SETI is Part of Astrobiology
Abstract
"Traditional SETI is not part of astrobiology" declares the NASA Astrobiology Strategy 2015 document. This is incorrect. In this white paper, I argue that SETIseen as the search for technosignatures characteristic of the future of life in the universeis a neglected complement to the search for biosignatures in NASA's astrobiology portfolio, and may offer the more fruitful avenue to the discovery of life elsewhere in the universe, as recognized by the Astro2010 decadal survey. I rebut six erroneous perceptions that may contribute to the field's absence from NASA's astrobiology strategy, and argue that since SETI is, quite obviously, part of astrobiology, SETI practitioners should at the very least be expressly encouraged to compete on a level playing field with practitioners of other subfields for NASA astrobiology resources.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1801.04868,
title = {SETI is Part of Astrobiology},
author = {Jason T. Wright},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1801.04868},
year = {2018}
}
Comments
5 pages, submitted as a white paper to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine ad hoc Committee on Astrobiology Science Strategy for Life in the Universe, 2018. http://sites.nationalacademies.org/SSB/CurrentProjects/SSB_180812