Our next question comes from Ritesh from Sharjah: What are the chances of finding microbial life on Charon or Pluto,
since we have the proof on Earth itself that life can evolve anywhere?
Well, yeah, we have life forming in extreme conditions on the Earth,
but extreme on the Earth is pretty different than extreme, than the kind of conditions we see on Pluto. And, unfortunately,
I think that the chances are pretty slim that there is life on Pluto.
First of all, the temperatures of the surface is like minus 390 degrees Fahrenheit,
you know, so cold that, you know, what could be moving at those kinds of temperatures?
The other thing is, it's so far away from the sun. The sunlight is 1,000 times fainter at Pluto than it is at --
than at the Earth and life as we know it needs energy, and most of our energy ultimately comes from the sun; and Pluto being so far away,
you know, there's not much energy there. So you would have to have some really sloth-like creatures at Pluto to survive.
Now, you know, that's, that's regarding the surface of Pluto. Maybe underneath,
if there happens to be radionuclides that have been heating the interior or some kind of geological action
that's taken place that causes some slush to form, you know, icy -- you know, then this could happen. Maybe there is more hope there.
You never know. But it will be quite a while before we're able to actually probe underneath the surface of Pluto.