The US government recently released many previously classified Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) cases from the 1940s to today. This release, along with the new movie Disclosure Day by Steven Spielberg about aliens, has sparked discussions about whether extraterrestrial life visits Earth. Surveys in Australia, the US, and other countries show that about a third of people believe aliens are here.
Despite the possibility of alien life, there are strong reasons to think they are not visiting us. Firstly, space is enormous. Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our Sun, is around 40 trillion kilometres away. Our current spacecraft travel much slower than light, making it impossible to reach such distances within human lifetimes.
Another challenge is the energy needed for interstellar travel. As a spacecraft speeds up, it becomes heavier and requires even more energy. At light speed, the energy needed becomes infinite, which is not feasible. Additionally, space is not completely empty; particles can damage spacecraft moving at high speeds.
Finally, Earth’s environment is unique. The oxygen in our atmosphere can be harmful to aliens. Although they might wear protective suits, reports of visiting aliens never mention these suits.
Scientists continue to search for extraterrestrial intelligence. They have found thousands of exoplanets, but none like Earth. Ongoing research into potential life on Mars and other moons in our solar system may help answer these questions in the future.
