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Blobrana


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Is Seeding the Universe with Life Our 'Moral Obligation'?

Eventually, the day will come when life on Earth ends. Whether that's tomorrow or five billion years from now, whether by nuclear war, climate change, or the Sun burning up its fuel, the last living cell on Earth will one day wither and die. But that doesn't mean that all is lost. What if we had the chance to sow the seeds of terrestrial life throughout the universe, to settle young planets within developing solar systems many light-years away, and thus give our long evolutionary line the chance to continue indefinitely?
According to Michael Mautner, Research Professor of Chemistry at Virginia Commonwealth University, seeding the universe with life is not just an option, it's our moral obligation.
Source

Title: Seeding the Universe with Life: Securing Our Cosmological Future
Authors: Michael N. Mautner, Ph.D.,

Life is unique in nature in complexity and in its drive for self-propagation. We are part of life, implying a human purpose to safeguard and propagate life. For this purpose we may settle the Solar System, and seed with life new solar systems, solar nebulae and star-forming interstellar clouds. Directed panspermia to these targets can carry colonizing cyanobacteria, extremophile microorganisms, and eggs of multicellular rotifers to start higher evolution. The technical requirements for launching, targeting, deceleration and capture, and the probability of success were evaluated. The results show that directed panspermia can be accomplished with present technology. These programs will also serve the drive of life to occupy all habitats, and protect life from various threats, including ultimately the red giant Sun. Directed panspermia can be driven by biotic ethics that value the basic patterns of gene/protein life, and by panbiotic ethics that seek to expand life in the universe. Astroecology shows that life in the galaxy can then achieve an immense future. Securing that future for life can give our human existence a cosmic purpose.

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Ed ~ this forum, of course, does not condone any species or lifeform bigotry. An argument against directed panspermia is that we have a moral duty to protect and preserve, possible, or even potential, alien life forms.

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Blobrana


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An Analysis on Extraterrestrial Life aka Aliens Episode 1
An Analysis on Extraterrestrial Life aka Aliens Episode 2
An Analysis on Extraterrestrial Life aka Aliens Episode 3 Final



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Blobrana


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Evidence is "steadily mounting" that life on Earth began elsewhere in the Universe and was brought here by comets, according to a new paper by Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe.
Professor Wickramasinghe, Director of the Cardiff Centre for Astrobiology, says that a clear pronouncement on the matter is now "overdue".
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Blobrana


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Tentacled monsters, pale skinny humanoids, shimmery beings of pure energy... When it comes to the question of what alien life forms might look like, we are free to let our imagination roam. The science-in-waiting of extraterrestrial anatomy has yet to acquire its first piece of data, so nobody knows what features we will behold if and when humans and aliens come face-to-face. Or face to squirmy something.
Despite this lack of hard evidence, a blend of astronomy and earthly biology offers some clues to what is out there. A few bold scientists are even willing to make an educated guess at the nature of aliens that might exist on faraway worlds.
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Blobrana


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The chance of discovering life on other worlds is greater than ever, according to Britain's leading astronomer.
Lord Rees, the president of the Royal Society and Astronomer Royal, said such a discovery would be a moment which would change humanity.
It would change our view of ourselves and our place in the cosmos, he said.
His comments come as scientists gather in London for an international conference to discuss the prospect of discovering extra-terrestrial life.
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Blobrana


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Habitable zone
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'Goldilocks' Zone Bigger Than Once Thought

The holy grail for finding worlds beyond Earth that are hospitable to life has been planets just the right distance from their mother stars where liquid water can exist on the surface -- the so-called "Goldilocks" zone.
But scientists now say this elusive zone where conditions are not too hot and not too cold for life to exist is far bigger than originally thought.
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Blobrana


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Title: The Sustainability Solution to the Fermi Paradox
Authors: Jacob D. Haqq-Misra, Seth D. Baum
(2 June 2009)

No present observations suggest a technologically advanced extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) has spread through the galaxy. However, under commonplace assumptions about galactic civilization formation and expansion, this absence of observation is highly unlikely. This improbability is the heart of the Fermi Paradox. The Fermi Paradox leads some to conclude that humans have the only advanced civilization in this galaxy, either because civilization formation is very rare or because intelligent civilizations inevitably destroy themselves. In this paper, we argue that this conclusion is premature by introducing the "Sustainability Solution" to the Fermi Paradox, which questions the Paradox's assumption of faster (e.g. exponential) civilization growth. Drawing on insights from the sustainability of human civilization on Earth, we propose that faster-growth may not be sustainable on the galactic scale. If this is the case, then there may exist ETI that have not expanded throughout the galaxy or have done so but collapsed. These possibilities have implications for both searches for ETI and for human civilization management.

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Blobrana


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Panspermia
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COSMIC ANCESTRY
Life comes from space because life comes from life

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Blobrana


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Is there life on other planets? The Vatican has asked that age-old question over the past five days during a "study week" on astrobiology gathering leading scientists from around the world.

"The questions of lifes origins and of whether life exists elsewhere in the universe are very suitable and deserve serious consideration" - Father Jose Gabriel Funes, chief papal astronomer.

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Blobrana


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Aliens


What are the odds that intelligent, technically advanced aliens would look anything like the ones in films, with an emaciated torso and limbs, spindly fingers and a bulbous, bald head with large, almond-shaped eyes? What are the odds that they would even be humanoid? In a YouTube video, produced by Josh Timonen of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, I argue that the chances are close to zero
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