Sure, I don’t think that’s lost on anyone. The headline of “life found outside earth” is going to be a big deal.

But I also think we are zeroing in on the inevitable outcome. The math of probability and the simple components to life make it seem pretty likely we’ll get there unless there is something more fundamental that hasn’t been seen yet.

We haven’t reproduced proto-life yet, but we also don’t have millions of years and a planet sized laboratory at our disposal.