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In the search for extraterrestrial life, we look for planets at a similar distance from their sun as Earth is from ours: the so-called Goldilocks zone. However, we are very fortunate to have the bounty of materials that exists in Earth’s crust, and our civilisation would not have developed without them. What are the odds of another planet being similarly equipped? It would need to have had a similar geological history to Earth’s. Is this likely?

Paul Clark, Battle, East Sussex, UK

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