One of the most exciting areas of space research is the search for Earth-like planets around other stars. Since the first discovery some 30 years ago, thousands of exoplanets have been identified and catalogued, but the vast majority bear little resemblance to Earth and would not be conducive to even simple life, much less large organisms such as ourselves. However, during the same 30 years, planet-hunting technology has also vastly improved. Where do things stand today, and what can we expect over the next decade as the hunt continues?

On a new episode of ID the Future, host and amateur astronomer Eric Anderson begins a two-part conversation with Bijan Nemati, professional astronomer and expert on exoplanet search technology, to review the history of exoplanet research and upcoming NASA missions. Nemati previously shared his personal journey to intelligent design and his involvement with The Privileged Planet documentary and NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Nemati is currently one of the lead scientists for the coronagraph instrument on the Roman Space Telescope, slated to launch within the next few years, and is also closely involved in early planning for the next-generation Habitable Worlds Observatory, which will be focused specifically on identifying signs of life on selected candidate exoplanets.

Join us as Anderson and Nemati take a deep dive into this technical and exciting area of research, and also share their thoughts on how the search for habitable worlds fits in with an intelligent design (ID) perspective.

Find the podcast and listen to it here. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Look for Part 2 next!

Dig Deeper

Enjoy these previous episodes featuring Dr. Nemati:

• “Astrophysicist Bijan Nemati on Why Intelligent Design Matters“
• “Bijan Nemati on Another Big Space Telescope, and The Privileged Planet”