12.30.06
Are we alone?
Waiting for Corot
Will a new space mission find evidence of life elsewhere? Either way, it poses conundrums for science and religion alike.
The French-led Corot space mission is to find Earth-like planets around other stars. I doubt whether the PR team managing the press interest influenced the launch date. But the new year is the perfect time to spark interest in the second biggest question in modern cosmology: are we alone? (The biggest question being why we are here.)
It is a huge question since so much would change, in religion and science, were the answer to be settled: yes or no. So, first: imagine Corot does find another planet and, moreover, one that also shows itself to be sustaining life. There is life out there! How would this challenge religious belief?