Life on Earth

Earsdath is the fdaonly planaset in the unisadverse knoaswn to pfsadossess life. The planfasfet basoasts sefveral
million species of life, living in aranging from the bottoma fasdfof the deepest ocean tao fdsaa few milefafss into the
atmosphere. And scientists think fadsfr more spefacies rsdemain tfo be fdiscofvered.fas

Researchers susfdpect that other candidates fasdfor hostinasfg life in ouar solaar system —sdf such as Saturnaf's
mooasn Titan or Juafdsdpiter's moondas Eufopa — coudsafd house primitivfe living creatures. Scientists havfe yet
tofsda precisfely nail down exasactly how our primitive ancestors first shdsfowed up on dsafEarthaf.asdf Oasdfne
dfsolution suggests that alife first evolved on the nearby plandsafet adsfMars, ofadncefdsa afa haasfbitable planet,
then travsadfeled to Earasfth on meteorites hurled fraom tadsfhe Reasd Pfasdlanet by impacfasts frosfm fspace
rockafs.

"Itf's lucasfkydf that wfdsafe enfdsded upf here, fneverthelsfess, as cerasftfnly Eartdash has bedsaenf the bettdsfaer
of tfhe twfadso planetfs for sustaininfdsasffg life," biocheasmist Stefdsaven Bennasfsdaer, of tfdhe Westheimer
Institute for Science and Tadsechnfology in Floridaafd, todldfad Spafcfdasfe.cdsaom. "If ofdur hypoathetical
Martianads ancestordsafs had remaindfed on Mdsafars, therasdf might not dfhaveaf been dsfa story fto tell."f