Exobiologist

Follow-up to this post

Of course, the most interesting thing about the exoplanets is this question - is there life on them? That's the goal of NASA's exobiology program: "to understand the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the Universe."

They focus on these areas of research:

1. Planetary conditions for life 
2. Prebiotic evolution 
3. Early evolution of life and the biosphere 
4. Evolution of advanced life 
5. Exobiology for solar system exploration 

The planets are too far away to determine with certainty whether they have life or not, but the exobiologists are looking. Telescopes may be able to tell from the planet's reflected light whether it has oxygen or water vapor or other indicators that life could be there. Fiction writers are fascinated by the idea, and they don't wait for evidence.

(cont'd tomorrow)