A highlight of this first session was film director James Cameron’s talk on how science informs his filmmaking (he also revealed that he is currently filming Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 in New Zealand). Then the discussion turned to how to map the Alpha Centauri system. The meeting started with an engaging keynote by John Grunsfeld, a former astronaut and head of NASA’s science program, who reviewed past space exploration efforts. Alpha Centauri was the 2021 conference’s main theme, which makes sense considering that one of Breakthrough’s goals is to send a mission to our neighboring star system within the next generation. The fact that this week’s discussions were all virtual turned out to be an advantage for the public, who could watch the sessions live on YouTube. Each year the program holds a conference known as Breakthrough Discuss to talk about progress in the field, and this pandemic year was no exception. Our stellar next-door neighbors, Alpha Centauri A (left) and B, shine brightly in this Hubble Space Telescope image.Ĭurrently the premier organization dedicated to searching for advanced life in the universe is the Breakthrough Initiatives program funded by billionaire Yuri Milner in 2015.
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