So really, is there life beyond Earth?
Robert (Bob) Thirsk, BSc’76, astronaut
“I believe there is a good chance that life exists beyond Earth. There are a billion star systems in our galaxy and a billion galaxies in the universe. There is therefore a good chance that some star system in our universe has a planet with environmental conditions and a natural history that could support life. But on the other hand, I’ve never come across any credible evidence that extraterrestrial beings have visited Earth.”
Doug Hamilton, MD’91, PhD’91,
ISS Mission 20-21 deputy flight surgeon
“I do believe there’s life on other planets and I do believe there are other sentient beings out there, capable of thought and aware of their surroundings. But I don’t know if we’ll ever meet them. And I certainly hope Bob doesn’t meet them on this mission, because if he does, I have a problem.”
Phil Langill, director, U of C’s Rothney Astrophysical Observatory
“I think that there are ecosystems where life exists in lots of places. I’m thinking of environments where you can find liquid water, grass and trees, insects and animals. But intelligent life like us folks is a different story. Have you ever heard of the Fermi paradox? I think it’s the most conclusive argument there is against the existence of civilizations like our own in the galaxy.”
Laura Lucier, BSc’99, CSA/NASA mission planner and flight controller
“The romantic in me certainly hopes so. Whether there is life outside of Earth or not, either way that’s an incredible thing to ponder. If there isn’t any life outside of Earth, wow. How incredible it is that everything came together just right, here on our planet, to create life as we know it. However, to also think there’s other life out there is incredible too. Just speculating, what that other life would be like, what those other planets are like, is certainly mind-boggling.”
Russ Taylor, director, U of C’s Centre for Radio Astronomy and member of an international consortium building the most powerful telescope in the world
“Yes I do believe there’s life outside the Earth, for several scientific reasons. But probably the most compelling is summed up in a quote from the 1997 movie Contact, with Jodie Foster: ‘If it is just us, it seems like an awful waste of space.’”
Andrew Leier, U of C geoscientist studying rock formations on Mars
“My personal opinion, based on absolutely no science, is yes, I think there’s probably life outside of Earth. But I think it would likely be little microbe-type things. And hopefully they won’t be mean. It just seems that with the evolutionary processes we have here on Earth, it’s the kinder organisms that don’t survive.”