Finding Exoplanets

The search for exoplanets, planets outside of our solar system, is really gaining some momentum now. I refer to this recent article. Why is the search for exoplanets so important?

Of course the existence of exoplanets and particularly habitable exoplanets is a scientific question that appeals to our curiosity. It would be great to know how rare habitable planets like Earth could be. We would also like to know how rare life is, and what types of extraterrestrial life could exist.

These scientific questions are important to us. As the famous astronomer Carl Sagan pointed out: we are star stuff contemplating the stars. As human beings, we are interested in our origins and in our destiny. We are looking for the meaning of life; this is the nature of human life. During this endless search, we would like to know whether we are alone or whether the cosmos is actually full of life.

Our earth will once come to an end and it is already at risk. I know it is not realistic today to travel like captain Kirk to a nearby star, even as close as four light years away. But how realistic is it to stay here, in the long term? We should start by building autonomous shelters on earth like Biosphere, then we should build the shelters in space and travel to Mars and beyond. At some point in time, humanity or some new earthly species will try to survive without Earth. The chance it succeeds is small, but it should be tried.

I also refer to my earlier blogs: "SETI", "Sustainability Engineering" and "Death by Black Hole".