Eight Worlds
Alien versions of Earth, and the life forms they spark,
urge us to rethink the concept of life itself.
A world of light and wonder.
Like Earth's blazing cousin, Venus,
Phaínōterra glows in a golden-pink haze.
Prof. Sara SeagerProfessor of Planetary ScienceMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyDr. Iaroslav IakubivskyiPostdoctoral FellowMassachusetts Institute of Technology
On Magikos, artificial intelligence is life,
multiplied across an entire planet,
and is evolving its own satellite.
Prof. Sara WalkerProfessor, School of Earth and Space ExplorationArizona State UniversityEstelle JaninDoctoral CandidateArizona State University
It is a deep mystery how gravity and matter interact at the most fundamental level.
Nýchtaterra, a world of invisible forces, asks if exotic life forms may be hidden from view.
Dr. Jaco de SwartPostdoctoral FellowUniversity of Cambridge
On Nousterra, thought flickers through the sky,
like neurons in a planetary brain.
Is there consciousness beyond biology?
Prof. Leroy CroninRegius Chair of ChemistryUniversity of Glasgow
What if life on Earth had zigged, not zagged?
Xenoterra uses our familiar biochemistry,
but imagines alternative evolutionary pathways of life.
Prof. Sam KriegmanAssistant Professor of Computer ScienceNorthwestern UniversityMuhan LiPhD student, Computer ScienceNorthwestern University
Nekrósterra, ridden with apocalyptic scars,
is a warning from the cosmos —
take care of life because it is precious.
Prof. Sam KriegmanMuhan Li
We catch life in its earliest moments,
where air is thick with ancient chemistry.
Cyanobacteria will soon ignite a planetary transformation.
Prof. Sam KriegmanMuhan Li
Ákroterra is a cold planet, blasted with radiation.
But in deep caves, organisms evolved as a complex collective intelligence.
Life, as usual, surprises.
Dr. Penny BostonSpeleology, AstrobiologyNASA Ames Research Center