Who is Nikku Madhusudhan, Indian-origin scientist who found signs of life on faraway planet?

Indian-origin astrophysicist Dr Nikku Madhusudhan and his team believe they may have found the clearest sign yet of life beyond Earth.

Their discovery is not linked to any planet in our solar system, but to a far-off one called K2-18b, which orbits a star roughly 120 light-years from Earth.

The team from the University of Cambridge, who have been analysing the atmosphere of K2-18b, have identified molecules that, on Earth, are known to be produced only by simple forms of life.

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Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), they detected strong signs of carbon-based molecules, including methane and carbon dioxide, in the planet’s atmosphere.

In this explainer, we explore what is known about Nikku Madhusudhan and his discovery of potential signs of life on a planet outside our solar system.

Who is Nikku Madhusudhan?

Madhusudhan is the lead scientist behind what could be a major breakthrough in the search for alien life, with possible evidence found on a planet located 120 light-years from Earth.

His scientific journey began at the Indian Institute of Technology, BHU, in Varanasi.

Born in India in 1980, he went on to pursue a master’s degree and PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.

Now a professor at Cambridge, he led the team of researchers who used the James Webb Space Telescope to identify signs that may point to biological activity on an exoplanet named K2-18b.

An exoplanet refers to a planet that lies outside our solar system, orbiting a distant star.

His work focuses on the study of exoplanets, including their atmospheres, internal structures, how they form, whether they could support life, and what kind of signs might indicate that life is present.

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In 2021, Madhusudhan and his team suggested that sub-Neptunes may have warm oceans beneath hydrogen-rich atmospheres that include methane and other carbon compounds.

To describe these types of planets, they introduced a new term, “Hycean,” combining the words “hydrogen” and “ocean.”

He is currently a professor of astrophysics and exoplanetary science at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge. He has also held positions at leading universities such as MIT, Yale, and Princeton.

Madhusudhan has received several honours, including awards from the European Astronomical Society and the International Union for Pure and Applied Physics.

His research draws heavily on data gathered from two major telescopes, the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope.

Life beyond our planet found?

The findings were published on Wednesday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. While other scientists described the study as exciting and thought-provoking, they stopped short of drawing any bold conclusions about life on K2-18b.

Led by Madhusudhan, the research team detected molecules in the atmosphere of K2-18b that, on Earth, are only known to be produced by simple life forms.

“This is the strongest evidence yet there is possibly life out there. I can realistically say that we can confirm this signal within one to two years,” Madhusudhan told BBC.

K2-18b is about two-and-a-half times the size of Earth and sits roughly 700 trillion miles away, or 124 light-years, a distance far beyond human reach.

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The Cambridge team found that the planet’s atmosphere may contain the chemical fingerprint of one or both of the following molecules: dimethyl sulphide (DMS) and dimethyl disulphide (DMDS). On Earth, these gases are released by marine phytoplankton and certain bacteria.

“If we confirm that there is life on K2-18b, it should basically confirm that life is very common in the galaxy,” Madhusudhan told a British publication.

He clarified that the findings do not yet point to actual living organisms, but rather to the possible presence of biological processes.

Still, as the lead author of the paper, Madhusudhan said, “This is a transformational moment in the search for life beyond the solar system, where we have demonstrated that it is possible to detect biosignatures in potentially habitable planets with current facilities.”

Since the 1990s, around 5,800 exoplanets have been discovered, according to CNN. Scientists believe that some of these could be what they call “hycean worlds”, planets covered in oceans with hydrogen-rich atmospheres, potentially able to support life.

The team intends to carry out further observations using the James Webb Space Telescope over the next year, aiming to confirm the presence of DMS and improve models of K2-18b’s atmosphere.

The European Space Agency’s Ariel mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2029, is also expected to help scientists examine the atmospheres of exoplanets like K2-18b.