Hello @freedomshift
I see that you are a studied person (in a totally scientific career and quite difficult, I respect chemistry, you have to love it to study it) and I congratulate you for it. Rooted in the scientific method, and that's fine.
But not everything has to be measured and quantified to exist.
One of the scientists I most admire said the following
During a social gathering, someone was surprised to hear that he was deeply religious. Einstein replied, "Yes, I am. When we try to reach the secrets of nature with our limited means, we find that behind the discernible causal relationships there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. My religion is to venerate that force, which is beyond what we can comprehend. In that sense I am in fact religious. And he wrote in a letter: "the laws of nature manifest the existence of a spirit enormously superior to men ... in the face of which we must feel humble".
I know how necessary facts are to discover or prove a truth, but there are truths that cannot be quantifiable or measured within this dimension. A two-dimensional being can know the depth dimension? But that does not mean that there isn't exist or isn't true? He/she will never find a tangible fact that can make him/her measure it. Do you follow me?
Therefore, this gives me to understand that it is possible that extraterrestrials do exist, that is to say, life on other planets.
It's just the opinion of this humble servant. Don't get angry 