Rumor of the Day: Alien life exists on moon
At a press conference set for Thursday at 2 p.m. EST, the space agency is expected to unveil an "astrobiology" finding" -- announced in a press release that sent shockwaves through the blogosphere Wednesday. NASA has revealed only that it will discuss a discovery "that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life."
Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe, and NASA is widely expected to announce that the discovery of arsenic-based life on Earth, a find that could change its future quest for life on other planets.
The concept of NASA discussing alien life has sparked interest across the Internet. Gawker, PC World, New Scientist and others all speculated about the news -- even suggesting that the space agency may reveal that E.T. has finally arrived.
The reality may be less dramatic, though still intriguing: Based on the background of the four conference participants NASA cites, the announcement will probably concern lifeforms that live off of poisonous arsenic. Popular blogger Jason Kottke and others have concluded that the announcement will tie into the quest for life on Saturn's moon Titan.
"I'd say that they've discovered arsenic on Titan and maybe even detected chemical evidence of bacteria utilizing it for photosynthesis," Kottke theorizes, a hypothesis short of actually confirming alien life.
