NASA takes a fresh look at the search for life beyond the Earth

Since the beginning of civilization, humanity has wondered if we are alone in the universe. As NASA has explored our solar system and beyond, it has developed increasingly sophisticated tools to answer this fundamental question. In our solar system, NASA's missions have looked for signs of ancient and current life, especially on Mars and soon on Jupiter's Moon, Europa. Beyond our solar system, missions such as Kepler and TESS reveal thousands of planets revolving around other stars.

The explosion of knowledge of planets orbiting other stars, called exoplanets, and the results of decades of research on life signatures – what scientists call biosignatures – have encouraged NASA to scientifically verify that humanity is alone. In addition to looking for evidence of microbial life, NASA is now exploring ways to look for life that is advanced enough to create technology.

Technosignatures are signs or signals that, if observed, would allow to deduce the existence of technological life elsewhere in the universe. The best-known technologies are radio signals, but many others have not yet been explored.

In April 2018, a new interest manifested in Congress for NASA to begin supporting scientific research of technosignatures as part of the agency's life search. As part of this effort, the Agency is organizing the NASA Technosignatures Workshop in Houston on September 26-28, 2018, to assess the current state of the field, the most promising avenues of research and investments. possible. done to advance science. A major goal is to identify how NASA could best support this business through partnerships with private and philanthropic organizations.

To view the workshop online, visit: www.ustream.tv/channel/asteroi… -idea-synthesis – 3

On Thursday, September 27 at 1:00 pm EDT, several speakers from the workshop will answer questions in a Reddit AMA.

What are technosignatures?

The term technosignatures has a broader meaning than the term "extraterrestrial intelligence search" used in the past, or SETI, which is generally limited to communication signals. Technologies such as radio or laser emissions, signs of massive structures or an atmosphere full of pollutants could imply intelligence.

In recent decades, the private and philanthropic sectors have conducted this research. They used methods such as searching for patterns in low-band radio frequencies using radio telescopes. Indeed, the radio and television programs of humanity have drifted in space for several years. NASA's SETI program ended in 1993 after Congress, operating in the context of a budget deficit and reduced political support, canceled funding for a high-resolution investigation. on the airwaves. Since then, NASA's efforts have been directed towards the pursuit of our fundamental understanding of life itself, its origins and the livability of other bodies in our solar system and galaxy.

History of research of technological life

Efforts to detect technologically advanced life predate the space age, as pioneers of early 20th century radio first considered the possibility of interplanetary communication. Theoretical work postulating the possibility of carrying signals on radio and microwave bands over long distances in the galaxy with little interference led to first listening experiments in the sixties.

Thanks to the discovery by NASA Kepler's mission of thousands of planets beyond our solar system, some of which have similarities to the Earth, it is now possible not to imagine science fiction finding life on Earth. Other worlds. solar system.

As NASA's astrobiology strategy states in 2015: "Complex life can evolve into cognitive systems that can use technology in an observable way. Nobody knows the probability, but we know it is not nil. By considering the environments of other planets, "technosignatures" could be included in the possible interpretations of the data we receive from other worlds.

The debate over the likelihood of finding advanced life signals varies considerably. In 1961, astronomer Frank Drake created a formula estimating the number of potential intelligent civilizations in the galaxy, called the Drake equation, and calculated a response of 10,000. Most variables in the equation continue to to be rough estimates, subject to uncertainties. Another famous speculation on the subject, called the Fermi paradox, posed by the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi, affirmed that if another form of intelligent life were indeed present, we would have already met it.

NASA's SETI work began in 1971 with a proposal from biomedical researcher John Billingham of NASA's Ames Research Center for a series of 100-meter telescopes that can accommodate television and radio signals from other stars. "Cyclops Project" was not funded, but in 1976, Ames created a SETI branch to continue its research in this area. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has also started working on SETI.

In 1988, the NASA headquarters in Washington officially approved the SETI program leading to the development of the high-resolution microwave survey. Announced at Columbus Day in 1992 – 500 years after Columbus landed in North America – this $ 100 million, 10-year project included a targeted star search directed by Ames on Arecibo's 300-meter radio telescope , in Puerto Rico. Sky study conducted by JPL with the help of his Deep Space Network parable. The program lasted only one year before the political opposition eliminated the project and ended NASA's research efforts on SETI.

Why start looking at technosignatures now?

Fueled by the discovery that our galaxy is overflowing with planets, the interest in detecting the signs of a technologically advanced life is bubbling again. Kepler's discovery in 2015 of irregular fluctuations in brightness in what was to be known as Tabby's Star led to the speculation of an extraterrestrial megastructure, although scientists have since concluded it. A cloud of dust was the probable cause. However, Tabby's Star has demonstrated the potential utility of looking for anomalies in data collected in space, as the signs of a technologically advanced life may appear as aberrations with respect to Standard.

Scientists warn that we will need more than an unexplained signal to definitely prove the existence of technological life. For example, there can be a lot of radio interference from terrestrial sources.

NASA will continue to evaluate promising current research efforts on technosignatures and explore areas where investments could be made to advance science. Although we have not yet found any signs of extraterrestrial life, NASA is expanding the exploration of the solar system and beyond to help humanity find out if we are alone in the world. universe.

By studying the water on Mars, probing promising "oceanic worlds" like Europa or Saturn moon Enceladus, by looking for biosignatures in the exoplanet atmosphere, NASA's scientific missions are working together to find signs of life undeniable. And maybe this life could be more technologically advanced than ours.

Fascinating.

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