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Extraterrestrial Intelligence the Search, the Science and the Significance

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Extraterrestrial Intelligence the Search, the Science and the Significance 1 Extraterrestrial Intelligence The Search, the Science and the Significance Final Report International Space University Master of Space Studies Program 2020 © International Space University. All Rights Reserved. I The MSS 2019 Program of the International Space University (ISU) was held at the ISU Central Campus in Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France. The front cover is an original art piece created by Aelyn Chong Castro. Technology, represented here as part of the James Webb Telescope, enables humanity to open a window to the stars, creating a bridge between two pieces of the same universe. The space telescope is a mirror through which we can see our reflection, while birds represent both a different form of intelligence of our planet and our desire to fly. The book then is a key to understand our essence as humans and increase our awareness as parts of the universe. All figures and tables in this report were created by the team, unless cited otherwise. The Executive Summary and the Final report may be found on the ISU web site at http://www.isunet.edu in the “ISU Team Projects/Student Reports” section. Paper copies of the Executive Summary and the Final Report may also be requested, while supplies last, from: International Space University Strasbourg Central Campus Attention: Publications/Library Parc d’Innovation 1 rue Jean-Dominique Cassini 67400 Illkirch-Graffenstaden France Publications: Tel +33 (0)3 88 65 54 32 Fax +33 (0)3 88 65 54 47 e-mail: [email protected] II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS All of the SETI team members would like to express their gratitude to the professors and experts who have contributed to the success of this work. We would also like to extend our appreciation to all of the members of the faculty and staff for their valuable contributions. A special thanks to our internal advisor: Bertrand Goldman Marcello Ingrassia Muriel Riester Stephanie Rocha Virginia Wotring And to the external experts: Jacques Arnould (CNES) Nelly Ben Hayoun (SETI Institute) Steve Croft (Berkeley SETI Research Center) Julia DeMarines (Berkeley SETI Research Center) Claudio Maccone (IAA) Andrew Siemion (Berkeley SETI Research Center) Jill Tarter (SETI Institute) Claire Webb (Berkeley SETI Research Center) III LIST OF AUTHORS Ackley, Mirandah [email protected] Bendheim, Avner [email protected] Bertrand, Johan [email protected] Chong Castro, Aelyn [email protected] Crowley, Erika [email protected] Das, Ankita [email protected] De Silva, Kavindi [email protected] Demeubayeva, Altynay [email protected] El-Shawa, Sahba [email protected] Gonzalez, Ezequiel [email protected] Jenner, Simon [email protected] Sharma, Kush [email protected] McAllister, Fiona [email protected] Rondoni, Federico [email protected] Rotola, Giuliana [email protected] Samarth, Pranjal [email protected] Souza de Abreu, Mirela [email protected] Vaiphei, Jo Ann [email protected] Van Camp, Charlotte [email protected] Watson, Sarah [email protected] Xie, Qingchao [email protected] IV ABSTRACT The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is one of the most inspiring modern scientific endeavors because of the profound impact that a positive detection would have on humanity. A literature review highlighted that there are several challenges to the progression of this field, including those related to science, technology, legal, and outreach endeavors. The current work is a multidisciplinary exploration of extraterrestrial intelligence, including the science and technology behind the search, the legal and policy implications of finding extraterrestrial intelligence, and the outreach required to engage various audiences in these initiatives. The current state of searching techniques was first reported, followed by general recommendations and a two-part proposal for technosignature detection in space. The Galactic Technosignature Observatory project (part one) is the development of an analysis tool that uses the data from space telescopes that detect exoplanets with light curves to detect prospective artificial artifacts orbiting these exoplanets. The NoisyCube mission (part two) aims to characterize the distortion of the Earth’s signature due to its satellite infrastructure. This work also contains a proposal to update the International Academy of Astronautics’ post-detection principles and make these principles binding. In addition, an analysis of current approaches to various prospective intelligence forms, as well as insight into how the approach should be modified post-detection, is presented. This work highlights the attitude towards and treatment of animals and the environment and analyzes the ethical framework for perceiving the biological hierarchy. Lastly, an outreach plan to normalize the search for extraterrestrial intelligence in terms of scientific advancement and space exploration is proposed. The outreach plan contains a pilot survey to gain insight into public perception, which is supplemented by additional outreach material such as a website. Overall, this work goes beyond traditional approaches to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence comprehensively to contribute to initiatives in science, technology, law, policy, and outreach. V FACULTY PREFACE In its 25th anniversary year, the MSS Program brought together graduate students from many countries with training in different disciplines to study space. The class learned together through lectures, workshops, assignments, professional visits, internships, individual projects and team projects. Although these activities covered a broad range of topics, they all emphasized ISU’s commitment to intercultural, international, and interdisciplinary education. During MSS20, two team projects were completed: ChipSats and the Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe. This report presents the findings of the Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe team, now re-named Extraterrestrial Intelligence: The Search, the Science, and the Significance. The report describes the team’s analysis of potential new strategies for seeking extraterrestrial signals, while also considering the cultural, ethical, and legal implications of any discovery. This team included 21 students from 17 countries, with similarly diverse backgrounds in experience and education, working together for a five-month period. The team discovered a wealth of documentation on previous searches for intelligent life beyond Earth and determined that new technologies could enable entirely new kinds of search strategies. They also examined the stumbling blocks encountered by previous searches and found that government funding and public perception played important roles in limiting previous efforts. With this knowledge, the team chose to re-organize themselves to address 3 focus areas: new scientific strategies for searching, legal & governmental issues, and public outreach. Each sub-team chose a leader, their plan of action, their work style as a group and proceeded to rapidly complete their portions of this document. Many individuals leveraged their previous experience to move the project toward its goal, while many others chose to work in new areas to gain new skills or knowledge. All learned more about themselves as each completed their individual tasks, with continual communication and review by other team members, moving their whole team closer toward their common goal of a high-quality final report. We were impressed by the commitment and resourcefulness of the team, particularly as they engaged the world’s foremost researchers in the area. On behalf of the entire ISU faculty and staff, we would like to thank the team members for their dedication and hard work and we are pleased to share this report with you. Virginia Wotring, PhD and Bertrand Goldman, PhD VI AUTHOR PREFACE In November of 2019, a team of 21 people started to investigate the topic of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. It was perhaps the first time that this number of graduate students formed a team for such a large quest. The team represented 17 countries and was composed of professionals with expertise in many disciplines, including engineering, science, law, and management. After an initial phase of defining the team dynamics and planning the foundations of the project, the team began working on various activities and the challenges were not long in coming. In the beginning of our journey, we focused on defining the boundaries of our scope of study before exploring the details analytically. At this point came our first challenge: What is intelligence? How can we define it properly? What is life? What is the connection between life and intelligence? Along this path of thought, we found that the distinction between us and extraterrestrials began to get blurred. One could argue that this was one of the most important outcomes of our work, because beyond the proposal and the work completed, we all reflected about ourselves as human beings and how we should treat other beings if the moment of detection arises. We also realized that for such a large project to succeed, a considerable amount of effort has to be allocated to initiatives that raise public awareness because most often the topic of
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