Xenology: An Introduction to the Scientific Study of Extraterrestrial Life, Intelligence, and Civilization
First Edition
© 1975-1979, 2008 Robert A. Freitas Jr. All Rights Reserved.
Robert A. Freitas Jr., Xenology: An Introduction to the Scientific Study of Extraterrestrial Life, Intelligence, and Civilization, First Edition, Xenology Research Institute, Sacramento, CA, 1979; http://www.xenology.info/Xeno.htm
Appendix B. Xenology Conferences, Symposia, and Red-Letter Dates through 1979
| 3000 B.C. | Sumerian legend of Oannes--first mention of extraterrestrial visitation in recorded history. | |
| 550 B.C. | Writings of Xenophanes of Colophon--first "scientific" discussion of the possibility of life on other planets (the Moon). | |
| 170 A.D | Lucian of Samosata writes True History--first fictional treatment of of space travel and extraterrestrial life (again, the Moon). | |
| 1600 A.D. | Giordano Bruno burned at the stake on February 17 for various heresies, including Copernican astronomy and the assertion that other worlds may be populated by intelligent beings--first man to die for Xenology. | |
| 1686 | Bernard de Fontenelle’s Conversations about the Plurality of Worlds is published--first popular science compendium on life and intelligence elsewhere in the Solar System. | |
| 1835 | (Sept.) | Publication of "Great Astronomical Discoveries" in The New York Sun, giving rise to the "great Moon Hoax"--first recorded hoax regarding extraterrestrial life ever perpetrated on the general public. |
| 1898 | Publication of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells--first and best-known fictional treatment of the alien invasion of Earth scenario. | |
| 1929 | Hugo Gernsbach coins the term "science fiction," giving rise to a genre of speculative literature in xenology. | |
| 1954 | Robert Heinlein coins "Xenobiology" (#3007), reported in the scientific literature in 1961 (#12 1) | |
| 1953 | Stanley Miller performs first successful prebiotic biology experiment to point the way to modes of origin of life. (#2258) | |
| 1957 | (Oct.4) | First Earth-orbiting satellite launched by humanity, Sputnik I--the first step towards space travel. |
| 1959 | Cocconi & Morrison’s paper published in Nature--first discussion in serious scientific literature of interstellar communication using radio waves--first SETI paper. (#1033) | |
| 1960 | Project OZMA carried out by Dr. Frank Drake--first serious experimental SETI program ever conducted. (#4658) | |
| 1961 | (Mar.24) | Brookings Institute report to NASA on future in space and implications of First Contact. (#1336) |
| 1961 | "Life on Other Worlds: A Symposium," sponsored by Joseph E. Seagrams Er Sons, Inc., on the 10th Anniversary of the Samuel Bronfman Founda tion. Panelists included J.R. Killian, Jr., G.B. Kistiakowsky, D.N. Michael, Harlow Shapley, Otto Struve, Arnold Toynbee, Walter Cronkite, Chet Huntley, and William L. Laurence. | |
| 1961 | (Nov.) | "Intelligent Extraterrestrial Life," first U.S. xenology conference held at Green Bank (NRAO), West Virginia, sponsored by the Space Science Board of NRAO (#1055, see also #702). |
| 1961 | (Dec.27) | "Extraterrestrial Biochemistry and Biology," all-day sym posium at the Denver meeting of the AAAS, organized by Charles R. Philips of the U.S. Army Chemical Corps Biological Laboratories. |
| 1962 | "Lifeforms in Meteorites" conference (Nature 193(1962):1110). | |
| 1962 | (April 30-May 9) | Life Sciences and Space Research I (#4861) |
| 1962 | (Aug.26) | Mariner 2 launched to Venus. |
| 1962 | (Nov.l-3) | NASA-University Conference on the Science and Technology of Space Exploration, in Chicago, Illinois (NASA SP-11). |
| 1962 | (Dec.14) | First successful flyby of another planet (Mariner 2), first successful flyby of Venus. |
