![Douglas Vakoch](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3piWSNgTNDkkNRPhzjcYg6.jpg)
Douglas Vakoch
Douglas Vakoch, Ph.D., is President of METI International, a nonprofit research and educational organization dedicated to transmitting intentional signals to nearby stars, as well as fostering sustainability of human civilization on multigenerational timescales—a prerequisite for a project that could take centuries or millennia to succeed. Dr. Vakoch is a frequent science commentator on television programs that explore astrobiology - the hunt for life in the cosmos, including the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). His expertise includes space exploration, the societal impact of science, COVID-19, and environmental threats to humanity's long-term survival. He has published more than two dozen books covering the search for life beyond Earth, COVID-19, the psychology of space exploration, transgender studies, ecofeminism, sustainability, and science fiction.
Latest articles by Douglas Vakoch
![the black silhouette of a double solar-paneled satellite spacecraft is beset before the trippy trenches and scars of an icy moon.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VdLZunzWGVhnSJZJ4RnW4Q-320-80.jpg)
NASA's mission to an ice-covered moon will contain a message between water worlds
By Douglas Vakoch published
NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft, headed to Jupiter’s ice-covered moon Europa in October 2024, will carry a laser-etched message that celebrates humanity’s connection to water.
![Earth Speaks: New Project Collects Messages to the Cosmos](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/fNaY8rv5iioTdb8nvEqzsa-320-80.jpg)
Earth Speaks: New Project Collects Messages to the Cosmos
By Douglas Vakoch published
SETI is collecting global messages for a possible reply to extraterrestrial signals.
![Writing for an Extraterrestrial Audience](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EAojaPQe8AzQZsyJTm7kSW-320-80.jpg)
Writing for an Extraterrestrial Audience
By Douglas Vakoch published
College students wrote messages to intelligent life on other worlds.
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/BfobgKiYqFqKpmNa7X4eYM-320-80.jpg)
A Shadow of Ourselves
By Douglas Vakoch published
Should we reply to an alien message, and if so, what we should say?
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/BfobgKiYqFqKpmNa7X4eYM-320-80.jpg)
How We Present Ourselves to Aliens
By Douglas Vakoch published
What can a young civilization say in an interstellar exchange?
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/BfobgKiYqFqKpmNa7X4eYM-320-80.jpg)
Setting SETI's Sights II: Abodes for Life?
By Douglas Vakoch published
With the latest discovery of a “Super-Earth” around a dim, red star 15 light years from Earth, SETI scientists have been pondering the implications for their search for intelligence on other worlds.
![Earth's “Bigger Cousin” Detected](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jv9YGPNDHt36jMiVd6X79b-320-80.jpg)
Setting SETI's Sights: Latest Planet Discovery Suggests New Targets
By Douglas Vakoch published
SETI scientists are taking notice of the latest discovery of a "Super-Earth" beyond the solar system as they fine-tune their list of stars to target in their search for extraterrestrial intelligence.