Annalee Newitz
—
In April, we were saddened to find out that SETI's Allen Telescope Array (ATA) had lost its funding and would have to shut down the world's biggest, longest-running experiment in searching for extraterrestrial intelligence.
Now a group called SETIStars is working to crowdfund the telescope array and bring the search for alien life back online for another year. Their goal is to raise $200,000 by August. So if we all pitch in a little bit, SETI scientists can start listening for signals from space again, focusing especially on the many star systems we've found over the past couple of years with Earthlike planets. SETI is a nonprofit institution, so everything you donate is tax-free.
So what will your money be used for? SETIStars explains:
Priority one is getting the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) back online as soon as possible and once again fixing our gaze on the stars. The ATA is a powerful field of linked radio telescopes that enable countless avenues of astronomical study, chief among them the search for evidence of extraterrestrial civilizations and insight into the nature of our cosmic origins. In the wake of a recent funding shortfall, however, this invaluable tool lies dormant and our vision of the universe around us has gone dark. With your help, we can change that.
But like any worthwhile endeavor, the first challenge is unlikely to be the last. This is a journey that will last our lifetimes, as we continually strive to get closer to answering the kinds of questions that may one day change everything about our world. It won't happen overnight, but with your support, it will happen.
We here at SETI are making an appeal to the power of human collaboration, and now is the time to get involved. Join us!
The mission of the SETI Institute is to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe.
We believe we are conducting the most profound search in human history - to know our beginnings and our place among the stars.
You can donate, and learn more about SETI, on the SETIStar page.
