NASA supercomputer predicts when life on Earth will end: It is sooner than expected

Now, NASA scientists working with researchers in Japan believe they’ve come closer than ever to predicting the planet’s final chapter.

A billion-year countdown

In a study titled The Future Lifespan of Earth’s Oxygenated Atmosphere, scientists from NASA and Toho University used advanced supercomputers to simulate the planet’s future.

Their models suggest that Earth’s atmosphere will become uninhabitable in roughly one billion years, far sooner than once believed.

According to the research, as the Sun grows older, it will emit more heat and radiation, transforming Earth into a scorching, lifeless world.

Oceans will evaporate, oxygen will vanish, and even the hardiest microorganisms will no longer survive.

Earlier than expected

Previous scientific estimates gave Earth’s biosphere about two billion more years.

But the new simulations, based on more than 400,000 computer models, predict that the window for life could close far earlier.

“For many years, the lifespan of Earth’s biosphere has been discussed based on the steady brightening of the Sun,” said Kazumi Ozaki, the study’s lead author. “If true, one can expect atmospheric O₂ levels will also eventually decrease in the distant future.”

The study’s results show that life on Earth may not vanish all at once, but oxygen levels will decline gradually until only microbes remain, and even they will eventually disappear.

Warning signs already visible

Scientists warn that early signs of this long-term process may already be detectable. Increasing solar activity, including solar storms and coronal mass ejections, has begun to affect Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere.

When combined with human-driven climate change, such as record-breaking global temperatures and melting ice caps, the findings paint a troubling picture of a planet already showing symptoms of its distant fate.

This article is made and published by Kathrine Frich, which may have used AI in the preparation