SETI Live

Fifty years ago, on July 20, 1976, Viking 1 became the first spacecraft to successfully land and operate on Mars, transforming our understanding of the Red Planet and launching a new era of planetary exploration. Today, sophisticated robotic explorers like Curiosity and Perseverance continue that legacy, searching for signs of ancient habitability and preparing the way for future human missions.
Join host Dr. Simon Steel and planetary scientist Dr. Pascal Lee as they explore the remarkable history of Mars rovers and landers—from Viking, Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance to the next generation of robotic explorers being developed for Mars, the Moon, and beyond. They'll discuss what we've learned from five decades of exploration, the technologies that made it possible, and where robotic exploration may take us next. Recent concepts even include adapting Mars rover technology for future lunar missions.
What have Mars rovers taught us about our neighboring world? What mysteries remain unsolved? And what might the next 50 years of planetary exploration look like?

Are we searching for extraterrestrial intelligence the wrong way?
For decades, SETI researchers have focused on finding narrowband radio signals that might stand out from the natural universe. But what if an advanced civilization that wanted to communicate chose a very different strategy?
Join host Dr. Lauren Sgro and UCLA astronomer Dr. Ben Zuckerman as they discuss his new paper, Broadband Searches for Extraterrestrial Technological Intelligence: A New Strategy to Find Nearby Alien Civilizations. The research proposes a new approach to SETI that focuses on broadband signals and existing astronomical surveys, potentially changing how we search for evidence of technological civilizations beyond Earth.
Could signs of extraterrestrial technology already be hidden in data we've collected for entirely different purposes? What can current observations tell us about the likelihood of nearby communicative civilizations? And what does the cosmos's apparent silence really mean?
Paper: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae4c38

Could hazy exoplanet atmospheres be hiding important clues about alien worlds?
Many potentially habitable planets orbit small, active stars that frequently unleash powerful bursts of ultraviolet radiation. New research shows that this radiation can alter the chemistry and optical properties of atmospheric hazes, changing what astronomers see when they observe these distant worlds.
Join host Dr. Moiya McTier as she welcomes graduate researcher Lori Huseby (University of Arizona) and Dr. Sarah Moran (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) to discuss how laboratory experiments are helping scientists understand how stellar radiation affects water-rich exoplanet atmospheres. Their findings could improve how we interpret James Webb Space Telescope observations and future missions searching for signs of habitability beyond our Solar System.
How do stellar flares reshape alien skies? What do atmospheric hazes tell us about a planet's environment? And could understanding these hazes help us identify worlds capable of supporting life?
Paper: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae6cdb

The James Webb Space Telescope is transforming our understanding of exoplanets—but what happens when clouds get in the way? Astronomers have developed a new method to detect clouds and hazes in distant planetary atmospheres, helping researchers determine when they're seeing the planet itself and when weather obscures the view.
Join SETI Live as host Dr. Lauren Sgro welcomes lead author Dr. Sagnick Mukherjee to discuss this innovative method, how it works, and what it means for the future of exoplanet science and the search for life beyond Earth.
Press release: https://hub.jhu.edu/2026/05/21/astronomy-exoplanet-atmospheres-detecting-clouds/ 
Paper: http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adx5903

What happens after we discover evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence?
The International Academy of Astronautics has just ratified the first major update to the SETI post-detection protocols in more than 15 years. These new guidelines address the realities of today's world, including social media, AI-generated misinformation, deepfakes, international coordination, and the challenge of responsibly communicating extraordinary discoveries.
At the same time, the SETI Institute has launched the Discovery and Futures Lab, a new interdisciplinary initiative dedicated to exploring the scientific, social, ethical, legal, and cultural implications of discovering life beyond Earth.
Join host Dr. Lauren Sgro and guests Dr. Lucian Walkowicz and Dr. Chelsea Haramia as they discuss what these new protocols mean, why humanity needs to prepare for transformative discoveries before they happen, and how scientists, policymakers, communicators, and the public might respond if we ever receive convincing evidence that we are not alone.
Could humanity agree on how to respond? How do we combat misinformation? Who gets to speak for Earth? And what can history teach us about one of the biggest discoveries in human history?
Tune in for a fascinating conversation about the future of discovery, responsibility, and our place in the cosmos.
Press release on the updated protocols: https://www.seti.org/news/beyond-disclosure-day/ 
Press release on the Discovery and Futures Lab: https://www.seti.org/news/seti-institute-launches-discovery-and-futures-lab-to-explore-the-human-dimensions-of-life-beyond-earth/