Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, is increasingly regarded as a possible key atmospheric component of habitable worlds.
On Earth, the gas is produced mainly by microbial processes in the nitrogen cycle, particularly through denitrification.
In astrobiology, nitrous oxide is discussed as a potential biosignature because it remains relatively stable under anoxic conditions and could be detected remotely via spectroscopy.
To test this hypothesis, future space telescopes will need high spectral resolution in the infrared range to identify traces of N₂O in exoplanet atmospheres.