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>> NOW, PADI,
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO
LOOK FOR LIFE ELSEWHERE?
>> SO, WHAT A GREAT
PROFOUND QUESTION IT IS
THAT WE'VE HAD FOR
GENERATIONS, FOR CENTURIES...
ARE WE ALONE?
NOW, WE HAVE RECORDS OF ANCIENT
PHILOSOPHERS TRYING TO ANSWER
THIS QUESTION JUST USING
THEIR MINDS AND WHAT
THEY COULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES,
AND NO INSTRUMENTS.
AND, IT'S BEEN SUCH
AN AMAZING JOURNEY TO BE ABLE
TO PUT MORE AND MORE SCIENCE
TO BEAR ON ANSWERING
THAT QUESTION.
SO, OVER THOUSANDS
OF YEARS, OUR TECHNOLOGY
HAS GOTTEN BETTER.
WE HAVE TELESCOPES NOW.
WE HAVE TELESCOPES IN SPACE NOW,
AND WE'RE LEARNING MORE AND MORE
ABOUT OUR ACTUAL PHYSICAL
UNIVERSE AND BEING ABLE TO
ANSWER THIS QUESTION
USING REAL DATA.
SO, HERE WE ARE IN A POSITION
TO ACTUALLY ANSWER THE QUESTION
"ARE WE ALONE?"
AND BE ABLE TO GET A SCIENTIFIC
ANSWER THAT IF IT CAN'T ANSWER
THE QUESTION COMPLETELY,
CAN GET US A FEW
STEPS FURTHER ALONG
ANSWERING IT SCIENTIFICALLY.
I THINK IT'S A REALLY EXCITING
TIME TO BE SCIENTIST.
>> SO, WE'RE LOOKING BACK
AT A SUCCESSFUL KEPLER MISSION.
WHAT DO YOU THINK
IN THIS GRAND ARC--
ARCH OF HISTORY WILL BE
THE LEGACY OF KEPLER
FOR ANSWERING THIS QUESTION?
>> SO, WE'VE ALWAYS LOOKED
OUT AT THE STARS, RIGHT?
I MEAN, IT'S A VERY COMMON
EXPERIENCE TO TAKE YOUR
CHILDREN OUT, OR YOUR RELATIVES,
OR YOUR FRIENDS, YOU LOOK UP,
YOU LOOK AT THE STARS,
YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU SEE--
THE-THE MILKY WAY,
THE CONSTELLATIONS.
WE'RE ALWAYS TALKING
ABOUT THE STARS,
AND WE'RE WONDERING
IF THERE COULD BE PLANETS
AROUND THOSE STARS.
NOW, FOR THE FIRST GENERATION
IN HISTORY, WE ACTUALLY
KNOW THE ANSWER.
YES, THERE ARE PLANETS.
PLANETS ARE EVERYWHERE.
I THINK THE FACT THAT KEPLER
WAS ABLE TO HELP US ANSWER THIS
QUESTION WITH SUCH A PLENTIFUL
ANSWER OF YES, YES, AND YES
IS EXTREMELY EXCITING,
AND REALLY TANTALIZING.
WE'RE IN A GREAT POSITION TO
TAKE THE NEXT STEP AND NOW SAY,
"WHAT ARE THESE PLANETS
"LIKE AS PLACES?"
>> SO, WE'RE ALSO OBSERVING
PLANETS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,
OF COURSE.
WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT
THINGS WE'VE LEARNED
IN THE LAST DECADE OR SO
WITHIN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
ABOUT FINDING LIFE ELSEWHERE?
>> RIGHT, AND IT'S SO IMPORTANT
BECAUSE AT THE SAME TIME WE'RE
ABLE TO TAKE THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY
AND LEARN ABOUT STARS OTHER
THAN THE SUN, WE'RE ALSO ABLE TO
LEARN ABOUT THE PLANETS
IN OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM
AT THE NEXT LEVEL.
AND THERE'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL
INTERPLAY BETWEEN WHAT WE LEARN
ABOUT OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM
AND HOW IT COULD HAVE EVOLVED
FROM THE VERY BEGINNING TO BE
WHAT WE SEE NOW, AND THEN WHAT
WE EXPECT AROUND OTHER STARS
AND EXO-PLANETARY SYSTEMS.
SO, NOW WE'RE LEARNING SO MUCH
ABOUT WATER IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
THE FACT THAT WE'RE SEEING THOSE
BIG MOONS AROUND THE GAS GIANTS,
JUPITER AND SATURN-- THEY HAVE
MANY, MANY MOONS IN THEIR
SYSTEMS, AND SOME OF THOSE MOONS
HAVE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT
OF WATER.
