If we discover extraterrestrial life, what happens next?

The search for extraterrestrial life is seen as one of pure curiosity. But, as in other areas of science, we should worry about the consequences of success.

Fifty years ago the era of robotic exploration of our solar system was just beginning. In July 1965 the Mariner IV probe sent back data showing that Mars did not have vegetation, much less canals crisscrossing the planet as envisioned by earlier generations of astronomers. The New York Times opined that Mars was "The Dead Planet" with the chances for life of any kind to be "infinitesimal."

Carl Sagan, astronomer and early rock star scientist, asked why the media was so quick to "deduce a lifeless Mars?" The answer, he wrote, was a sense of "relief." He posited that "finding life beyond Earth - particularly intelligent life " wrenches at our secret hope that Man is the pinnacle of Creation." The meaning of the possible discovery of extraterrestrial life Sagan concluded is "many things to many men."