Characterizing Spectral Technosignatures in the Search for Life

Abstract:

The search for spectroscopic biosignatures with the next-generation of space telescopes could provide observational constraints on the abundance of exoplanets with signs of life. An extension of this spectroscopic characterization of exoplanets is the search for observational evidence of planetary-scale technology, known as technosignatures. Biosignatures and technosignatures represent synergistic attempts at revealing large-scale processes that result from the interaction of life with a planetary system.

Here I discuss the relevance and significance of technosignatures to current and future mission concepts that are intended to characterize the habitability of terrestrial exoplanets. I will provide an overview of the proceedings of the TechnoClimes online workshop, which convened an interdisciplinary group of scholars to develop a preliminary research agenda for technosignatures science. I will also show results from recent quantitative studies that attempt to determine the observability of plausible technosignatures. Searching for technosignatures alongside biosignatures would constrain the probability of abiogenesis and would also provide important knowledge about the future of life on Earth.