Question

5 nasa has continued to roll out plans to search for signs of life on both mars and europa. first, in 2020, the most recent mars rover was sent to search for signs of past life there, in the hope of sending samples back to earth. then nasa aims to launch a mission to europa in order to uncover more about the moons potential to sustain life. with regard to identifying exoplanets, experts believe that scientists have only scratched the surface. to that end, nasa intends to utilize its newest tess telescope in the continued search for undiscovered exoplanets. seth shostak, a senior astronomer at the seti institute, estimates that there are as many as one trillion undiscovered planets in earths galaxy alone. what does the fifth paragraph do? it outlines nasas future initiatives to search for signs of alien life in the galaxy. it suggests the direction that scientists should take in their quest to find alien life. it addresses the counterargument that the scientific discovery of life beyond earth is unlikely.

Explanation:

To determine the function of the fifth paragraph, we analyze each option:

1. The first option: The paragraph describes NASA's plans like the 2020 Mars rover, future Europa mission, and using TESS telescope for exoplanets. These are NASA's future initiatives to search for alien life (signs of life on Mars/Europa, exoplanets).
2. The second option: The paragraph focuses on NASA's actions, not suggesting directions for scientists in general.
3. The third option: There is no counterargument about the unlikelihood of discovering life beyond Earth addressed here.

So the first option matches the content of the paragraph.

Answer:

A. It outlines NASA's future initiatives to search for signs of alien life in the galaxy.