Exploring new worlds in search of life

The James Webb Telescope is the successor to the Hubble space telescope but is more precise and efficient because of the size of its mirror, the range of light it can detect and its location.

These attributes will enable the Webb to study the planets in our solar system and other planetary systems in unprecedented detail. Moreover, the scientific instrument developed by Doyon’s team is designed to analyze many types of celestial bodies, including the atmospheric composition of distant exoplanets.

“What we’re looking for, our holy grail, are ‘biosignatures,’ that is, signs of extraterrestrial life,” explained iREx coordinator Nathalie Ouellette, an astrophysicist who does communications for the James Webb.

She hastened to add that we shouldn’t imagine these signs of life the way they are depicted in science fiction films: “We’re talking about finding signs of biological activity or the signature of certain molecules that we have identified as essential to life, such as oxygen, water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane and ozone. Based on the presence of such molecules, particularly in certain combinations, we may be able to determine that conditions are conducive to the development of life when we explore an exoplanet using the telescope.”

“Tell me where you come from and I’ll tell you who you are”

The Webb will thus improve our understanding of the development of the first luminous objects (galaxies) over time. Ouellette believes the telescope will also provide insight into the creation of our own solar system.

“We still have many questions about the origins of life in our solar system. We don’t know exactly how we came to be on Earth and how the planets were formed,” Ouellette pointed out. “By studying other systems, stars and planets at various stages of development, we hope to be able to trace our own history and understand ourselves better.”

That is the ultimate goal of the James Webb: to revolutionize our understanding of the universe and, above all, to place the Earth, in all its fragility and uniqueness, in a broader context.