Finding Life in Space in Analogue Environments on Earth

Guest: Morgan Leigh Cable, Technologist in the Instrument Systems Implementation and Concepts Section at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Hollywood’s gotten very creative over the years envisioning what extraterrestrial life might actually look and sound like. Astrobiologists, though, think that if we do find life in space it will probably won’t wave a tentacle or speak an alien language. It’ll be way more subtle. And NASA scientist Morgan Cable is making it her job to pick up those signals when they come. Cable works at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena where she played a role on the Cassini Mission to Saturn. Her job also takes her to some of the harshest conditions on planet Earth, where she looks for clues about just what kind of life might be able to survive in space.