SCIENCE, TED AND SETI ASK THE QUESTION "ARE WE ALONE?" WITH AN INITIATIVE TO BRING CITIZEN SCIENTISTS INTO THE SEARCH FOR EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE
--ARE WE ALONE? Explores Extraterrestrial Encounters with Premiere Programming
Including a Special Episode of THROUGH THE WORMHOLE WITH MORGAN FREEMAN on
Tuesday, March 6 at 10 PM (ET/PT)--
--Citizen Scientists Can Also Interface Via the Ground-Breaking SETI Live Online Platform --
(Pasadena, Ca.) - For centuries, mankind has looked to the skies and wondered, "are we alone in
the universe?" This March SCIENCE partners with TED and SETI Institute (Search for
Extraterrestrial Intelligence), to enlist like-minded individuals everywhere to tackle this defining
question with ARE WE ALONE?, a breakthrough multimedia initiative. ARE WE ALONE?
is timed to support a major new resource called SETI Live which will empower and mobilize
"citizen scientists" from all walks of life to join the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
SCIENCE's month of programming begins on-air on Tuesday, March 6 at 10:00 PM (ET/PT)
with the world premiere of Morgan Freeman's THROUGH THE WORMHOLE: WILL WE
SURVIVE FIRST CONTACT? forecasting man's first encounter with an extraterrestrial life
form. Next, renowned experts including Nick Sagan and SETI Institute's Dr. Jill Tarter come
together to explore how alien life might communicate with Earth in the debut of ALIEN
ENCOUNTERS. The two-part event airs Tuesday, March 13, and Tuesday, March 20 at
10:00 PM (ET/PT). Finally, SCIENCE concludes this month of all-new programming by
presenting firsthand accounts from NASA astronauts who witnessed the mysterious with NASA
FILES: THE UNEXPLAINED on Tuesday, March 27 at 10:00 PM (ET/PT).
In addition to the programming, ARE WE ALONE? brings viewers into the search for
extraterrestrial life - deeper and more profoundly than ever before - by supporting the
introduction of the SETI Live platform, developed by Zooniverse. SETI Live will enable
members of the public to analyze data coming from the Allen Telescope Array (ATA). This
March, SETI will work with live data and call upon citizen scientists to identify potential signals
from extraterrestrials. By the end of the month, the real-time analysis of community members
will actually decide what the ATA observes next. Both Science's programming and links on
sciencechannel.com will drive traffic to SETI Live.
ARE WE ALONE? started with a wish that Center for SETI Research director, Dr. Jill Tarter,
made at the TED Conference in response to winning the annual TED Prize. Dr. Tarter sought
help in her mission to trigger the most meaningful search for extraterrestrial intelligence to-date
by uniting all individuals who have ever looked to the sky and thought, "are we alone in the
universe?" Answering SETI's call was the thought-leading TED group that then enlisted
SCIENCE, entertainment's home for deep science content. Together, the three organizations
have combined for a multimedia, call-to-action campaign that will mobilize those curious about
life beyond Earth to turn their passion into action.
"With ARE WE ALONE? we want to draw viewers in with smart, lean-forward programming,
and empower them to uncover evidence of extraterrestrial life," says Debbie Adler Myers,
General Manager and Executive Vice President of SCIENCE. "At SCIENCE, we question
everything - and no topic inspires more questions than the existence of extraterrestrial
intelligence."
THROUGH THE WORMHOLE: WILL WE SURVIVE FIRST CONTACT? is produced
by Revelations Entertainment and The Incubator. James Younger and Lori McCreary are
executive producers for Revelations Entertainment. ALIEN ENCOUNTERS was produced for
SCIENCE by Karga 7. Rocky Collins is executive producer for SCIENCE. NASA FILES:
THE UNEXPLAINED is produced for SCIENCE by WAGtv. Wyatt Channell is executive
producer for SCIENCE. Bernadette McDaid is the vice president of production for SCIENCE
and oversees all production for the network.
ARE WE ALONE? EPISODE DESCRIPTIONS:
THROUGH THE WORMHOLE: WILL WE SURVIVE FIRST CONTACT?
