Frank Drake talking on the International Space Development Conference, the National Space Society’s annual symposium. Credit: Pascal Lee
Noted Astronomer Was a Motive Force Behind the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
— Dale Skran, NSS COO
WASHINGTON, D.C., US, September 5, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — The National Space Society mourns the passing of famous astronomer and astrophysicist Frank Drake, who died on September 2. Drake was a serious determine in astronomy and cosmology, and a pal to the NSS.
Widely identified for his famed Drake Equation, which tried to estimate the doable variety of clever species in our galaxy, Dr. Drake was answerable for Project Ozma, the earliest seek for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) program that was began in 1960. He was additionally a serious drive behind the creation of the SETI Institute, which opened in 1984 in cooperation with NASA.
“Frank Drake was a man of great intelligence and curiosity, and was one of the first to conceive of extraterrestrial intelligence in objective terms,” stated Dale Skran, COO of the NSS. “The Drake Equation remains a bellwether in SETI research. The National Space Society was honored to award Dr. Drake its Space Pioneer Award in 2018 for his long and forward-looking career. His insights and pioneering spirit will be missed.”
Drake labored on the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Green Bank, West Virginia, after incomes a Ph.D. from Harvard University. He dictated the observatory’s first analysis program, christened Project Ozma, which investigated two close by stars, Tau Ceti and Epsilon Eridani, for artificially created microwave indicators, probably indicative of extraterrestrial intelligence. This was one of many first SETI experiments and led to a request from the National Academy of Sciences that he assemble a convention to debate such experiments. For the ensuing convention, Drake conceived what turned often known as the Drake Equation, consisting of seven mathematical phrases whose product can be the estimated variety of extraterrestrial societies in our galaxy who have been producing indicators that humanity may, theoretically, uncover.
Drake held educational positions at Cornell University and the University of California, Santa Cruz, and carried out analysis on pulsars and planetary radio astronomy, amongst different vital areas of astrophysics and cosmology. He additionally served because the director of the Arecibo Observatory whereas a professor at Cornell.
Drake’s efforts to make “first contact” included work on the “Golden Record” that was affixed to NASA’s twin Voyager spacecraft (on which he collaborated intently with Carl Sagan), and creating the “Arecibo Message,” an engineering experiment that beamed an authored message to globular cluster M13 in 1974. In 1984, he turned president of the SETI Institute in Northern California. On the event of his retirement from that place in 2010, he stated, “I’m never going to retire from SETI.” True to his phrase, he continued working with the group for the remainder of his life.
“Dr. Drake was a courageous voice in the astronomy community, and he followed his curiosity into SETI research at a time when it was quite controversial,” stated Rod Pyle, Editor-in-Chief of Ad Astra journal, the print quarterly of the NSS. “The spirit of his vision is reflected in the Space Pioneer Award, which has been presented to some of the top leaders in space science, engineering, and business—a diverse list that includes astrophysicist Kip Thorne, Elon Musk, astronauts John Glenn and Eileen Collins, NASA executive Kathy Lueders, and actor Tom Hanks.”
The National Space Society was based in 1987 by way of a merger of the National Space Institute and the L5 Society. The NSS is the preeminent citizen’s voice on house exploration, improvement, and settlement. To be taught extra concerning the NSS and its mission to determine humanity as a spacefaring species, go to us on the net at nss.org.
Rod Pyle
National Space Society
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