We’re assuming that alien life requires the same things we do, why?
In: Biology
It’s not just a blind assumption based on our own situation on Earth. Water is a pretty common compound. It has a reasonably wide range of temperatures that it remains liquid at. It is a good solvent, and works really well for storing and mixing chemicals for organisms. It has a high specific heat, and in the proper configuration with fat and skin, will maintain a regular temperature pretty well, and keep homeostasis in your organism.
There are other neat features, like the fact the solid version (ice) is less dense, and will float on the surface. Most compounds don’t do this. This means that a lake will freeze on the top, and that ice acts an insulating barrier, meaning all the fish below will stay protected and have nice liquid water to live in.
Also, H2O does a lot of magic stuff on a molecular level, in the ways it interacts with proteins, interacts with buffers for H+ and OH-, etc.
**Basically, H2O does a lot a special shit that is very handy for the concept of a organism that is made of chemicals that interact with each other. It’s not that scientists forgot to consider aliens might use other compounds.**
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