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Intelligent alien life is likely because the universe is so big, the head of Nasa has said.
Bill Nelson, the former space shuttle astronaut and US senator, said that the James Webb Telescope, which launched last Christmas, could help detect worlds where life could thrive.
Speaking at the Financial Times Investing in Space Conference on Wednesday, Mr Nelson was asked whether he believed in intelligent extraterrestrial life.
“The short answer is yes,” he said. “That would be a page one story, wouldn’t it?
“Look how big the universe is. We know that we have in our galaxy, millions, if not billions of suns. And we know that in addition to our galaxy, there are millions, if not billions, of galaxies with millions, or billions, of suns.
“Now is there a possibility in a universe that big that conditions like the Earth have been created? Of course, there is that possibility.”
He added: “With the [James Webb] telescope, we’re going to be able to have such precision to look at a planet and determine the chemical composition of its atmosphere so we can determine if it has a possibility of a habitable atmosphere.”
The Nasa administrator also downplayed tensions with Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, saying that there was still cooperation between US astronauts and cosmonauts on board the International Space Station (ISS).
In the early days of the Ukraine war, Roscosmos created a mocked-up video showing cosmonauts saying goodbye to US astronaut Mark Vande Hei and detaching the Russian segment from the ISS.
The Russians were also filmed removing UK and US flags from a Soyuz rocket, while technicians were seen taping the “Z” invasion sign to launch equipment.
“There is no breakdown,” said Mr Nelson. “We built the ISS with the Russians, and the co-operation between Russia and the US is manifested in the professional relationship between the cosmonauts and the astronauts, between mission control in Moscow and mission control in Houston.
“There is history for this and it goes back to 1975 in the midst of the Cold War, when Soviet spacecraft rendezvous and docked with US crews and they lived together.
“In the midst of all of that strain, there can actually be co-operation and we see that today on the ISS.”
Mr Nelson said the ISS was likely to continue until 2030 when it will be replaced by commercial stations.