NASA expert: We'll find indications of alien life in next decade

We are on the verge of confirming alien life in the solar system, says NASA chief scientist Ellen Stofan. It will likely happen within the next few decades, Stofan said at a panel discussion held Tuesday at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The alien life will likely be small microbes, not "little green men," she said.

"We're going to have strong indications of life beyond Earth within a decade and we're going to have definitive evidence within 20 to 30 years," Stofan said.

"We're going to understand that there is life on other bodies in the solar system," she said.

NASA shared a video of the panel online. The topic was "Water in the Universe" and explored recent discoveries of water and other bodies of liquid in the solar system.

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