Astronaut says ‘there are definitely aliens out there’ but we face one major problem on Earth
- Astronaut weighed in on one of the universe’s biggest questions
- She believes alien life exists due to the vastness of the universe
- However, there are factors holding us back from an encounter
Published on Dec 02, 2024 at 10:03 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Dec 03, 2024 at 6:17 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
Australia’s first female astronaut has weighed in on one of the universe’s biggest questions about aliens: ‘are we alone?’
To put her answer simply – no, she doesn’t think we are.
Katherine Bennell-Pegg believes alien life likely exists due to the universe’s vastness.
There has also been an abundance of life-supporting elements discovered that have seemed to amp up the excitement that we are on the verge of the discovery of extraterrestrial life.
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The astronaut weighs in on aliens
Bennell-Pegg added her opinion to the universal debate during a sit-down chat at Sydney’s South by Southwest conference.
The 39-year-old astronaut is currently the Director of Space Technology with the Australian Space Agency (ASA).
The question came from an intrigued audience member.
The sheer scale of the universe makes it improbable that Earth is the only planet with life.
So, what’s her take?
“There are definitely aliens out there,” she said.
The space explorer added: “I don’t think they walk among us, even if it feels like that sometimes.”
That goes against a recent theory by Harvard researchers that aliens are, in fact, already here.
Nobody seems to be taking Elon Musk’s claims seriously.
The issue holding us back
However, the sheer vastness of space and time means that being in the right place at the right time in order to find aliens is the issue at play here.
“Given the scale of the universe, we think there are somewhere between 100 to 200 sextillion stars in the universe.
“That is similar to the number of grains of sand on all the beaches on Earth,” she explained.
“All the ingredients for life, the molecules and elements we need, are the most abundant in the universe.”
We’ve only just begun our search, too: “We’ve just started looking at exoplanets with space telescopes, and just in the last six years we’ve found almost 6,000 exoplanets, that are planets around other stars.
“Many of them are in what could be a habitable zone. I just think, odds are, life is out there. The interesting thing is though, if it is, will we ever be able to communicate with them? Who knows.”
A Cambridge scientist stated earlier this year that one faraway planet has a ’50/50′ chance of alien life.
Bennell-Pegg believes that instead of continuing to search, we should focus on Earth’s environmental and social issues as a priority.
All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
