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Dear SETI enthusiasts:
Last week, NASA released a stunning photo, the first view of Earth as it looked from Mars. Fuzzy, distant, a miniscule blue speck with a faint gray whisper of a moon over its right hand shoulder, Earth was adrift in a tall black obelisk, floating far above the planet Jupiter and three of its moons. Most of the image was empty space.
This amazing picture reminded me of an earlier image, the historic shot of Earthrise over the lunar surface, taken in 1968 during the Apollo 8 mission. I have framed versions of this photograph hanging both in my office and in my den at home. Much has been written about the powerful effect of humanity’s first ever glance homeward from outer space. It is still impossible to view that photo and not be deeply moved. Here was proof that we share a small, fragile and beautiful orb. Earth is lovely, Earth is limited, Earth is something more than—and something less than—“the world.” It is an address.
For over six years, the Mars Global Surveyor has been building a comprehensive, detailed, and sweeping portrait of our nearest planetary neighbor, helping us find the best landing sites for the upcoming expeditions to the red planet. Last month, we introduced you to two SETI Institute scientists, Nathalie Cabrol and scientific partner (and husband), Edmond Grin, who championed Gusev Crater, one of the two sites selected.
With the site survey complete, the intrepid MGS satellite was free to cast a look out towards the other planets, and in doing so confirmed something many of us know all too well: space demands that we adapt our ideas of proportion. A vertical panorama was necessary to encompass the novel view of our cosmic neighborhood—Earth and Jupiter. The image clearly reveals that Earth belongs to a family of planets, and leads us to wonder, could there be other worlds like ours in distant solar systems?
The search for bio-signatures from other planets in our solar system, or from other solar systems in our galaxy, or from extreme environments on Earth, is compelling science. When a new window opens onto our cosmos as it did this month, I am humbled and awed by the wonderful voyage of discovery ahead, as we seek a clearer vision and a better understanding of the huge universe we inhabit.
I invite you now to join me on that journey as you explore the links to your SETI website, provided by the SETI Observer.
Thomas Pierson
CEO, SETI Institute
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