PD Editorial: Let’s not fear discoveries far, far away

The occupants of this blue marble known as Earth have been looking, studying, dreaming about its neighboring plant for millennia. Yet it’s remarkable how, after all this time, we are still capable of making new discoveries about that red dot in the sky.

Such as this one: There’s water there. Flowing water.

Seven years ago, scientists confirmed the existence of frozen water on the red planet. But with the help of NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, scientists say they have now found that rivulets of salty war flow down certain hillsides during Martian summers.

The presence of liquid water also could make life easier for astronauts to visit or live on Mars as it could be a source not only for drinking but for creating oxygen and rocket fuel. NASA has stated that its goal is to send humans to Mars in the 2030s.

And because liquid water is a basic requirement of life, this discovery lends support to the idea that there could be life on Mars. And if life exists there, why not elsewhere?

Discoveries like this should only fuel our spacecraft but our appetite to learn for more - such as a plan by researchers at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program in the South Bay who have proposed beaming powerful radio messages to parts of the galaxy where life may exist.

This is a change from the past, as SETI, armed with a bank of large radio telescopes, up to now has been primarily listening in deep space in hopes of hearing signs of intelligent life.

But this shift has run into some vocal opposition. Why? Because some radio astronomers fear that sending signals to distant galaxies could result in less-than-friendly visits from extraterrestrials seeking to eliminate the human race and capitalize on Earth’s resources.

The idea of sending messages into deep space is “all very well if the only one you’re putting at risk is yourself, “ David Brin, a space scientist and author, told the Independent in Great Britain. “But when that risk is imposed upon our children and all of humanity on the planet, is it too much to ask that we discuss it first?”

First, it’s far too late for this planet to go quietly into that dark night. We’ve been emitting radio messages, as well as broadcasting TV and radio signals, for more than 100 years. To say nothing of the messages - including Beatles songs and a Dorito ad - that have been transmitted via radio telescopes and dispatches stored on deep-space probes such as Voyager 1, which left the solar system for interstellar space three years ago.

Besides, what was the expectation that mankind would do if we ever heard from deep-space inhabitants? Pretend we aren’t home?

Is there a chance of something going wrong? Of course. There always is. But on the risk scale, this one ranks between the highly improbable to the preposterous. Somebody has been watching too many science fiction movies.

Besides, each time Earth is invaded by testy extraterrestrials, humans always win. Just ask Hollywood.