Could it be aliens? From Cheyava Falls on Mars to exoplanet K2-18b – here’s what scientists really think

The Conversation · 🇦🇺 public Australia · Jun 05, 2026 · 844 words · By Peter Vickers

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What to know about Could it be aliens? From Cheyava Falls on Mars to exoplanet K2-18b – here’s what scientists really think

The author discusses the discrepancy between sensationalist media coverage of potential extraterrestrial life and the actual, more cautious views of the scientific community. By citing a survey conducted by the C-Scope research group, the article argues for a more systematic approach to measuring scientific opinion rather than relying on selective quotations.

Propaganda risk 10%

Claims checked 10

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Right coverage

Left33%

Center67%

Right0%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

It may seem like we are on the verge of discovering alien life.

Why it matters

In 2025, a press release stated that we have the “strongest hints yet” of extraterrestrial life on the exoplanet K2-18b.

Common ground

And when talking about a collected sample from a rock named “Cheyava Falls” on Mars, Nasa Administrator Sean Duffy said this was the “closest we have ever come” to discovering life on the red planet.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Could it be aliens? From Cheyava Falls on Mars to exoplanet K2-18b – here’s what scientists really think?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that For K2-18b, only 6.6% of surveyed astrobiologists agreed that scientists had probably found extraterrestrial life?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/could-it-be-aliens-from-cheyava-falls-on-mars-to-exo…

analyticsAnalysis

10%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6

help Insufficient Evidence 2

info Single Source 2

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Claim 1: “For K2-18b, only 6.6% of surveyed astrobiologists agreed that scientists had probably found extraterrestrial life.”

CORROBORATED

The specific statistic (6.6% of surveyed astrobiologists) is reported in both the cross-reference and independent web search results from June 2026.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A hycean planet ( HY-shən) is a hypothetical type of planet with liquid water oceans underneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere. They are thought to offer conditions favorable to life.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hycean_planet

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — K2-18, also known as EPIC 201912552, is a red dwarf star with two planetary companions located 124 light-years (38 parsecs) from Earth, in the constellation of Leo. Its name is because it was discover…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K2-18

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — K2-18b, also known as EPIC 201912552 b, is an exoplanet orbiting the red dwarf K2-18, located 124 light-years (38 pc) away from Earth. The planet is a sub-Neptune about 2.6 times the radius of Earth, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K2-18b

+ 4 more evidence sources

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Claim 2: “In September, when Nasa announced that Cheyava Falls appeared to preserve a potential biosignature – so-called “leopard spots” which are mineral rings that on Earth are often formed by microbial activity.”

CORROBORATED

The claim is supported by a cross-reference and Wikipedia/web search results confirming NASA's September 2025 announcement regarding 'leopard spots' on the Cheyava Falls rock as potential biosignatures.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Spaceflight in 2025 followed the 2020s trend of record-breaking numbers of orbital launches with 317 successes and new developments in low-Earth orbit human spaceflight (Fram2, Cygnus XL, HTV-X). Spac…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_in_spaceflight

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Cheyava Falls is a rock discovered on Mars in 2024 by NASA's Perseverance rover during its exploration of the Jezero crater. This rock, named after a Grand Canyon waterfall, has drawn significant atte…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheyava_Falls

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Perseverance is a NASA rover that has been exploring Mars since February 18, 2021, as part of the Mars 2020 mission. Built and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, it was launched on July 30, 202…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseverance_(rover)

+ 4 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “The proportion of astrobiologists who strongly disagreed fell dramatically, from 35.1% in the K2-18b case to just 11.1% for Mars.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the search results to support or refute the specific drop in 'strong disagreement' percentages between the two cases.

info

Claim 4: “For the Mars case, confidence was higher but still cautious: 15.1% agreed, disagreement fell to 44.6% and neutrality rose to 40.3%.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific percentages for the Mars case (15.1%, 44.6%, 40.3%) were not found in the provided evidence search results.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — This is the pool of eligible voters (i.e., those who may register to vote and cast a ballot in a national election). Since not every eligible voter registers to vote or casts a ballot, this group incl…
https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publicatio…

