Searches for Technosignatures: The State of the Profession

Bulletin of the AAS, 2021

Are we alone? The study of technosignatures, physical manifestations of technology from extraterrestrial intelligences, is a rigorous astrobiological sub-discipline. The Planetary Science decadal should include searches for technosignatures alongside biosignatures in its recommendations for funding a robust astrobiology research portfolio.

AIAA Scitech 2019 Forum, 2019

The search for extraterrestrial societies on exoplanets, exomoons, and artificial structures has thus far proven unsuccessful. Nevertheless, astrosociology focuses on the human dimension of space exploration, which involves everything humanity discovers in space, and that includes nonhuman sentient life, which is the focus here. At this point in human history, the search itself is the focus by necessity as are all of the methodologies employed to increase the likelihood of such a discovery. Even if the eventual discovery of an extraterrestrial civilization is unlikely, astrosociologists, like astrobiologists and SETI scientists, must assume it is a likely outcome. Therefore, the efforts focusing on finding technosignatures are pursued. The connection between astrobiology and astrosociology lies in the basic idea that because Earth-based humans are actively searching for extraterrestrial life, it is therefore important to study how and why they participate in such activities as well as what would result if their searches discovered a nonhuman society. This essay focuses most heavily on technosignatures although other indications of life, such as biosignatures, are also relevant and thus receive some attention here. Thus, the detection of intelligent, technological life elsewhere in our universe does not fall only into the domains of astrobiology and SETI. There substantial issues that astrosociology, and more specifically the subfield of exoastrosociology, can best address. Nomenclature ARI = The Astrosociology Research Institute ET = extraterrestrial ETI = extraterrestrial intelligence ETIL = extraterrestrial intelligent life ETS = extraterrestrial society METI = Messaging to Extraterrestrial Intelligence NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration SETI = search for extraterrestrial intelligence STEM = science, technology, engineering, and mathematics STEAM = science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and the arts I. Introduction: The Difficulty of the Task XO-ASTROSOCIOLOGISTS are interested in life elsewhere in the cosmos, just like other scientists and scholars such as SETI researchers and astrobiologists as well as an untold number of those in the public sphere. Those who participate in the search itself continue to face a seemingly daunting task; namely, to detect a nonrelated genesis of life elsewhere in our universe. Paraphrasing Carl Sagan's character Ellie Arroway's statement that was famously articulated in the 1997 movie Contact: "the universe is an amazingly big place, so if it's just us, it seems like an awful waste of space." With this in mind, humanity continues the search. Not surprisingly, though, the most common type of question that arises coincides with the Fermi Paradox, which corresponds to the current failure to detect evidence of extraterrestrial biology or technology, asking: Where is everybody? Where are all the nonhuman intelligent species? Relatedly, are homo sapiens truly alone? Is life on Earth a fluke or does life exist elsewhere? Is it rare or abundant? These types of questions have probably fascinated pre-humans and certainly modern humans for millennia. Several possibilities can explain this paradox that relate to "The Great Filter Theory" and the Kardashev scale (Webb, E

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.

Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 2019

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.

