What would happen if we received a message from an extraterrestrial civilization?
Societal Issues
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, SETI & Technosignatures, Societal Issues, Status Report
Inferring The Rate Of Technosignatures From Sixty Years Of Nondetection
For about the last 60 years the search for extraterrestrial intelligence has been monitoring the sky for evidence of remotely detectable technological life beyond Earth, with no positive results to […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Press Release, Science Fiction, Societal Issues
The Future Of Humanity Here And Elsewhere: Humans Continue To Evolve With The Emergence Of New Genes
Modern humans evolutionarily split from our chimpanzee ancestors nearly 7 million years ago, yet we are continuing to evolve.
Posted inEducation and Outreach, Press Release, SETI & Technosignatures, Societal Issues
New Research Hub Considers Response To Life Beyond Earth
What does humanity do when we discover we are not alone in the cosmos? A new international research hub at the University of St Andrews will coordinate global expertise to […]
Posted inPress Release, SETI & Technosignatures, Societal Issues
Geopolitical Implications Of A Successful SETI Program
We discuss the recent “realpolitik” analysis of Wisian & Traphagan (2020, W&T) of the potential geopolitical fallout of the success of SETI.
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Press Release, SETI & Technosignatures, Societal Issues
Introducing Humans to the Extraterrestrials: the Pioneering Missions of the Pioneer and Voyager Probes
This article gives a brief overview of how human life is represented on the 1972 Pioneer 10 and 1973 Pioneer 11 plaques and on the 1977 Voyager 1 and 2 […]
Posted inSocietal Issues
Ethical Exploration And The Role Of Planetary Protection In Disrupting Colonial Practices
We recommend that the planetary science and space exploration community engage in a robust reevaluation concerning the ethics of how future crewed and uncrewed missions to the Moon and Mars […]
Posted inBook, Film, Video Reviews, Interstellar, Missions & Hardware, Societal Issues
Review of “The Farthest: Voyager in Space” – Becoming Interstellar
In 1977 the twin Voyager spacecraft left planet Earth bound for the outer reaches of our solar system – and beyond. What they discovered changed our way of thinking about […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Astronomy & Telescopes, Science Fiction, SETI & Technosignatures, Societal Issues
Going Off Source: Time Away With SETI In West Virginia
Keith Cowing: 27 years ago I made a trip to West Virginia to hang out with SETI researcher Jill Tarter and see how she searched the skies for evidence of […]
Posted inIntelligence & Language, Press Release, SETI & Technosignatures, Societal Issues
Workshop Ponders Challenges of Communicating Across the Cosmos
When astronomers conducting the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) find other cultures in the universe, could we understand their messages?