On September 2nd, 2022, the world said goodbye to one of the most famous astronomers and theoreticians of the past century when Dr. Frank Donald Drake passed away at the age of 92. Known as the “father of SETI,” Drake was a lifelong member of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and a pioneer in the emergence of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) as a scientific discipline during the latter half of the 20th century.
In addition to mounting what is regarded as the first-ever SETI experiment (Project Ozma), he was integral to the most well-known attempt at Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI) – the Arecibo Message. But, arguably, Drake is remembered most for the equation that bears his name - i.e., the Drake Equation.
The Drake Equation is long since passe.
To read more, click here.