Alien contact will challenge every belief system on Earth | Sara Seager
March 24, 2026
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3:56Now PlayingAlien contact will challenge every belief system on Earth | Sara Seager
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as posted by the channelThis interview is an episode from The Well, our publication about ideas that inspire a life well-lived, created with the John Templeton Foundation.
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Watch Seager’s next interview ► What if intelligent life exists, but we can't recognize it?
Sara Seager, a planetary scientist, astrophysicist, and leading researcher in the search for life beyond Earth, examines how discovering life elsewhere would represent a Copernican-level shift in human understanding.
Research into Mars, Venus, and the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn has revealed complex molecules and liquid environments that could support life. Independent origins of life would imply that the galaxy is rich with living individuals, challenging long-held cultural, religious, and philosophical assumptions. The acceptance of major scientific discoveries — and the unexpected practical contributions to pure science — impact how the search for extraterrestrial life may benefit society over time.
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About Sara Seager:
Professor Seager is Director for the MIT-led Venus Morning Star Missions to Venus and lead for Project Starshade. In the past she was Deputy Science Director for the MIT-led NASA mission TESS and PI for the on-orbit JPL/MIT CubeSat ASTERIA.
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Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life’s biggest questions, and that’s why they’re the questions occupying the world’s brightest minds.
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