This illustration depicts NASA’s view of NExSS as involving those studying Earth (lower right); those studying solar system planets (left) and those discovering exoplanets (upper right) (Photo : NASA)
A billionaire from Russia is planning to invest US $100 million for the search of intelligent alien life and to learn more about extraterrestrial life. Yuri Milner has selected a team of scientists and researchers from the University of California, Berkeley where the Russian venture capitalist is apparently known for his early investments on social networking sites,Twitter and Facebook.
With this grand scientific funding for this initiative called "Breakthrough Listen", researchers will be able to collect more data in one day as opposed to the amount of information they can collect in one year. The team will utilize the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia and the Parkes Telescope in New South Wales, Australia and obtain observational data in the next 10 years.
This funding will also support some of the leading scientists in the world such as Stephen Hawking where he expressed his take on this program stating that, it is time to be committed in finding an answer for the search of life beyond Earth. He adds, we are intelligent, we are alive and we must know.
The extensive project will entail surveying the first one billion stars that are closest to Earth. According to chairman Geoff Marcy of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute, this new alien life search will become 100 times better than any prior search for intelligent life across the universe.
Milner is estimated to be worth US $3.4 billion where he will at least spend $10 million every year for the whole program's duration which will last for 10 years. Apart from this alien search program, there will also be a $1 million reward for the "Breakthrough Message" for the discovery of a method for possible communication with an advanced alien civilization.
In 2009, the 53 year old Russian billionaire invested $200 million on Facebook where the social networking site holds a net worth of $10 billion at that time. Today, Facebook is worth $245 billion.
