Astronomers Detect a Possible Signature of Life on a Distant Planet

If life evolves on a planet with only oceans, no surface, imagine how much longer it would take to discover rockets that can leave the planet.

Like if there was no surface on earth, and only fish, there must be some very significant reason for advanced fish to even want to leave the water, let alone the atmosphere

That seems like a very landbased mindset. From a high level, what is an ocean but a thick atmosphere? I could even imagine an underwater culture would be quicker to explore because they would surely discover the surface of the ocean quicker than we discovered the concept of the atmosphere and that innately leads to the questions of whether the atmosphere has a "surface" and what is above it.

Land animals are more likely to develop hands. Hands wouldn't give a fish any advantage, because there is nothing to climb.

Building a rocket requires hands, and the type of intelligence that evolves only after having hands.