Is ET Search Heating Up? NASA to Announce 'Astrobiology Finding'

(Nov. 30) -- Could this be what we've all been waiting for? NASA has announced it will hold a special news conference Thursday "to discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life."

That's quite an eye-opening mouthful.

NASA's press release goes on to say: "Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe."

Speculation is, of course, skyrocketing on the Internet, as people wonder what the space agency is going to reveal.

Possible announcement items could include:

Mars: Has NASA discovered signs of life, albeit microbial, on the Red Planet?

Rhea: Scientists have revealed that Saturn's moon Rhea has a thin atmosphere of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Could this point to potential life there?

The participants in NASA's upcoming conference are:

• Mary Voytek, director, Astrobiology Program, NASA headquarters, Washington
• Felisa Wolfe-Simon, NASA astrobiology research fellow, U.S. Geological Survey
• Pamela Conrad, astrobiologist, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
• Steven Benner, distinguished fellow, Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution
• James Elser, professor, Arizona State University

Thursday's event will start at 2 p.m. EST at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., and will be broadcast live on NASA Television on its official website.