The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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How did life appear on Earth?
For life to appear on Earth, the presence of water was certainly necessary. Scientists are currently studying three possible sources of life:
-Deep-sea vents: In an environment where light and oxygen do not exist, methane is often a key element for life to form, such as in underwater hot springs in the oceans.
- Icy oceans: Simple life forms capable of photosynthesis could have evolved in the oceans, protected from the deadly effects of ultraviolet radiation by icy crusts in the colder regions.
- Space: Bacteria almost certainly travelled on comets and meteorites between planets, and thus could also have been brought to Earth in this way.
For more information on this Mars Express image, please click on the following link: Water Ice in the Vastitas Borealis Crater.