Scientists have made a three-dimensional microscope to find space owners

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) are creating a new microscope technology that they hope will empirically determine whether life is outside our planet. The device is called Digital Holographic Microscope and is designed to find microbes in space.

The last time NASA actively searched for extraterrestrial life was with the Viking space program in 1976, and since then there has been no clear consensus in the scientific community about how best to continue research, surely we have spent time and money searching for water on planets The other, but the problem with finding water is not positioning, but how to determine what is in it.

Instead of using lenses to focus on objects, it uses a laser to show 3D motion in microscopic particles. This motion is then analyzed to determine whether it is random, such as a non-living or purposeful object, such as an object Neighborhood.

The device does not have moving parts, making it ideal for space missions. Researchers have a very specific goal in mind: One of the moons of Saturn, Enceladus, has an ice crust that contains giant heaters that send steam into space, possibly dispersing microorganisms throughout the universe. The stereoscopic digital microscope will be able to search for the vapor of one of the columns of Enceladus for live microbes.

"Scientists have tested the device in the Arctic, with plans to test it in more harsh environments such as the South Pole," says Professor Jay Nadeau of Caltech.

We are trying to design devices such as this microscope that can maximize our ability to see life on Earth. Because if we can maximize our ability to see life in all possible environments of the Earth we will be very confident in our ability to address this on other planets.

The research at Caltech is an example of how microscopic ideas might someday change our view of the whole universe.