| 1963 | (Feb.26-28) | Symposium on "Current Research in Exobiology," held at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA (#312) |
| 1963 | (June 3-12) | Life Sciences and Space Research TI (#4860) |
| 1964 | "Conference on Remote Investigations of Martian Biology," held at Cambridge, MA, proceedings to be publ. as of 1965 (See in #313) | |
| 1964 | (May 4-5) | "The Search for Extraterrestrial Life," Technical Session II of the First Annual Rocky Mountain Bioengineering Sym posium, USAF Academy, CO. In attendance were Frank B. Salisbury, Dennis Le Croissette, Jerry C. Stuart, S.R. Lipsky, and Richard Weston. (#1100) |
| 1964 | (May 12-16) | Life Sciences and Space Research III (#4859) |
| 1964 | (May 20-23) | First All-Union Conference on Extraterrestrial Civilizations and Interstellar Communication, Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory, Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR (#28) |
| 1964 | (Nov.28) | Mariner 4 launched to Mars. |
| 1964 1965 |
(June)- (Oct.) |
Exobiology Study, chairman Colin S. Pittendrigh and Joshua Lederberg, during meetings held over for than a year at Stanford University and at the Rockefeller Institute in New York, following a request by NASA to the Space Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences.(#313, also #4784) |
| 1965 | Publication of Intelligent Life in the Universe, a unique collaboration between Soviet astrophysicist I.S. Shklovskii and American astronomer Carl Sagan--first attempt at a compendium of xenology in modern times. (#20) | |
| 1965 | (May 11-19) | Life Sciences and Space Research IV (#4845) |
| 1965 | (June-July) | Woods Hole Conference, "Space Research: Directions for the Future" incl. discussion of "exobiology". (#4789) |
| 1965 | (July 14) | First successful flyby of Mars (Mariner 4). |
| 1965 | (Sept.) | Formation of the first CETI Study Group, within the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA). (#2151 & see #5057) |
| 1966 | (Feb. 3) | First soft landing on the Moon, by Luna 9. |
| 1966 | (March) | "Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence," a panel discussion with Harold Wooster, Paul L. Garvin, Lambros D. Callimahos, John C. Lilly, William O. Davis, and Francis J. Heyden, IEEE Military Electronics Conference. |
| 1966 | (April) | Formation of the first IAA CETI Symposium Organizing Committee (#2151 and see also #5057) |
| 1966 | (May 10-18) | Life Sciences and Space Research V (#4844) |
| 1966 | (May 23-25) | "The Search for Extraterrestrial Life," Conference organized for the 12th Annual Meeting of the American Astronautical Society (AAS) in Anaheim, CA. (#730) |
| 1966 | (Oct.10) | First meeting of IAA scientists to discuss CETI problems; the CETI Study Group met in Madrid, Spain. (#2151 Er #5057) |
| 1967 | (May 21-24) | 1st Conference on the Origin of Life, Princeton (#1632) |
| 1967 | (June 12) | Venera 4 launched to Venus. |
| 1967 | (June 14) | Mariner 5 launched to Venus. |
| 1967 | (June 27-28) | Life Sciences and Space Research (COSPAR) VI (#4843) |
| 1967 | (July 10-21) | "Biology in Space," papers presented at the NATO Summer School Conference, held at Cambridge. |
| 1967 | (Oct.18) | Venera 4 returns atmospheric data from Venus. |
| 1967 | (Oct.19) | Mariner 5 returns flyby data from Venus. |
| 1967 | (Nov. 2) | "A Discussion of Anomalous Aspects of Biochemistry of Possible Significance in Discussing the Origins and Distribution of Life," sponsored by the National Committee on Space Research, organized by N.W.Pirie (#1647) |
| 1967 | (Dec.30) | AAS/AAAS Symposium on Exobiology, held in New York (#630). |
| 1967- 1968 |
Condon Study of UFOs, sponsored by the USAF and organized at the University of Colorado (#17). | |