World Premiere Tuesday, March 6 at 10 PM (ET/PT)
Mankind longs for proof that we are not alone in the universe, but the moment of first contact
will irrevocably change the world as we know it.. Whether that is a bad thing for humanity or the
beginning of a great future is the subject of much debate. In this episode we'll meet scientists
probing the big questions: Will the alienswe encounter be warlike? How will we talk to creatures
with whom we share no common ground? Could they have come here already? And can we visit
aliens on their own turf?
ALIEN ENCOUNTERS
Part 1- THE MESSAGE World Premiere on Tuesday, March 13 at 10 PM (ET/PT)
Part 2- THE ARRIVAL World Premiere on Tuesday, March 20 at 10 PM (ET/PT)
In two dramatic hours, ALIEN ENCOUNTERS lays out a plausible hypothetical scenario for a
first contact event. What would really happen if we got a message from space? How will humans
react when we learn that a message from a distant technology or a spacecraft is on its way to
Earth? Will humans learn from aliens, or become colonial subjects? Some of the world's leading
astrophysicists, astrobiologists, and sci-fi writers help unravel the scientific, cultural and
psychological impact of this world-changing global event. This show is made in cooperation
with The SETI Institute which was founded in 1984 and had renowned astrophysicist Carl Sagan
as one of its Board of Trustee Members. Carl's son Nick is now following in his father's
footsteps wondering, "How will we meet our galactic neighbors?"
NASA FILES: THE UNEXPLAINED
World Premiere Tuesday, March 27 at 10 PM (ET/PT)
Countless mysterious objects have been caught by NASA's cameras. In this special, we'll
reveal NASA's top ten unexplained encounters using original footage and groundbreaking
interviews with astronauts and scientists. Can these phenomena be explained away through
science and detective work? Or have NASA's cameras potentially captured the first traces of
extraterrestrial life?
About the SETI Institute:
The mission of the SETI Institute is to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and
prevalence of life in the universe. The SETI Institute is a private, nonprofit organization
dedicated to scientific research, education and public outreach. Founded in November 1984, the
SETI Institute began operations on February 1, 1985. Today it employs nearly 150 scientists,
educators and support staff. Research at the Institute is anchored by three centers: the Center for
SETI Research, the Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe and the Center for
Education and Public Outreach. Dr. Jill Tarter leads the Center for SETI Research as Bernard M.
Oliver Chair for SETI and was a TED prize winner in 2009. Dr. David Morrison is the Director
for the Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe. Edna DeVore leads our Center
for Education and Public Outreach. SETI Institute website: http://www.seti.org
About TED:
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day
conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas
with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world's leading thinkers and
doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED
speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard
Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime
Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place in Long Beach, California,
with simulcast in Palm Springs; TEDGlobal is held each year in Edinburgh, UK.
TED has established the annual TED Prize, awarded to an exceptional individual who is granted
"one wish to change the world". The global TED community seeks to make that wish come true.
The TED Prize was awarded to SETI's Jill Tarter in 2010.
Follow TED on Twitter at twitter.com/TEDTalks, and on Facebook at facebook.com/TED. For
information about TED's upcoming conferences, visit http://www.ted.com/registration
About SCIENCE:
SCIENCE, a division of Discovery Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), is
home for the thought provocateur, the individual who is unafraid to ask the killer questions of
"how" and "why not." The network is a playground for those with audacious intellects and
features programming willing to go beyond imagination to explore the unknown. Guided by
curiosity, SCIENCE looks for innovation in mysterious new worlds as well as in its own
backyard. SCIENCE and the SCIENCE HD simulcast reach more than 68 million U.S.
households. The network also features high-traffic online and social media destinations,
including ScienceChannel.com, facebook.com/Science Channel and twitter.com/Science
Channel.
About Discovery Communications:
Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world's #1 nonfiction
media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in 210 countries and
territories. Discovery is dedicated to satisfying curiosity through 130-plus worldwide television
networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, SCIENCE and Investigation
Discovery, as well as U.S. joint venture networks OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, The Hub and
3net, the first 24-hour 3D network. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products
and services to schools and owns and operates a diversified portfolio of digital media services,
including HowStuffWorks.com. For more information, please visit
www.discoverycommunications.com.
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