In the now-famous Drake equation, Carl Sagan and Frank Drake came to the startling conclusion that a million intelligent civilizations might exist in our Milky Way galaxy alone. Given that our galaxy is but one of hundreds of billions in the Universe, the number of intelligent alien species may be as high as ten trillion. Countering these estimates is a recent book by two prominent astro-biologists which argues that earth type planets, and hence intelligent life as we know it, are exceedingly rare.
Discussing this issue, and how the current rover mission to Mars could answer some of these questions, this month’s guests are Dr. Carl Agee, Director of UNM’s Institute of Meteoritics, and Harrison Schmitt, an Apollo 17 astronaut, who is the last human to have stood on the Moon. Join host Stephen Spitz for a fascinating discussion about space exploration and life in the universe.
Produced with the assistance of Tristan Clum.
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