The ever-wondrous charm of space exploration

While no conclusive evidence of alien life has been found yet, scientists use telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, to look for specific gases in the atmospheres of planets orbiting other stars and projects like the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI), to search for signs of intelligent civilisations. Key questions in the search include the necessary conditions for life and the potential for life to arise independently elsewhere in the universe.

All of us learn, as school children, the distinction that separates plants from animals and living beings from non-living or lifeless objects.

It is on the subject of life, and the possibility of its existence elsewhere in the universe, other than the Earth, that this week’s piece will deal with.

In a biological context, life is characterised by futures such as metabolism, growth, response to stimuli and reproduction, a dynamic sequence of events from birth to death. That definition, however, is based on the knowledge of life as it manifests itself on Planet Earth. Elsewhere, if at all it exists, it may well be based on a different chemistry or have different characteristics, making it difficult for us to detect. The possibility of living beings inhabiting stars and planets, especially in the Milky Way Galaxy, has, for long, been the subject of research.

What is known as the Drake Equation represents a probability argument used to estimate the number of civilizations that in the galaxy that might be able to communicate with earthlings.

The search for Extra Terrestrial (ET) life is ongoing and the ultimate answer remains elusive. The building blocks of life, namely water, energy sources, and specific elements appear to be common throughout the universe, and the scientific community generally believes that the universe is likely teeming with life, even if we have yet to find it. With billions of stars and planets in our galaxy alone, the number of potential locations for life is immense.

For decades, the “hard-steps” model of humanity’s origins has bolstered that idea, suggesting that-given how long it took to evolve relative to the total timeline of the Sun and Earth – even the emergence of life on Earth was deeply improbable. According to it, the evolution of any human-like intelligent life would be far-fetched on any planet.

But a new counter theory has it that intelligent life on Earth and beyond may be much more commonplace than previously supposed. In fact, a paper published in the journal ‘Science Advances’ offers a detailed critique of the hard-steps model and presents an alternative way of understanding why it took billions of years for our species to evolve. If we were to go extinct, some other form of intelligent life could readily emerge in its place. And humanity is less likely to be alone in the universe than believed earlier.

Though there is no direct proof of the existence of aliens, the theory offers a way forward for testing and studying where, when, and if, aliens might exist.

While no conclusive evidence of alien life has been found yet, scientists use telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, to look for specific gases in the atmospheres of planets orbiting other stars and projects like the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI), to search for signs of intelligent civilisations. Key questions in the search include the necessary conditions for life and the potential for life to arise independently elsewhere in the universe.

I have, for long, been fond of science fiction, especially novels relating to ET. One of the most absorbing books I have read was ‘Contact’ by Carl Sagan. It is a 1985 hard science fiction novel that deals with the theme of contact between humanity and a more technologically advanced extraterrestrial life. In the book, “Project Argus,” a New Mexico radio telescope array searching for ET intelligence, detects a signal from Vega, 26 light-years away, transmitting prime numbers. Further analysis reveals a retransmission of Adolf Hitler’s 1936 Olympic speech, the first TV signal to escape Earth’s ionosphere. A machine transports a group of scientists through wormholes to a station near the Milky Way’s centre, where each member of the group meets an ET in the form of a loved one.

The wormhole network was built by unknown precursors, and hidden messages exist in transcendental numbers like ‘pi’ (π). Reunited, the travelers record evidence before the dodecahedron returns them to Earth. Back home, their journey which, to them seemed more than a day, took no time at all on Earth.

A movie was also made based on the book, which I remember having watched with great Interest.

Another work on the subject of interstellar intelligence and travel is the highly popular TV episode series ‘Star Trek’.

A science fiction media franchise that originated with the 1960s, and was created by Gene Roddenberry, it follows the adventures of the Starship ‘Enterprise’ and its crew as they explore the galaxy. The series followed the voyages of the crew of the starship USS Enterprise, a space exploration vessel built by the United Federation of Planets in the 23rd century, on a mission “to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilisations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

And, in 1961, I remember how, as a teenager I heard the thrilling news that man had finally managed to reach outer space and, as a matter of fact, even circle the Earth in a rocket. And that person was the Soviet pilot and Cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, who in spacecraft Vostok 1, completed one orbit of Earth, a major milestone in the history of mankind.

While many spectacular accomplishments followed that historic event, the fact that Indian Air Force officer Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian citizen to travel in space when he joined a Soviet crew aboard the spacecraft Soyuz T-11, was a matter of special pride for India. That mission included conducting scientific experiments aboard space station Salyut- 7. And, to think that he was a student of Nizam College, where I studied and studied in St George’s Grammar School in Hyderabad, not very far from my own school, All Saints High School!

Another significant achievement for Indians to be proud about is that Sunita Williams, an Indian-American astronaut was selected by NASA and became a veteran of three space missions thereafter.

And, now, mankind is entering an era when holidaying in space will no longer be a matter of scientific fiction.

Here is a lighthearted story which I heard recently. Two Martians arrive in Delhi and are accorded a grand reception by a committee comprising representatives of all the religions, cultures and regions of the country. They walk directly to a Sikh gentleman and a Tamil Iyer, and greet them effusively, saying, “Your cousins, who run a network of Udupi hotels and Dhabas on our planet, send their greetings to you!” And our scientists are still working on how to land people on other planets!

(The writer was formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)