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The search for habitable exoplanets and life beyond the Solar System is oneof the most compelling scientific opportunities of our time. Nevertheless, thehigh cost of building facilities that can address this topic and the keenpublic interest in the results of such research requires the rigorousdevelopment of experiments that can deliver a definitive advance in ourunderstanding. Most work to date in this area has focused on a "systemsscience" approach of obtaining and interpreting comprehensive data forindividual planets to make statements about their habitability and thepossibility that they harbor life. This strategy is challenging because of thediversity of exoplanets, both observed and expected, and the limitedinformation that can be obtained with astronomical instruments. Here we proposea complementary approach that is based on performing surveys of key planetarycharacteristics and using statistical marginalization to answer broaderquestions than can be addressed with a small sample of objects. The fundamentalprinciple of this comparative planetology approach is maximizing what can belearned from each type of measurement by applying it widely rather thanrequiring that multiple kinds of observations be brought to bear on a singleobject. As a proof of concept, we outline a survey of terrestrial exoplanetatmospheric water and carbon dioxide abundances that would test the habitablezone hypothesis and lead to a deeper understanding of the frequency ofhabitable planets. We also discuss ideas for additional surveys that could bedeveloped to test other foundational hypotheses is this area.

A Statistical Comparative Planetology Approach to the Hunt for Habitable Exoplanets and Life Beyond the Solar System