How the Search for Alien Life in the Cosmos Advances Science and Democracy in Ukraine

Charles Cockell, Professor of Astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh and frequent contributor to Kyiv Post explains how the search for extraterrestrial life advances the general scientific knowledge for all humanity and promotes democracy in Ukraine through the pursuit of truth through the scientific method. 

Professor Cockell told Kyiv Post about the intriguing young field of astrobiology, and how it can expand our knowledge of how life began and evolved on Earth, while also exploring other models of life that may be different from what we have here on the big blue marble. He explains how this specifically can benefit Ukraine at a time of urgent concerns following Russia’s full-scale invasion when such pursuits seem too esoteric for the moment. 

He summarizes with a discussion of how he came to write outside his normal professional journals and white paper studies to promote the cause of a free, independent, and democratic Ukraine, as well as commenting on the possibility of a Ukrainian Enlightenment that seems already in the works.