Recent discoveries have given renewed prominence to the search for intelligent life beyond Earth, including dramatic new evidence Mars once had water. NASA is already planning more missions similar to the current $1 billion exploration of the Red Planet by unmanned rovers. And President Bush recently proposed establishing a base on the moon to prepare for an eventual manned mission to Mars. While NASA will be looking for microbial life, the chance that evidence of an intelligent civilization might show up has not been dismissed. Critics of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) say the money being spent on research should be used for more promising projects. But supporters argue that even if the search fails, it may lead to spin-off benefits for all humankind.

William Triplett joined the CQ Researcher as a staff writer after covering science and the arts for such publications as Smithsonian, Air & Space, Nature, Washingtonian and The Washington Post. He also served as associate editor of Capitol Style magazine. He holds a B.A. in journalism from Ohio University and an M.A. in English literature from Georgetown University.