Risk Communication and the Search for Life Beyond Earth: Challenges of Risk Amplification, Risk Information Seeking, and Risk Message Design for Research and Preparedness

Abstract The growing international public attention to astrobiology and SETI, combined with the immense costs of space exploration and the potential outcome, the discovery of extraterrestrial life, will likely increase the pressure for public justification and the need to address societal concerns about the risks of searching for, finding, or being found by extraterrestrial life. Understanding these perceptions and concerns warrants a more systematic inclusion of risk communication research in studying pre- and post-detection scenarios. In this chapter, we review the state of the art in risk perception/communication research related to astrobiology and detection. Based on three major challenges (social risk amplification/attenuation, misguided risk information seeking, ineffective risk message design), we explore the contribution of risk communication theory (SARF, RISP, EPPM, IDEA) to future research and institutional preparedness for potential detections of extraterrestrial life.