Life beyond Earth could be nearer than earlier estimates suggested, on a close super-Earth known as GJ 3378 b, based on research released in The Astrophysics Journal last week.

Identified initially in 2024, this exoplanet lies only 25 light-years from our planet within a neighboring star system, a relatively short span given the vast scale of the Milky Way.

The detailed analysis, conducted by a team from the University of California, Irvine, indicates that GJ 3378 b may fall inside the habitable zone, where conditions allow for stable liquid water on a planetary surface.

Its nearness to Earth has positioned the super-Earth, defined as a rocky world between two and ten times our planet's mass, as an ideal target for additional investigation.

Supporting this view are the exoplanet's average temperature near 0 degrees Celsius and its receipt of 91 percent of the solar energy Earth receives.

The exoplanet could have a similar atmosphere to Earth

Researchers revised the mass estimate for GJ 3378 b downward to 2.3 times that of Earth, compared with an earlier figure of five times Earth's mass. This adjustment points to a rocky composition similar to our own world and comparable atmospheric pressure, reinforcing its placement in the habitable zone and raising prospects for alien life.

Even with these encouraging findings, no direct proof exists yet that GJ 3378 b possesses an atmosphere or surface liquid water, and intense stellar winds could have stripped away any prior atmosphere.

With many questions still open, scientists plan additional observations to clarify the chances of life on this exoplanet.

NASA plans to launch the Habitable Worlds Observatory in the 2040s, a mission whose goal is to image Earth-like planets around other sun-like stars, according to NASA's website.

The observatory will help determine if GJ 3378 b retains an atmosphere and, if present, will search for indicators of biological activity.