There is no settled answer to this question. Scientists have
long hoped to discover signs of life on other planets, but have
not yet done so. There exists, at this point in time, no conclusive
evidence to support the existence of life forms not of this
world.
However, the universe is quite vast, and the odds that Earth
is the only planet formed in such a way as to support life are
quite small. Life could develop on other worlds with minimal
difficulty; it is plausible that life forms totally alien to
our conceptions could have developed, such as creatures which
do not require oxygen, water or sunlight to survive.
In 1984, many like minded scientists banded together to form
a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to researching the
possibility of life on other planets. The fruit of their labor,
the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence Institute, or
the SETI institute, now employs over 100 scientists, educators
and support staff and enjoys the sponsorship of NASA, the Jet
Propulsion Laboratires, the Department of Energy, the Inernational
Astronomical Union, and many others.
To learn more about the search for life from off our planet,
visit the SETI Institute’s webpage.
