Is there life on other planets? How and where might we find it? And if we made contact with an exterrestrial intelligence, what should we say to them? This week, Adam and guests discuss the science of astrobiology.

Broadcast Tuesday 1st May at 7pm

Listen to the latest programme online

In the last few years astronomers have not only discovered planets around other stars in our galaxy - they've even identified which of those planets could have the right conditions for life. Some of them are in the 'Goldlocks Zone' - not too close to their star and too hot for life but not too far away either.

In this week's Science Cafe we're discussing astrobiology, research into the possibility of life beyond Earth. Adam asks how we might find extraterrestrial life, where we should look for it, what ET might look like and, if we did make contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, what should we say to them? Adam's guests are:

• Dr. Mike Edmunds, Professor of Astrophysics at Cardiff University;
• Dr. Martin Griffiths, Senior Lecturer at the University of Glamorgan and a founder member of NASA's Astrobiology Institute Science Communication Group;
• Dr. Charles Cockell, Professor of Astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh and Director of the UK Centre for Astrobiology.
  

We also hear from Jack O'Malley James from St. Andrews University who's been thinking about what plants on other planets might look like. And Adam speaks to Dr. Doug Vakoch of SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. His role is to devise the message we might send if we ever make contact with extraterrestrials. What might we want to tell ET about ourselves and what it means to be human?

Links

UK Centre for Astrobiology

NASA Astrobiology Site