Search for alien life is a fascinating subject. A question arises are there people like us in the deep cosmos and other universes? Professor Tomonori Totani from the University of Tokyo posits that cosmic dust particularly grains which measure 1 micrometer could carry sings of extraterrestrial life to Earth. Roughly 100,000 such grains might land on earth annually which is a potential fruitful avenue for the search for life beyond our planet.
The dust can be result of massive cosmic collisions and may be hurdled into the cosmos. The expelled matter can transverse enormous distances and persist for long durations. This ejected material could hold direct evidence of life from planet of origin such as microbial fossils. The extraterrestrial material might bear potential signs of life. The terms vacuum and dust might evoke images of tedious household chores. While vacuum denotes the vast emptiness of space dust refers to scattered solid particles suspended in the void.
“I propose we study well-preserved grains ejected from other worlds for potential signs of life,” said Totani. “The search for life outside our solar system typically means a search for signs of communication, which would indicate intelligent life but precludes any pre-technological life. The basic idea is that large steroid strikes can eject ground material into space. The material will vary in size greatly, with different sized pieces behaving differently once in space.
Or the search is for atmospheric signatures that might hint at life, but without direct confirmation, there could always be an explanation that does not require life. However, if there are signs of life in dust grains, not only could we be certain, but we could also find out soon.” Space dust in these places be retrieved relatively easily but discerning extra solar material from material originating in our solar system is still a complex mater. But there are already missions that capture in vacuum that capture dust in the vacuum using ultra-light materials called aerogels
