Are we alone?
Our generation is the first to realize that there are more planets than stars beyond the Sun.
Life beyond Earth
Is Earth a unique life-bearing planet, or is life a common outcome on water-bearing exoplanets? The ELF project, with its advanced imaging capabilities, aims to revolutionize our understanding of the universe and potentially settle this debate.
Throughout history, first contact between vastly different cultures has led to dramatic and impactful changes. These encounters often brought significant economic and technical innovation but could also be catastrophic, especially for underprepared cultures. For instance, the European discovery of the Americas led to cultural upheaval and extinction. Beliefs based on the notion that one’s culture or species is exceptional or that Earth holds a special place in the universe are limiting and dangerous.
A traveller peers through an opening in the firmament in this illustration from Camille Flammarion’s L’atmosphere : meteorologie populaire (Paris: Hachette, 1888)
The discovery of extraterrestrial life would spur a reevaluation of human identity and our place in the universe, akin to the transformation brought about by the Copernican revolution.
It would deeply impact our religious beliefs and foster a deeper sense of empathy and respect for life. Such a discovery would challenge us to extend our moral considerations to life forms fundamentally different from those on Earth.