Alien Search: Help Slumping Nonprofit SETI Institute
Alien Search: Help Slumping Nonprofit SETI Institute In Space Research » May 1, 2011 at 12:12 PM Just when scientists are making advancements in searching for extraterrestrial life beyond Earth, a lack of funds is putting a cap on their telescopes. The nonprofit SETI Institute sent an email to its supporters saying a drop in both government and private funds means the northern California facility no longer has the $1.5 million a year needed to operate. Last week, the science research institute's Allen Telescope Array was put into a hibernation state. Since 2007, the radio dishes had... "The answer is that discovering new things is what distinguishes our species...Are we destined to merely endure, or to flourish?" The San Jose Mercury News reports that the turn of events comes just after the announcement from astronomers this spring, who said 1,235 new possible planets had been observed. Fifty or 60 of those planets appear be habitable, Shostak told the...