Instant Alert: Scientists are upping the ante on their serious search for aliens — here are all of the ways they could succeed

MANAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS   |   UNSUBSCRIBE   |   VIEW ONLINE   Scientists are upping the ante on their serious search for aliens — here are all of the ways they could succeed by Jessica Orwig on Jan 28, 2016, 12:52 PM Advertisement Aliens could be out there. We simply don't know it yet. Part of the reason we're still pretty clueless is because our technology is still in its infancy. But scientists and engineers are rapidly vamping up the tools we'll need to answer one of humanity's most compelling questions: Are we alone? Here are six ways scientists plan to delve into this mystery in the coming years. LEARN MORE: The 12 most compelling scientific findings that suggest aliens are real SEE ALSO: We're on a collision course with the Andromeda Galaxy — here's what will happen to Earth We might have to dig: Mars was once a warm, wet world with conditions ideal for life, but any life that's still around is probably buried deep underground. Robots can't dig deeper than a few inches, so it might take astronauts on the Red Planet to collect the right samples. NASA is currently exploring the novel landing technology we'd need to land humans on Mars' surface. Read more about why we should send humans to Mars here.     Swimming is another option: Sloshing beneath the surface of Jupiter's tiny moon Europa is thought to be an ocean larger than anything on Earth. But if we're going to test those distant waters, it'll take landing a robot on the surface that can drill into the icy surface. NASA has plans to launch its first mission to Europa in the 2020s, and it might include a lander. Learn more about NASA's upcoming mission to Europa here. We might just need to look: For decades, the SETI Institute has used radio dishes to listen for signs of aliens. But now, SETI scientists are working on an instrument that could look in the optical regime (what we see with our eyes) for any bizarre signals that could come from an intelligent civilizations hundreds of light yeas away. Read about what the former director of the Center for SETI Research at the SETI Institute, Jill Tarter thinks about aliens here. See the rest of the story at Business Insider   Share the latest business news with your network: Email sent to:   |   Manage your email preferences   |   Unsubscribe Terms of Service   |   Privacy Policy Business Insider. 150 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011