NASA scientists are using the James Webb Space Telescope to study TRAPPIST-1 e—an Earth-sized exoplanet located 40 light-years away—in order to detect possible signs of an atmosphere and liquid water.

According to a new study published on September 8, 2025, this planet may possess conditions conducive to surface water, which could represent a breakthrough in the search for habitable worlds beyond our solar system, reports CBS News.

Webb Telescope Narrows Down Possible Atmospheres

The James Webb Space Telescope completed four detailed observations of TRAPPIST-1 e during its transits in front of its parent star. According to NASA researchers, this planet orbits within the habitable zone, where liquid water could theoretically exist on the surface—but only if it has an atmosphere.

“Webb’s infrared instruments give us more detail than ever before, and the first four observations of planet e show us what kind of data we'll have when the rest of the information comes in,” said Néstor Espinoza from the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.

Preliminary results, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, reveal two possible scenarios for this planet. TRAPPIST-1 e may have a nitrogen-rich atmosphere capable of supporting liquid water, or it could be a bare rocky planet with no atmosphere at all.