Kepler and the Search for Life

Now, rockets go up and rockets come down. Some too early, like the atmospheric satellite that landed in the Antarctic drink last week. But assuming Kepler makes it up, it has a huge story to tell us. Essentially, whether or not we’re alone in the universe.

If Kepler spots a lot more Earth-like planets, odds are it’s a crowded cosmos of life out there. If not, we really are a lonely planet.

This hour, On Point: Is there anybody out there? We’ll talk about the Kepler telescope, its mission, and the ongoing search for life beyond Earth.Guests:

From Los Angeles we're joined by Emily Lakdawalla, correspondent for Planetary.org, where she covers space exploration and space science for the Planetary Society Blog.

From Orlando, Florida, on his way to Cape Canaveral and the launch of the Kepler telescope, is Alan Boss. He’s a member of the Kepler Mission’s science team and an expert on extrasolar planets and planet formation. His new book is "The Crowded Universe: The Search for Living Planets." (Read an excerpt.)

And joining us from London, Ontario, is Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the SETI Institute, which has been searching for extraterrestrial life since 1960. His latest book is "Confessions of an Alien Hunter: A Scientist's Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence." (Read an excerpt.)

More links:

NASA's Kepler Mission site offers a useful overview, a rich collection of multimedia, and much more.

Here are some of the online videos about the Kepler mission made available by NASA: