To all that say: Just some microbes....
That would be insanely huge. A bakteria is like a cell of our body. If we would find another lifeform in outer Space just a bacteria somewhere:
That would answer thousends of questions at once:
Do they have DNA and RNA how are they structured do they have similar ways of creating energy. Do they have the same way of coding aminoacids. Is their DNA shaped like life on earth or is it different. Which genes does it have. How does it work. Are those microbes related to life on earth or did they develop independently. Also if we would descover life outside the planet earth it would indicate that the universe is full of life.
And it would also be interesting to see how extreme circumstances can get and life still resists. Extremophiles live in extreme environment but the most extreme environment they survive is nothing compared to the other planets in the solar system.
But I honestly doubt the magnitude of the discovery will be something like discovering life somewhere else. Maybe they found a planet with kepler who is truly earth like.
People cant appreciate the discovery of bacteria outside planet earth because they dont know how complex a single cell is and how extreme the conditions are. Maybe we find someday life on Titan which would be totally different compared to life on earth since it wouldn`t use water as a solvent but methane.
A discovery of life elsewhere would lead us to a better understanding of life itself also we would have to rewrite some books. It could lead to new technologies depending on how life differs.
A bacteria is like a small animal with organs and shape and behaviour.
But as I said there is no way they found life yet.
My bet is on Kepler, Mars Rover found something maybe Cassini. Or some interesting discoveries during the comet fly by (except that it snows on comets).
It would definetly be the biggest discovery ever made but chances are so slim to withness something of that magnitude in your lifetime.
Edit: After reading the article again it just says:
NASA will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 2, to discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life.
That could mean anything but it certainly doesnt mean we found life. Maybe a discovery that makes the search easier.
