AI, Data Science & Cloud Certificates from Google, IBM & Meta — 40% Off
One plan covers every Professional Certificate on Coursera. 40% off Coursera Plus Annual.
Unlock All Certificates
Explore the fundamental questions surrounding extraterrestrial life and intelligent civilizations beyond Earth in this geological society presentation. Examine how life originated and evolved on our planet and what these processes might reveal about the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe. Investigate the discovery and characteristics of exoplanets and their host stars, building on the relatively recent milestone of the first exoplanet discovery just 30 years ago. Delve into the famous Fermi Paradox, which questions why we haven't encountered evidence of other civilizations despite the vast number of potentially habitable worlds. Learn about the current state of astrobiology research and the key scientific issues that researchers are working to resolve, while acknowledging that definitive answers about extraterrestrial life remain elusive but increasingly within the realm of scientific investigation.
