‘There are definitely aliens out there in the universe.’
This is S. Somanath, an Indian aerospace engineer serving as the chairman of India’s answer to NASA.
Somanath, who has led the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) since 2022, struck a pretty optimistic tube when discussing the possibility of extraterrestrials in a new podcast.
Asked if life exists in the cosmos, Somanath told The Ranveer Show host Ranveer Allahbadia: ‘Absolutely, without a doubt. My conscience tells me yes, although I have no proof. As the chairman of ISRO, I am telling you this.’
‘There are definitely aliens out there in the universe,’ he added.
‘Aliens mean living systems and cultures in other parts of the universe. If they are ahead in technology by just a thousand years, or 10,000 years, they would definitely visit us.’
Allahbadia likened it to humans watching lions at a zoo. ‘For them, our planet is like a zoo,’ Somanath said on the podcast, released on August 22.
Are we alone in the universe is, to say the least, a rather big question.
Scientists don’t yet have an answer – but they have a lot of formulas to try and figure it out.
If Earth is the blueprint of life and humans are the one for the intelligent kind then we know two things; life can pop up quickly but intelligent life can take billions of years, researchers say.
When one group of scientists ran models of how life on Earth happened, it did so in three out of every four test runs. Brainier life, meanwhile, occurred three of every five – making the odds about 45%.
There’s a lot of uncertainty. Some scientists reckon 36 intelligent civilizations in our galaxy could one day communicate with us, while others roll their eyes at such bets. As far as we know, aliens haven’t even sent us a text.
Even then, we don’t know for sure how life even emerged on Earth.
Somanath, however, is in no way keen to meet aliens – intelligent ones for sure – anytime soon.
‘Biology is such that all life forms on Earth are connected in some way – plants, bacteria, fish, animals and humans. We all evolved from a common ancestor,’ he explained.
‘But if something evolved on another planet, it may have developed in an entirely different way. It may not have the same genomic structure or protein structure, which can be extremely dangerous.
‘When two life forms come into contact, one has to dominate the other. This is the nature of life – one will not allow the other to survive; it must surpass and destroy the other.
‘Unless these aliens become aware of this and realize that we are different, choosing to remain disconnected in terms of our bodies or chemistry, it will be catastrophic.’
For one, Somanath, who is the former director of the research group Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, aliens may find oxygen – a bedrock of life here – poisonous.
Somanath added that until we get solid proof, all we can do is just imagine what aliens could be like. He can’t blame people for thinking that lizard people walk among us or that we mistook aliens for gods centuries ago.
‘If they were 10,000 years ahead of us, they would have found a solution to these biological problems. I don’t have a solution today, but they may have already figured it out,’ he said.
Aliens are a go-to topic for ISRO officials chatting by the water cooler or at bars after work. ‘Yes, there are many people in ISRO who are fascinated by this,’ the chairmen said.
‘In our free time, especially in the evenings, we often talk about these topics, particularly with my younger colleague.’
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