This study examines the communication of astrobiology and the Search for Life Elsewhere (SLE) in academic papers, press releases, and news articles over three decades.
Societal Issues
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Intelligence & Language, Interstellar, SETI & Technosignatures, Societal Issues, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Projections Of Earth’s Technosphere: Scenario Modeling, Worldbuilding, And Overview Of Remotely Detectable Technosignatures
This study uses methods from futures studies to develop a set of ten self-consistent scenarios for Earth’s 1000-year future, which can serve as examples for defining technosignature search strategies.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, SETI & Technosignatures, Societal Issues, Status Report
SETI Post-Detection Futures: Directions for Technosignature Research and Readiness
This white paper highlights the work that is needed to anticipate the challenges and societal impacts of a possible technosignature detection.
Posted inGaia - Planetary Perspectives, Intelligence & Language, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, SETI & Technosignatures, Societal Issues, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
WhaleSETI: Curious Humpback Whales Approach Humans And Blow Nubble “Smoke” Rings
A team of scientists from the SETI Institute and the University of California at Davis documented, for the first time, humpback whales producing large bubble rings, like a human smoker […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release, SETI & Technosignatures, Societal Issues
The Challenging History Of Other Earths
This paper provides an overview of recent historical research regarding scientifically-informed challenges to the idea that the stars are other suns orbited by other inhabited earths — an idea that […]
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Intelligence & Language, Societal Issues, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
SETI Tech On Earth: DolphinGemma: How Google AI Is Helping Decode Dolphin Communication
DolphinGemma, a large language model developed by Google, is helping scientists study how dolphins communicate — and hopefully find out what they’re saying, too.
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Intelligence & Language, Press Release, SETI & Technosignatures, Societal Issues
What If We Find Nothing In Our Search For Life Beyond Earth?
What if we spend decades building advanced telescopes to search for life on other planets and come up empty-handed? A recent study led by ETH Zurich researchers including corresponding author […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Courses, Education and Outreach, Societal Issues, Status Report
Motivation, Demographics, and Engagement During COVID-19 in an Astrobiology Massive Open Online Course
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) experienced a resurgence in popularity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this work, we studied participants in an astrobiology MOOC offered on Coursera since April […]
Posted inArtemis & Lunar Exploration, Away Teams & Field Reports, Career Opportunities, Courses, Education and Outreach, Missions & Hardware, People Of Astrobiology, Societal Issues, Space Stations, Status Report
Expanding Space Exploration Training Offworld
The public and commercial space industries are planning longer duration and more distant space missions, including the establishment of a habitable lunar base and crewed missions to Mars. To support […]
Posted inIntelligence & Language, Press Release, SETI & Technosignatures, Societal Issues, Video, Audio, Webcasts, Podcasts, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Whale Song Has Structure Similar To Human Language
Humpback whale song is a striking example of a complex, culturally transmitted behavior, but up to now, there was little evidence it has language-like structure. Human language, which is also […]