Worrying news from the Guardian:
“The main message is clear, however: European astronomers intend to be world leaders in the hunt for ET. ‘This is our territory,’ said David Southwood, head of Esa’s science programme. ‘The first astronomers to find a planet in orbit round another star were European – Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz. who discovered a planet in orbit round 51 Pegasi in 1995. We want to keep this lead and be the first not just to find planets but also to discover those bearing life. That will tell us whether we are alone in the galaxy or just one of many other lifeforms. Either way the information will be crucial.’”
If ET’s first encounter with the Earth is through the EU, mankind is finished, finished…