For centuries, mankind has looked to the skies and wondered, “are we alone in the universe?” In one month SCIENCE, a division of Discovery Communications, 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’S Unexplained Files’ 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.”

‘Throught 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’S Unexplained Files’ 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 Description

‘Throught 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’S Unexplained Files’: 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?

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About the author

Claudia Sondergaard
Specialised in American foreign policy media discourse, I have a real passion for media and writing and feel comfortable in subjects such as human rights, politics, environment, social issues, movies, TV and books. Reporting from Denmark. Follow me @swirlgirlversus