesday in the International Journal of Astrobiology.

New methodology

• Totani told Sky News Arabia, "The research paper proposes a new way to search for life (especially microbes) outside the solar system, as it reveals that about 100,000 grains of one micron size fall to Earth every year. These grains were originally on the surface of a planet around a distant star." , and was catapulted into space by colossal collisions."
• This approach would give us a direct sample of the biosignature outside the solar system, unlike remote sensing, which relies on astronomical observations of exoplanets.
• A biosignature (sometimes called a chemical fossil or molecular fossil) is defined as any substance - such as an element, isotope, or molecule - or phenomenon that provides scientific evidence of past or present life.

Is this method accurate?

•  The Japanese scientist demonstrates the accuracy of his methodology by noting the difficulty involved in verifying biosignatures detected in the atmospheres of exoplanets by telescopes.
• "Some say you can't be sure that a biosignature was actually formed by biological activities, because in general, there are many other non-biological processes that can produce similar fingerprints, and telescopes can't tell them apart," Totani says.

space dust

• According to the proposal of the Japanese scientist, space dust grains may already exist on Earth, in abundant quantities, preserved in places such as the Antarctic ice, or under the sea floor, and they can be easily recovered from these places in the future thanks to technological development.
• Space dust grains consist of the remains of microbes, microbial fossils (microfossils), or biominerals (minerals produced by biological activities).

Which one came from abroad?

•  The practical challenge facing the new methodology is to be able to distinguish extrasolar materials from materials originating in our own solar system, which is still a complex matter. However, space missions can currently capture space dust from space itself, and subject it to research.
• Totani admits that his idea is still in the theoretical stage, and it has a great deal of uncertainty, and to verify its feasibility, it must be tested and the practical search for life outside the solar system must begin from now.