Zack Jackson
Strickland
English
20 March 2017
What does it take for a planet to sustain life?
Are we the only ones here or are we not alone? Are we the only ones looking? Is Earth the only planet able to sustain life or are we not looking close enough? Does nothing meet the standards to sustain life or are the expectations too high? NASA is continuously trying to find answers to these questions, as well as numerous others. One of the biggest questions asked about space is if we’re truly the only ones in the universe. Reports from space rovers, like NASA’s Curiosity, have given scientists reasons to believe that we aren’t the only ones, or at least not the first. The exploration for life and more planets continues. Newly discovered planets are a big deal in the space community. However, finding new planets that are able to sustain life is an even bigger deal. To determine if planets are able to retain life they must meet specific criteria. What’s the best planet to supply scientists with an outline of requirements and is known to be able to support life? The first answer that comes to mind would be Earth.
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But what makes Earth so special, you ask? There’s not just one factor that makes Earth far more superior than all of the other planets. Instead, there are small things that Earth has that other planets simply don’t. A major trait of Earth is its protective atmosphere. Not only does the atmosphere protect us from the sun’s deadly radiation, it also retains oxygen for us to breathe and enough heat to prevent the surface from freezing. Poor or a lack of an atmosphere is a major flaw many planets possess, but what separates earth from the ones without this flaw? From studying Earth, scientists have come up with many different requirements planets must reach to maintain