extraterrestrial life

Extraterrestrial life, or alien life, is life that originates from another world rather than on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been detected. Such life might range from simple forms such as microbes to intelligent beings, possibly bringing forth civilizations that might be far more, or far less, advanced than humans. The Drake equation speculates about the existence of sapient life elsewhere in the universe. The science of extraterrestrial life is known as astrobiology.