Scientists are busy looking for extraterrestrial life. With the development of modern technologies, this task becomes more and more real. However, if our quest is successful, it could markedly change our lives or the lives of alien beings that we find.
It doesn't matter whether these are microorganisms on Mars or any planet, or we come into contact with a distant advanced civilization, this will expand the scope of our science and modern understanding of the Universe.
The first question that arises before us is: is there really extraterrestrial life that could come into contact with us?
According to Drake's equation, the most likely answer is yes. This formula was introduced by Dr. Frank Drake in 1961. Drake is one of the pioneers in the search for alien life. He studied radio astronomy at Harvard and held various leading positions in the field, worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, was a professor at Cornwell University and director of the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. He used a simple formula to calculate the number of technologically advanced civilizations in our galaxy.
Drake's equation looks like this:
N = R * x fp x ne x fl x fi x fc x L, where
N is the number of intelligent civilizations in the Milky Way ready to make contact;
R * - the number of stars formed per year in our galaxy, suitable for the emergence of intelligent life;
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fp is the fraction of stars with planets;
ne is the average number of planets (and satellites) with suitable conditions for the origin of life;
fl is the probability of the origin of life on a planet with suitable conditions;
fi - the probability of the emergence of intelligent life on the planet;
fc is the ratio of the number of planets, whose intelligent inhabitants are capable of contact and seek it, to the number of planets where there is intelligent life;
L is the lifetime of such a civilization (that is, the time during which the civilization exists, is able and wants to make contact).
This is a theoretical formula because we do not know the numerical value of most of the variables. However, Drake calculated that there are approximately 50,000 civilizations capable of sending signals into space. This seems like a huge number, but given the cosmic scale and our chances of picking up this signal, there is probably a civilization on only one in a million stars that we can detect. So SETI, the extraterrestrial life search organization led by Drake, is actually looking for a needle in a haystack.
The next question: is humanity ready for contact with alien life, whether it be microbes or an advanced civilization?
The potential mutual influence between the two civilizations must be considered here. Is it possible that our world of wars, political corruption, disease and polluted ecology will negatively affect a less corrupted alien civilization?
We have polluted almost all fresh water sources on Earth, as well as soil and atmosphere. It seems incredible that humans can litter space, but there are currently 500,000 space debris moving around the Earth. In 1996, a French satellite was shot down and damaged by shrapnel from a French rocket that had detonated a decade earlier. In 2009, a dormant Russian satellite collided with an active US commercial satellite. The result was 2,000 new debris. In 2007, China tested anti-satellite missiles. The rocket destroyed the inactive weather satellite, and another 3000 new debris was formed. Over 20,000 debris is larger than a ball, and many are so small that they cannot be tracked.
Given this attitude towards our own planet and the outer space around it, perhaps we are better off staying away from any aliens. The situation could turn out to be much more serious if alien life, on the contrary, decides to litter our world even more. On Earth, there have often been cases when invasive species destroyed an already established ecosystem. Alien life from other worlds is fraught with the same danger.
Our exploration of space is motivated in part by the search for resources. Intelligent aliens may have the same motives. If we find them, then it is wiser not to draw attention to ourselves and our resources.
In the Steven Hawking documentary on Discovery, Hawking talks about advanced nomadic aliens in large ships looking for planets to colonize in order to obtain resources.
"We just need to look at ourselves to understand what intelligent life can become, and the desire to meet them will disappear." He compares the aliens to Columbus, whose arrival in America had disastrous consequences for the Indians.
Stephen Hawking
Whether we are ready for it or not, an encounter with alien life can happen any day. SETI has been doing a lot of work to find signals from alien life since 1984. The Curiosity rover was tasked not only to find living organisms on Mars, but also to assess the planet's suitability for life.
Allen's Antenna Array in California, a network of radio telescopes for observing space and searching for extraterrestrial life
Many scientists want to find extraterrestrial life in the name of the development of science. Even religious organizations have touched on this topic. In 2008, the Vatican's chief astronomer stated that belief in aliens does not contradict belief in God. According to José Gabriel Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory, the vastness of the universe makes it possible for life beyond Earth, even intelligent life.
Despite the opinions of the Vatican and American organizations, it is difficult to say how different countries will react to evidence of the existence of planetary life.
Given the brutal history of mankind, is the prospect of interplanetary wars ahead of us? Having made contact with alien life, will humans be able to keep the situation under control? Or will we face negative consequences before we can do something to prevent them?