Extraterrestrial Life, Stellar Civilizations, and Aliens

Abstract

Three myths of life on other celestial bodies are examined as potential motivators for space tourism. The historical myth of extraterrestrial planetary life was debunked by modern astronomy. The twentieth-century myth-like belief in the existence of stellar civilizations or extraterrestrial intelligence has engendered an extensive search for transmitted signals from such civilizations, but none have yet been detected. The post-modern myth of aliens visiting the Earth by unidentified flying objects, engendered new religious movements; however, it is silent about the aliens’ stellar origins, while the new religions do not encourage adherents to visit the aliens’ abodes. In the final analysis, none of the three myths offers an incentive for space travel and tourism.

Citation

Cohen, E. (2019), "Extraterrestrial Life, Stellar Civilizations, and Aliens", Space Tourism (Tourism Social Science Series, Vol. 25), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 69-92. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1571-504320190000025004