SETI Post-Detection Futures: Directions for Technosignature Research and Readiness

This white paper highlights the work that is needed to anticipate the challenges and societal impacts of a possible technosignature detection.

We recommend practical steps to strengthen NASA’s astrobiology agenda, guided by the existing interdisciplinary framework of the SETI PostDetection Hub (est. 2022) at the University of St Andrews (Elliot et al. 2023), which emphasizes comprehensive preparedness across science, society, governance, and communication.

NASA can significantly enhance readiness by supporting deep interdisciplinary integration, funding SETI post-detection research infrastructure, and cultivating international collaboration.

We outline six key dimensions of readiness-directed evidence-based research: cross-divisional methodologies, humanities and social sciences integration, communication, strategic foresight, and development of resilient global infrastructures.

Kate Genevieve, Andjelka B. Kovacevic, John Elliott, Martin Dominik, Emily Finer, Kathryn Denning, Chelsea Haramia, George Profitiliotis, Carol A. Oliver, Anamaria Berea, Arik Kershenbaum, Daliah Bibas, Hannah Little, William H. Edmondson, Pauli Laine

Comments: White paper submitted to inform the NASA Decadal Astrobiology Research and Exploration Strategy (NASA-DARES 2025)
Subjects: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM); Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph)
Cite as: arXiv:2507.11587 [astro-ph.IM] (or arXiv:2507.11587v1 [astro-ph.IM] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2507.11587
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Submission history
From: Martin Dominik
[v1] Tue, 15 Jul 2025 14:24:30 UTC (8 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.11587

Astrobiology, SETI, Technosignature, Astronomy,