Is water really necessary for extraterrestrial life?

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Sure, on Earth, but why are scientists so sure that a planet would need water to have life?

Maybe as all life on Earth is made up of water in some form, it seems to be the most logical assumption/hypothesis. I really don't know the answer, but I think ice caps of some kind were also found on our moon and Mars at least (which is why some think life may/have been on Mars). Also, water had special qualities that other liquids and compounds do not have (that I am aware of), such as having a solid, liquid and gaseous form (all 3) and some other stuff I cannot think of. But if their was another special compound like water that could have all 3 solid/liquid/gas forms & such, I don't see why it could not support life.

Interesting article on this topic

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/20 ... -life.html

I've always wondered this myself when watching TV on that sort of topic. Just because life as we know it on earth all depends on water doesn't mean there isn't an alternative out there.

We have only gone to the moon technically. We still have loads of surprises awaiting us. We can't predict how everything works based on us.

Actually, I've read the speculation on Ammonia-based life forms several times. Of course, I don't know what good it would do us to discover Ammonia-based life forms, since contact with them would likely be lethal to humans.

But nobody on this planet has yet proven how carbon and water based life forms arose, much less duplicated the feat, even at the most basic level, so its kind of overreaching our intellectual grasp at this point to speculate on other species. Wake me when somebody actually creates a single celled organism in a vat.

We don't yet understand the invisible patterns that cause sub molecular particles come together to form molecular particles, nor how it all manages to arrange itself into seemingly solid matter, which - surprise! - isn't solid after all.

Most humans are still looking smugly down their noses at each other because some consider themselves creationists and others atheists, when both groups are convinced their 'theory' is correct and the other is stupid for accepting their 'belief' on 'faith' in an unproven and unprovable idea. "Prove there's a God" "Prove there's not" - what if they're both wrong and the truth is something we won't come to even think of, much less understand for another six thousand years?

Provided of course, the petrochemicals in our oceans don't turn the planet into a dead stagnant reeking rock before then, or the radical Muslims take over the planet and outlaw all forms of learning outside memorization of holy scripture. Nah, probably more likely something involving Mah Jong Ill and Mumu Imadinnerjacket and the Chinese backing a nuke lobbing exchange - as long as there are central banks controlling imaginary bio-survival tickets, our alien progenitors will keep us immersed in fear and war. Gods forbid we ever actually get off planet and start meddling with their playthings...we're still only (barely) modified apes, after all...

How would we know an extra-terrestrial if we saw one? perhaps life on other planets is so advanced that they have cloaking devices operating full time. We are designed to sustain the forces of THIS planet, if there is life elsewhere, perhaps it does not exist on the same "spectrum" as we do, it does not depend on light, heat, water, etc.

I personally do not believe in extra-terrestrial life (with the exception of heavenand hell, which provides the basis of my argument) Heaven, being a spirit world is invisible to our human eyes, why not others.