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BryceSloan

The resolution is primarily addressing the existence of interstellar life.  The Pro/For must advocate for the following:  Life can exist in either our Solar System or other Solar Systems.  The Con/Against must advocate for the following:  Life cannot or does not exist on foreign planets.  Science must be used as evidence or a framework.  Religion is unacceptable as a framework or evidence because it is mostly single sided and biased.

The last round will be the voters.  In this round, you will be telling the audience/judges why you see you won the round.

Happy debating and good luck debaters 

sear

Planets can (but do not necessarily) maintain a steady distance from the star they orbit. This is what allows Earth to occupy the goldilocks zone, that very narrow temperature band where H2O is neither solid nor gas.

But moons orbiting in the ecliptic intrinsically vary their distance from the star.

So I'm guessing life is more likely on a planet than a moon.

Geometrically of course if the moon's plane of orbit were perpendicular to the planet's ecliptic then the distance from star to moon needn't vary much.

But I know of no such celestial moon orbit. Whether there's a reason in physics that there can't be I don't know.

BryceSloan

“I think we're going to have strong indications of life beyond Earth within a decade, and I think we're going to have definitive evidence within 20 to 30 years. We know where to look. We know how to look. In most cases, we have the technology and we’re on a path to implementing it.” Ellen Stofan, NASA chief scientist (ibtimes.com)

Today I stand in firm Affirmation of the following resolution:  Could life exist on other planets/moons?

First, we need to clarify what makes something living.  It first needs to complete the 7 characteristics of living organisms;
- Responsiveness to their environment.  (Being able to react to changes in their ecosystem.)
- Growth and change.
- Ability to reproduce.
- Have metabolism and breathe.
- Maintain homeostasis.
- Being made of cells.
- Passing traits onto offspring.
(ck12.org)

Also, the three component must exist on said planet/moon for life to be possible;
- Organic molecules.  (Carbon, Hydrogen, Silicon, Nitrogen, etc.)
- Liquid molecule.  (Water, Ethane, or Methane)
- Energy source.  (Solar energy, thermal energy, or friction)
(Organic Molecules Source)

Contention 1:  Possible life in our very own Solar system.
Io, Europa, Titan, and Enceladus.  What do these four celestial bodies have in common?  They are all moons of gas giants.  What else you may ask?  They are all candidates for hosting extraterrestrial life.  They all have an energy source (Io and Europa obtain energy from the friction caused by the gravitational pull from Jupiter), they have a liquid molecule (Water, ethane, and methane), and they all have organic molecules.  Even though they are far away from our Solar System's star, they all can have the ability to host life.  (Source)
Take a look at Mars.  We have observed there to be frozen water on Mars.  Also to add on, Mars is on the edge of the goldie locks zone, the habitable zone.  Frozen water, an ancient core, remnants of an atmosphere, and being in the habitable zone could make Mars a possible candidate for life, or ancient life.  Scientists are currently trying to figure out a way to terraform Mars itself.

BryceSloan

“At the moment, life on Earth is the only known life in the universe, but there are compelling arguments to suggest we are not alone. Indeed, most astrophysicists accept a high probability of there being life elsewhere in the universe, if not on other planets or on moons within our own solar system. The numbers are, well, astronomical: if the count of planets in our solar system is not unusual, then there are more planets in the universe than the sum of all sounds and words ever uttered by every human who has ever lived. To declare that Earth must be the only planet in the cosmos with life would be inexcusably egocentric of us.” Neil deGrasse Tyson (Source)

For a brief roadmap, I will be going over my 2nd contention and attacking/defending my case/arguments:

Contention 2:  Endless possibility
There are an estimated 100 billion galaxies in the universe.(Source)  Inside those galaxies, there are about 500 Solar Systems inside each, many just like our very own. (Source)  Their own Europas, their own Titans, maybe their own Earths!  We cannot let the possibility of extraterrestrial life in the universe.  With the numbers added together, there are around 5e+13 Solar Systems in the universe.  We must not allow ignorance to null out the fact that life exists on other planets.

Moving on to my attacks:
My opponent only had about two paragraphs on their contention so I will try my best to attack their case and defend my own.
In my opponent's first paragraph, they stated about planets orbiting in the Goldie Locks Zone (GLZ).  Earth and Mars both fall in the GLZ.  Even though that is only 1/4 of the planets, that still doesn't eliminate the fact of life being present on other moons.  As I stated in my first contention, Io, Europa, Titan, and Enceladus, all have the opportunity to hold life on or below its surface.  Solar energy is not the only way for a celestial body to obtain energy.  Thermal energy and frictional energy both create enough energy to get life started.  

I leave the rest of my text to my judge and I await my opponent's reply.