Workshop Poll Results


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During the Blumberg Astrobiology Workshop, participants were invited to give their opinion about the likelihood of extraterrestrial life being found at various locations in the next 10 years, and the next 25 years. Multiple selections were allowed, as were write-ins. About half of the Workshop participants responded. Here are the votes:

Extraterrestrial Life will be found in the next 10 years on:

  • Mars: 2
  • Europa: 5
  • Titan: 3
  • Enceladus (write-in): 1
  • Through SETI: 4
  • On a planet around another Star: 3
  • Nowhere: 13

Extraterrestrial Life will be found in the next 25 years, on:

  • Mars: 8
  • Europa: 8 Titan: 7
  • Enceladus (write-in): 2
  • Through SETI: 7
  • On a planet around another star: 15
  • Nowhere: 2

Although there is a large spread in opinion, there were 18 votes for extraterrestrial life to be found somewhere in the next 10 years and 13 votes for “nowhere”. Looking out 25 years, the “nowhere” votes shrink to 2, while there are 25 votes for locations within the Solar System and 15 for a planet around another star. The workshop participants are clearly optimistic about the prospects for detecting life elsewhere, not only over a span of 25 years, but even within the next decade.