AIAA Scitech 2019 Forum

The search for extraterrestrial societies on exoplanets, exomoons, and artificial structures has thus far proven unsuccessful. Nevertheless, astrosociology focuses on the human dimension of space exploration, which involves everything humanity discovers in space, and that includes nonhuman sentient life, which is the focus here. At this point in human history, the search itself is the focus by necessity as are all of the methodologies employed to increase the likelihood of such a discovery. Even if the eventual discovery of an extraterrestrial civilization is unlikely, astrosociologists, like astrobiologists and SETI scientists, must assume it is a likely outcome. Therefore, the efforts focusing on finding technosignatures are pursued. The connection between astrobiology and astrosociology lies in the basic idea that because Earth-based humans are actively searching for extraterrestrial life, it is therefore important to study how and why they participate in such activities as well as what would result if their searches discovered a nonhuman society. This essay focuses most heavily on technosignatures although other indications of life, such as biosignatures, are also relevant and thus receive some attention here. Thus, the detection of intelligent, technological life elsewhere in our universe does not fall only into the domains of astrobiology and SETI. There substantial issues that astrosociology, and more specifically the subfield of exoastrosociology, can best address. Nomenclature ARI = The Astrosociology Research Institute ET = extraterrestrial ETI = extraterrestrial intelligence ETIL = extraterrestrial intelligent life ETS = extraterrestrial society METI = Messaging to Extraterrestrial Intelligence NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration SETI = search for extraterrestrial intelligence STEM = science, technology, engineering, and mathematics STEAM = science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and the arts I. Introduction: The Difficulty of the Task XO-ASTROSOCIOLOGISTS are interested in life elsewhere in the cosmos, just like other scientists and scholars such as SETI researchers and astrobiologists as well as an untold number of those in the public sphere. Those who participate in the search itself continue to face a seemingly daunting task; namely, to detect a nonrelated genesis of life elsewhere in our universe. Paraphrasing Carl Sagan's character Ellie Arroway's statement that was famously articulated in the 1997 movie Contact: "the universe is an amazingly big place, so if it's just us, it seems like an awful waste of space." With this in mind, humanity continues the search. Not surprisingly, though, the most common type of question that arises coincides with the Fermi Paradox, which corresponds to the current failure to detect evidence of extraterrestrial biology or technology, asking: Where is everybody? Where are all the nonhuman intelligent species? Relatedly, are homo sapiens truly alone? Is life on Earth a fluke or does life exist elsewhere? Is it rare or abundant? These types of questions have probably fascinated pre-humans and certainly modern humans for millennia. Several possibilities can explain this paradox that relate to "The Great Filter Theory" and the Kardashev scale (Webb, E

Since the first search for radio signals from technological civilizations in the vicinity of nearby stars by Drake [1961] over four decades ago, there have been almost 100 SETI search projects published in the literature [Tarter, 2001], and undoubtedly many other unpublished, unsuccessful efforts as well. Media fascination with SETI, and its relative longevity, incline the general public to believe that observational exploration is a continuous enterprise, which has already surveyed much of the universe. In truth, the observational efforts to date, as enterprising and energetic as they have sometimes been, have hardly begun to sample the multi-dimensional phase space that may contain evidence of distant technologies. This paper provides a brief review of historical efforts, and highlights the exciting opportunities (and challenges) offered by dedicated SETI observing facilities now under construction. Far from being discouraged by decades of negative results, SETI researchers are eager for a new epoch of exploration with tools optimized for the task. Radio science has played, and will continue to play, a major role in attempts to answer the ancient question "Are we alone?"

Acta Astronautica, 2008

Current searches for evidence of extraterrestrial (ET) life are accomplished in a number of distinctly different ways. The various searches can be viewed in three general categories: (1) 'SETI' searches for messages from extraterrestrial civilizations, (2) exploration for extrasolar or habitable planets, and (3) searches and research within the solar system (e.g., planetary missions, meteorites, cosmochemistry). Each search-type occurs in different locations, uses different scientific instruments and methods, and seeks different types of evidence and data. Moreover, the meaning and implications of a 'discovery' in each of the categories are different, as are the policy, legal and societal ramifications. In considering how to manage future communications about the discovery of extraterrestrial life, it will be important to understand these distinctions, anticipate relevant concerns and issues, and be prepared to explain them clearly to the public.

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.

Astrobiology

According to the 2015 Astrobiology Strategy, a central goal of astrobiology is to provide a definition of life. A similar claim is made in the 2018 CRC Handbook of Astrobiology. Yet despite efforts, there remains no consensus on a definition of life. This essay explores an alternative strategy for searching for extraterrestrial life: Search for potentially biological anomalies (as opposed to life per se) using tentative (vs. defining) criteria. The function of tentative criteria is not, like that of defining criteria, to provide an estimate (via a decision procedure) of the likelihood that an extraterrestrial phenomenon is the product of life. Instead, it is to identify phenomena that resist classification as living or nonliving as worthy of further investigation for novel life. For as the history of science reveals, anomalies are a driving force behind scientific discovery and yet (when encountered) are rarely recognized for what they represent because they violate core theoretical beliefs about the phenomena concerned. While the proposed strategy resembles that of current life-detection missions, insofar as it advocates the use of a variety of lines of evidence (biosignatures), it differs from these approaches in ways that increase the likelihood of noticing truly novel forms of life, as opposed to dismissing them as just another poorly understood abiological phenomenon. Moreover, the strategy under consideration would be just as effective at detecting forms of life closely resembling our own as a definition of life.