Consequences of the Discovery of Life What will happen, if extraterrestrial life is discovered? What will be the impact on humanity, on life here on Earth? How will we react to the possible discovery of fossil bacteria and what will happen if extraterrestrial radio signals are suddenly captured from the depths of space? Will we be scared, fearing the possible intrusion of those "foreigners", as happens in many science-fiction films? Or will we consider this as a great opportunity, a kind of "graduation" of humanity, an entry into the (inter)galactic community? Many thoughts have been expressed about this. They range from the purely technical aspects that for instance concern quarantine measures in order to avoid contamination by other life forms, to political and legal aspects. Many books and films deal with this subject in different ways, often in a very dramatic fashion. Some of the main lines of thought are summarised here. Discovery of fossil or living bacteria [Section to be inserted] Discovery of signals from intelligent life [Section to be inserted] Some personal thoughts How would you react if you switched on your radio or TV set and suddenly heard the official announcement of the discovery of Life outside the Earth? What would you expect scientists to say? And what would politicians say? Which decisions would be made and by whom? We asked the members of the Expert Panel and the International Steering Committee to express their thoughts on this subject - here are their answers [more to follow]: Roger Bonnet - astronomer at Institut d'Astrophysique (Paris); Former ESA Director of Science Athena Coustenis - astronomer at Observatoire de Meudon (France) Claus Madsen - European Affairs Officer at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Richard West - astronomer at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) And what is you own opinion about this?