Searches for Technosignatures: The State of the Profession (original) (raw)

Three Versions of the Third Law: Technosignatures and Astrobiology

2019

Submitted as a white paper to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine ad hoc Committee on Astrobiology Science Strategy for Life in the Universe, National Research Council, Washington, DC, 2018. Summary: Not knowing exactly what to look for, Astrobiology should embrace, and prioritize, all scientifically plausible and technologically feasible search strategies for both biosignatures and technosignatures. There is no scientific justification for excluding SETI, or any other technosignature modality, from the suite of astrobiological investigations. Arguments based on political sensitivities or apparent access to other funding sources are inappropriate. In this white paper, we argue for a level playing field.

Astrobiology and lJS Social and Political Implications of a "New" Science

Civiltà Cattolica, 2017

Astrobiology "studies the origin and evolution of life on Earth and the possible variety of life elsewhere." Often confused with SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), astrobiology is a rapidly developing interdisciplinary scientific research field. A group of scholars, composed of theologians and astrobiologists, has investigated and is still investigating the social implications of this new scientific branch. This experience has become an opportunity to evaluate how scientific research is carried out today and to propose some ethical paradigms in this regard. But also to understand if and how theology and astrobiology can support each other; in particular, if and how astrobiological research can promote a theological understanding of creation and of human life founded on the Incarnation and animated by it.

Astrobiology and Society: Building an Interdisciplinary Research Community

This paper reports recent efforts to gather experts from the humanities and social sciences along with astrobiologists to consider the cultural, societal, and psychological implications of astrobiology research and exploration. We began by convening a workshop to draft a research roadmap on astrobiology's societal implications and later formed a Focus Group on Astrobiology and Society under the auspices of the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI). Just as the Astrobiology Science Roadmap and various astrobiology science focus groups have helped researchers orient and understand their work across disciplinary contexts, our intent was to apply the same approach to examine areas beyond the physical and life sciences and expand interdisciplinary interaction and scholarly understanding. These efforts continue as an experiment in progress, with an open invitation to interested researchers—astrobiologists as well as scholars in the humanities and social sciences—to become involved in research, analysis, and proactive discussions concerning the potential impacts of astrobiology on society as well as the possible impacts of society on progress in astrobiology. Key Words: Astrobiology— Extraterrestrial life—Life detection. Astrobiology 12, 958–965.