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web search NEUTRAL — ters must register for each election in which they desire to vote. People who have moved to another election district must take steps to have thei few States or parts of States, no formal registration…
https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publicatio…

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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 30, 2024 · What is covered in the CPS voting and registration supplement? Data on registered voters are collected in November and released biennially in the spring following the national elections…
https://www.census.gov/data/academy/resources/one-pagers/vot…

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Claim 5: “Nearly two-thirds disagreed [regarding K2-18b], while 28.0% remained neutral.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the 6.6% figure for K2-18b was corroborated, the specific breakdown of 'two-thirds' and '28.0%' for disagreement and neutrality was not found in the provided evidence search results.

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web search NEUTRAL — Define approximately. approximately synonyms, approximately pronunciation, approximately translation, English dictionary definition of approximately. adj. 1. Almost exact or correct: the approximate t…
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/approximately

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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 6, 2026 · The meaning of APPROXIMATELY is in an approximate manner —used to indicate that a stated number, amount, or value is an approximation. How to use approximately in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/approximately

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web search NEUTRAL — APPROXIMATELY definition: 1. close to a particular number or time although not exactly that number or time: 2. close to a…. Learn more.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/approxim…

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Claim 6: “In April 2025, researchers reported possible traces of molecules called dimethyl sulfide and/or dimethyl disulfide [on K2-18b].”

CORROBORATED

Web search results from April 2025 specifically mention the detection of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and/or dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) on K2-18b.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 2025 (MMXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2025th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 25th year of the 3rd millennium and the 2…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 7: “On Earth, these [dimethyl sulfide and/or dimethyl disulfide] are associated with biological activity.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including a cross-reference and scientific web results (PMC), confirm that DMS and DMDS are associated with biological/microbial activity on Earth.

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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 17, 2025 ... ... sulfide (DMS) and/or dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), in the atmosphere of the exoplanet K2-18b, which orbits its star in the habitable zone. On Earth ...
https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/strongest-hints-of-biological-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is a volatile breakdown product of dimethyl-sulfonio-propionate (DMSP). DMS is synthesized by marine phytoplankton, plays a central ...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12449544/

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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 16, 2025 ... ... dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and/or dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), in the ... Earth, DMS and DMDS are only produced by life, primarily microbial ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPRr4DgMTxI

+ 1 more evidence source

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Claim 8: “Nasa Administrator Sean Duffy said this was the “closest we have ever come” to discovering life on the red planet [regarding a sample from Cheyava Falls].”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results from September 2025 confirm that NASA's discovery of 'leopard spots' on the Cheyava Falls rock is described as the 'closest we have ever come to discovering' life on Mars.

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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 10, 2025 ... A sample collected by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover from an ancient dry riverbed in Jezero Crater could preserve evidence of ancient ...
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-says-mars-rover-disco…

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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 16, 2025 ... NASA's Perseverance rover discovered leopard spots on a reddish rock nicknamed “Cheyava Falls” in Mars' Jezero Crater in July 2024. Scientists ...
https://www.facebook.com/time/posts/nasa-discovery-is-the-cl…

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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 10, 2025 ... A rock sample discovered by NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover last year may hold proof that life once existed on Mars, but scientists need to ...
https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/mars-samples-must-be-retu…

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Claim 9: “At Durham University, our research group, C-Scope (the Centre for Scientific Community Opinion Polling and Evaluation), studies how expert opinion is distributed and how it changes over time.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the search results regarding Durham University's C-Scope research group.

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Claim 10: “In 2025, a press release stated that we have the “strongest hints yet” of extraterrestrial life on the exoplanet K2-18b.”

CORROBORATED

The claim is supported by a cross-reference and web search results mentioning 'strongest hints yet' of biological activity on K2-18b in 2025.

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+ 4 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.