While the allure of desert planets like those depicted in science fiction classics ‘Dune’ and ‘Star Wars’ captivates imaginations, recent research from NASA suggests these arid worlds are unlikely to support life.
NASA’s findings, presented at the American Geophysical Union’s 2024 conference, highlight how desert planets, even those within a star’s habitable zone, struggle to maintain conditions suitable for life. The research indicates that a planet’s ability to support life hinges on its water inventory. If too limited, the planet transitions to an uninhabitable state.
The Kepler-16 star system, known for its resemblance to the fictional Tatooine’s double sunset, typifies the type of environment where life might theoretically evolve. However, the absence of sufficient water poses a significant barrier. Without adequate water, these planets cannot maintain stable temperatures necessary for life similar to that on Earth.
Haskelle Trigue White-Gianella, a researcher with NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory project, emphasized the role of water in stabilizing planetary climates. White-Gianella explained that desert planets with less than one Earth ocean’s worth of water might be prevalent but lack the capacity to sustain life due to their climatic instability.
The scientists identified that planets with less than 10% of their surface water are at a higher risk of losing that water over time, leading to runaway climate scenarios similar to what occurred on Venus. Planets like Venus experienced ocean evaporation, intensified by solar activity, resulting in uninhabitable greenhouse conditions. This same fate might await other desert planets, making life improbable.
The speculative nature of desert planets in science fiction, such as Arrakis in ‘Dune’ or Tatooine in ‘Star Wars’, often overlooks these scientific realities. In ‘Dune’, the desert ecosystem is portrayed as dominated by sandworms and governed by scarce water resources, yet the likelihood of life on such planets defies current scientific understanding. Kevin Grazier, a planetary physicist, suggests that even the speculative processes like those shown in fiction rely on unaddressed variables such as the origin and survival adaptations of the sandworms.
In essence, while desert planets remain popular in fiction, NASA’s research underscores the challenges these worlds face in supporting life. The intricate balance of water and climate stability appears crucial, making the chances of life on such planets exceedingly slim.
Source: Space
