Lifeboat Foundation

Robert Freitas wrote the ultimate guide to alien biology, culture, and more. The renowned researchers shares the story behind ‘Xenology.’

A team of astronomers is set to build a new exoplanet hunter. In theory, this instrument could lead to finding the first truly habitable world beyond Earth.

NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF) have selected a team of astronomers to build their new exoplanet hunter. In order to get the best minds on the job, the scientists were selected after holding a national competition. The resulting team will be led by Penn State University assistant professor Suvrath Mahadevan.

Two space agencies are teaming up to explore new worlds.

Breakthrough Listen’s radio telescopes heard millions of possible signals, but only 11 rose to significance.

Most significant events list for Milner’s Breakthrough Listen (SETI) project. This is 11 of the highest statistical significance events that they’ve recorded.

They’ve said these will mostly prove to be local interference of various sorts. They just haven’t excluded them yet.

A lot of them are 1380 Mhz, which is a common frequency for surveillance video cams (I looked it up).

A new “super-Earth” some 40 light-years away has been deemed the best candidate in the search for signs of life, but don’t go high-fiving strangers on the street just yet.

Happy #Alien Day. Here’s my trilogy of alien stories for Vice. I’ll start by listing #2 first for those who only have time for one, but they do go in chronological order: 2) https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/why-havent-we-met…ed-into-ai & 1) https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/the-internet-will…wake-it-up & 3) (covered recently by the History Channel): https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/the-language-of-a…cipherable #transhumanism

While traveling in Western Samoa many years ago, I met a young Harvard University graduate student researching ants. He invited me on a hike into the jungles to assist with his search for the tiny insect. He told me his goal was to discover a new species of ant, in hopes it might be named after him one day.

Whenever I look up at the stars at night pondering the cosmos, I think of my ant collector friend, kneeling in the jungle with a magnifying glass, scouring the earth. I think of him, because I believe in aliens—and I’ve often wondered if aliens are doing the same to us.

Continue reading “Why Haven’t We Met Aliens Yet? Because They’ve Evolved into AI” »

WASHINGTON (AP) — Astronomers have found yet another planet that seems to have just the right Goldilocks combination for life: Not so hot and not so cold. It’s not so far away, either.

This new, big, dense planet is rocky, like Earth, and has the right temperatures for water, putting it in the habitable zone for life, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

It’s the fifth such life-possible planet outside our solar system revealed in less than a year, but still relatively nearby Earth. Rocky planets within that habitable zone of a star are considered the best place to find evidence of some form of life.

Continue reading “Another nearby planet found that may be just right for life” »

Ridley Scott Associates (RSA), the film production company of famed director Ridley Scott, is launching RSA VR, a new division dedicated to the production of high-end immersive films using VR, AR, and mixed reality. Scott and co. is known for work on acclaimed films such as Alien (1979), Blade Runner (1982), Gladiator (2000), Black Hawk Down (2001), and more throughout his career as a director now going on 40 years.

RSA today announced the launch of RSA VR, a formalization and expansion of RSA’s recent work in VR space which has included the production of The Martian VR Experience (2016) and a forthcoming Alien: Covenant experience.

In a prepared release, the studio calls RSA VR, “a new division dedicated exclusively to the creative development and production of VR, AR and mixed media.”

Continue reading “‘Alien’, ‘Blade Runner’ Director Ridley Scott Launches VR Film Division” »