ICE ON THE SURFACE, AND PROBABLY
LIQUID WATER BELOW THAT.
WE HAVE BEAUTIFUL EVIDENCE
OF PLUMES COMING OUT.
SOME OF THESE PLANETS--
THESE MOONS HAVE MORE WATER
ON THEIR SURFACE THAN THE EARTH.
AND WE'RE SO CONVINCED.
I MEAN, WE ONLY HAVE OUR OWN
PLANET TO LOOK AT, BUT WE'RE SO
CONVINCED THAT LIFE REALLY
NEEDED WATER, WATER WAS
ESSENTIAL TO THE DEVELOPMENT
OF LIFE HERE ON THIS PLANET.
WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO ASK
THE NEXT QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER
WATER IN A PLACE TELLS YOU THAT
THERE COULD BE LIFE THERE,
WHETHER IT'S BACTERIA, BY JUST
INTERROGATING THESE BODIES
IN OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM,
THOSE LARGE WATER-RICH MOONS
AROUND JUPITER AND SATURN.
AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO USE
THE ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS
TO THEN FURTHER INFORM
WHAT WE'RE EXPECTING TO SEE
AROUND SMALL PLANETS
AROUND OTHER STARS.
>> SUPPOSE WE FIND LIFE
ELSEWHERE-- WHAT ARE THE KIND OF
PARADIGMS THAT WE MAY QUESTION
THAT WE CURRENTLY STRONGLY
BELIEVE IN ABOUT LIFE?
>> WE MAY NOT BE LOOKING
IN THE RIGHT PLACE RIGHT NOW,
BECAUSE WE'RE USING
ONLY WHAT WE KNOW
ABOUT THIS ONE PLACE
WHERE LIFE EXITS.
SO, WE MAY BE VERY SURPRISED
BY THE FIRST BIOSIGNATURES
THAT WE SEE.
THEY MAY BE VERY DIFFERENT
FROM WHAT WE WERE EXPECTING.
AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO
PUT OUR PICTURES TOGETHER TO TRY
TO COME UP WITH THIS LARGER VIEW
OF HOW LIFE STARTS, WHAT ARE
THE CONDITIONS THAT ARE NEEDED,
AND HOW DOES IT EVOLVE.
BUT ONE THING IS SURE:
EVERY TIME WE TAKE, UH,
MORE DATA, WE ARE
MORE AND MORE CONVINCED
THAT, YOU KNOW,
WHAT WE'RE BASING THIS ON,
THAT THE LAWS OF PHYSICS
ARE THE SAME EVERYWHERE,
THE LAWS OF CHEMISTRY
ARE THE SAME EVERYWHERE.
THE LAWS OF BIOLOGY
SHOULD BE THE SAME EVERYWHERE.
SO, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE
GOING TO FIND, BUT WE SHOULD
EXPECT TO FIND SOMETHING,
AND WE SHOULD EXPECT
FOR THAT TO, LIKE, REALLY
EXPAND OUR UNDERSTANDING.
>> SO YEAH, THE SEARCH FOR LIFE
IS REALLY ABOUT INTERROGATING
NATURE IN A TOTALLY NEW WAY,
KIND OF AT THE INTERFACE
OF PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY
TO BIOLOGY.
ANY LAST COMMENTS ABOUT KEPLER?
>> I'M JUST SO PROUD
OF THE TEAM, YOU KNOW.
IT TOOK MANY, MANY ITERATIONS
OF THE IDEA TO REALLY
HAVE A REALITY,
THE REALITY OF KEPLER.
AND, UH, IT'S JUST BEEN
SO AMAZING THAT IT WAS
MEANT TO ANSWER THE QUESTION
OF HOW COMMON ARE PLANETS,
AND THE ANSWER IT GAVE US
IS THAT PLANETS ARE
INCREDIBLY COMMON.
THEY'RE EVERYWHERE.
SO, IT COULDN'T BE
A MORE EXCITING TIME
TO BE AN ASTROPHYSICIST.
I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE
WHAT THE NEXT STEP IS.
>> I REALLY WANNA SAY, YOU KNOW,
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE KEPLER
TEAM AND THE SCIENCE COMMUNITY
THAT GOT SO MUCH SCIENCE
OUT OF THESE AMAZING DATA.
IT'S JUST, UH, A JOURNEY THAT
WE CAN ONLY IMAGINE RIGHT NOW,
BUT A JOURNEY THAT'S VERY MUCH
WORTH GOING THROUGH AND REALLY
EXPLORING THE UNIVERSE
IN A TOTALLY NEW WAY.
THANKS, PADI.
THANKS TO EVERYBODY.