What Earth will look like from space in 1,000 years ?

© NASA

Could our blue planet become invisible to potential cosmic observers (if they exist)? ? According to NASA scientists, humanity's technological evolution in the next millennium could either make us more detectable than ever before or make us disappear from alien radars. Good or Bad News for Humanity?

The Telltale Signs of Our Presence

Today, our civilization leaves traces that are widely observable from deep space. Ravi Kopparapu, a planetary scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Center, explains that our radio emissions “leak” in space, like a noisy conversation in a cosmic restaurant.

The famous James Webb telescope, for example, manages to detect industrial pollutants that we emit from its orbit. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) in particular, emitted by refrigerators, aerosols and insulating foams (CFCs) or thermal power stations, motor vehicles and certain industries (NO₂).

These ” technosignatures ” as they are called, constitute as many potential proofs of our existence for possible distant observers. And they are not the only ones: light pollution, infrared radiation or changes in atmospheric composition.

The myth of energy-intensive civilization

A recent study co-directed by Kopparapu contradicts the Karadashev scale proving that our future could take an unexpected direction. This scale is a theoretical classification that measures the technological level of a civilization based on its ability to exploit the energy at its disposal. Invented by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardachev in the 1960s, it divides civilizations into three main types.

A Type I civilization is capable of exploiting all the energy resources of its planet, such as solar energy, geothermal energy, etc. A Type II civilization can capture and use all the energy of its star. It could, for example, build a gigantic structure around its star to capture its energy. The last one, Type III, harnesses the energy of its entire galaxy and could harness the energy resources of billions of stars.

Kopparapu explains about this study: ” Our conclusion is that, even with strong population growth, humanity's energy needs would still be far from reaching the level of a Type I civilization .”

This discovery thus challenges our traditional view of technological progress, which is not simply measured by the massive increase in energy consumption, but could also involve more efficient technologies or more sustainable lifestyles. In other words, our technological future could therefore be based on more intelligent and optimized systems rather than on an exponential growth of energy exploitation, thus upsetting the perspective established by the Kardashev scale 60 years ago.

Future scenarios: between visibility and discretion

Kopparapu then outlines three possible futures for humanity in the next 1,000 years. The first, quite optimistic, evokes a post-scarcity golden age with lunar and Martian colonies, recalling the mythical universe of Star Trek (or that of Elon Musk to a lesser extent).

The second, darker, depicts an Earth under authoritarian control, like the capital Trantor of the SF novels Empire Cycle and Foundation Cycleby Isaac Asimov. A completely destabilized biosphere and massive urbanization would thus be the sad setting in which Humanity would evolve.

However, it is the third scenario that intrigues the most: a civilization having reached its technological peak and living in complete harmony with its biosphere. Result ? It could become virtually undetectable from space, and thus invisible to potential extraterrestrial creatures.

Why these projections are interesting ? Because our methods of searching for extraterrestrial life are based solely on our own technological trajectory. By relying exclusively on this, we risk missing civilizations that have taken different development paths. It is also likely that if intelligent life does exist beyond Earth's borders, it might be nothing like what we know on Earth. The thinking opened up by these predictions is broader than that. If, instead of striving to be seen or seeking to see, our long-term goal were to achieve a mature, sustainable civilization, where technological and ecological invisibility would prevail over all else. ? A vision that would certainly contrast with that of a certain Raymond Kurzweil, the futurologist constantly fantasizing about human immortality and exponential technological expansion.

• Humanity’s technological evolution could either make us more visible or undetectable to potential extraterrestrial observers.
• Our current industrial emissions and technosignatures are observable from space, but a sustainable future could erase these traces.
• These projections challenge the way we search for extraterrestrial life, encouraging us to consider civilizations radically different from our own.

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