[RadioAstronomer]

Luna is constantly leaching energy from each rotation around the Earth, and is adding distance from us every day. There will be day in the far, far future that Luna finally escapes the Earth's gravity and ventures off on its own. It will be a tiny light by the time that happens.

I disagree. The Earth will continue to slow down as the moon recedes and eventually the Earth and the Moon will be locked together into a mutual orbit around a common center of mass. There will be perturbations by the Sun and Jupiter; however, they should not cause the Earth/Moon system to decouple.

[longshadow]

The Earth will continue to slow down as the moon recedes and eventually the Earth and the Moon will be locked together into a mutual orbit around a common center of mass.

What you are really saying is that the difference in angular momentum of the Earth's current rotation and it's rotation when it will be phase-locked with the moon is insufficient to raise the moon's velocity above the Earth's escape velocity, right?

OTOH, if the change in the Earth's angular momentum were in excess of what is required to make the moon exceed the Earth's escape velocity, then we would eventually wave "bye-bye" to the moon....

[MHGinTN]

Regarding life in other solar systems, we gaven't exhausted the possibilities in our own solar system since it is possible for life to arise on a moon of Jupiter or Saturn where water is present in sufficient quantities and the tidal forces create internal heat sufficient to maintain conditions for life. Now, intelligent life, much higher order life than bacteria arising is another story.