Download our full report here.
This is the third annual activity report of the SETI Institute, detailing the work of our scientists, educators, and outreach professionals. The numbers are impressive, but it’s the stories that are inspiring.
2018 culminated in the New Horizons flyby of Ultima Thule, and said goodbye to Kepler, one of the most significant missions sent to space to which the SETI Institute contributed so much. SETI Institute scientists worked on other missions including TESS, Mars Exploration Rover, Europa Clipper, OSIRIS-Rex, Mars 2020, and the Parker Solar Probe.
The Decoding Alien Intelligence workshop brought together a multidisciplinary group of experts in planetary and space sciences, astrobiology, and life and cognitive sciences to explore an integrated strategy for a more expansive SETI that includes looking for life as we do not know it.
Frontier Development Lab (FDL) grew for the third year in a row to include 7 teams using AI to solve space science questions in the areas of Space Weather, Space Resources, Astrobiology, and Exoplanets. Additional teams in Europe worked an Earth Observation challenge.
Three new Girl Scout Space Science Badges were released (with three more coming in the summer of 2019), while the SETI Institute was hands-on with Girl Scouts at the Girl Scouts Astronomy Destination Camp. The impact study of the Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors (AAA) program revealed that the students of AAA teachers performed better than those whose teachers had not gone through the program. And the Research Experience for Undergraduates and STEM Teacher as Researcher (STAR) summer internship programs hosted future researchers and educators.
The SETI Institute is committed not only to its world class scientific research and education programming, but also to ensuring that these stories of discovery, successes (and failures), and inspiration can be shared with all people, sparking curiosity and more journeys of exploration. Learn more about our recent activities in the SETI Institute Activity Report for 2018.
