Quotes by Dimitar Sasselov

“This discovery is particularly exciting because the habitable zone for these stars - the region where a planet would be the right temperature for liquid water - is close to the star. Planets that are close to their stars are easier to find. The first truly Earth-like planet we discover might be a world orbiting a red dwarf.”

“It will be the first time that this will be done.”

“What we are trying to do is observe [planets] eclipsing their stars. Kepler will be put into space to avoid our unstable atmosphere.”

The question we ask is - if there is life on other planets, should we expect it to be based on the same molecules, i.e. be universal - or should we expect it to depend on the local conditions, i.e. on the planets geochemistry. So to find out, we try experiments on biomolecules, starting with such geochemistry conditions.

We love our planet Earth. We should - it is our home, and theres no place like home. There cant ever be a better place than Earth.