Are humans prepared for extra-terrestrial contact? And what would that look like? Premiering Sunday, June 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Discovery Channel,ALIEN ENCOUNTERS explores how alien life might communicate with Earth. In the first of two dramatic hours, titled “The Message,” ALIEN ENCOUNTERS lays out a plausible hypothetical scenario for a first contact event. What would really happen if we got a message from space? How will humans react to discover that a spacecraft is on its way to Earth? The second hour, “The Arrival,” (airing at 9 p.m. ET/PT) imagines what will happen when extra-terrestrial beings arrive here. Will humans learn from aliens, or become colonial subjects? Some of the world’s leading astrophysicists, astrobiologists, sci-fi writers and futurists help unravel the scientific, cultural and psychological impact of this world-changing global event.
ALIEN ENCOUNTERS is made in cooperation with SETI Institute (the highly-respected organization devoted to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), which was founded in the early 1960s by renowned astrophysicist Carl Sagan.
ALIEN ENCOUNTERS highlights interviews with a host of experts including Carl Sagan’s son,Nick Sagen, who is now following in his father’s footsteps wondering, “How will we meet our galactic neighbours?” The broadcast event also features Jill Tarter, Director of SETI Institute;Frank Drake, renowned astronomer; Seth Shostak, senior astronomer for SETI Institute; Neil Degrasse Tyson, Director of the Hayden Planetarium; and many more of the world’s leading science minds.