| 1968 | Panel discussion on extraterrestrial life, sponsored by the Hermann
Oberth Society, chaired by Staats with Fasan, Oberth, Kooy, Nieto, Steinhoff,
et al. participating. (Mentioned in #372) |
|
| 1968 | (May 5-8) | 2nd Conference on the Origin of Life, Princeton, NJ (#4219) |
| 1968 | (May 14-16) | Life Sciences and Space Research (COSPAR) VII (#4842) |
| 1969 | (Jan.5) | Venera 5 launched to Venus. |
| 1969 | (Jan.10) | Venera 6 launched to Venus. |
| 1969 | (Feb.25) | Mariner 6 launched to Mars. |
| 1969 | (March 27) | Mariner 7 launched to Mars. |
| 1969 | (May 16) | Venera S makes first successful unmanned landing on another planet (Venus). |
| 1969 | (May 17) | Venera 6 makes another successful landing on Venus. |
| 1969 | (May 11-24) | Life Sciences and Space Research (COSPAR) VIII (#4841) |
| 1969 | (July 20) | Apollo 11 makes first successful manned landing on another planet (Moon). |
| 1969 | (July 31) | Mariner 6 returns flyby data from Mars. |
| 1969 | (Aug.5) | Mariner 7 returns flyby data from Mars. |
| 1969 | (Dec.26-27) | "UFOs--A Scientific Debate," symposium sponsored by the AAAS, Boston, MA. (#18) |
| 1970 | "Interstellar Communication: Scientific Perspectives," a series of lectures held at NASA/Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA (#85). | |
| 1970 | (Feb.26-March 1) | 3rd Conference on the Origin of Life (#4231). |
| 1970 | (April 19-25) | Third International Conference on the Origin of Life, held at Pont-A-Mousson, France (#4220) |
| 1970 | (May 20-29) | Life Sciences and Space Research (COSPAR) IX (#4840) |
| 1970 | (Aug.17) | Venera 7 launched to Venus. |
| 1970 | (Dec.15) | Venera 7 makes successful landing on Venus. |
| 1971 | (April 13-16) | 4th Conference on the Origin of Life (#4232) |
| 1971 | (May 19) | Mars 2 launched to Mars. |
| 1971 | (May 28) | Mars 3 launched to Mars. |
| 1971 | (May 30) | Mariner 9 launched to Mars. |
| 1971 | (June 21-July 2) | Life Sciences and Space Research (COSPAR) X (#4839) |
| 1971 | (Summer) | Project Cyclops Study, NASA/Ames Research Center--first detailed engineering study of a SETI radiotelescope listening system. (#57) |
| 1971 | (Sept.S-11) | "Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence," first joint American-Soviet conference on CETI, held at the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory, Yeravan, USSR, sponsored by NAS and Akaderniia nauk SSSR. (#22) |
| 1971 | (Nov.) | "Mars and the Mind of Man," panel discussion at Cal Tech, including Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Bruce Murray, Carl Sagan, and Walter Sullivan. (#4461) |
| 1971 | (Nov.13) | Mariner 9 returns data from Mars orbit. |
| 1971 | (Nov.27) | Mars 2 returns data from Mars orbit, lander unsuccessful. |
| 1971 | (Dec. 2) | Mars 3 returns data from Mars orbit, lander unsuccessful. |
| 1967- 1972 |
"Interstellar Project," sponsored by the Association in Scotland for Technology and Research in Astronautics (ASTRA), including Duncan Lunan, T.R. Nonweiler, John Macvey, Ed Buckley, Andy Nimmo, Oscar Schwiglhofer, Chris Boyce, Gavin Roberts, John Kelk, and James Campbell. (#1001) | |
| 1972 | Luna 20 returns soil sample from Moon. | |
| 1972 | (March 3) | Pioneer 10 launched to Jupiter, together with a gold-anodized Plaque announcing our presence to the Universe and giving clues to our biology and astronomical location should extraterrestrial spacefarers ever intercept the craft. |
| 1972 | (March 26) | Venera 8 launched to Venus. |
| 1972 | (May 10-24) | Life Sciences and Space Research (COSPAR) XI (#4409) |
| 1972 | (July 22) | Venera 8 lands on Venus and returns data from the surface. |
| 1972 | (Aug. 14-16) | Symposium on Cosmochemistry, held at the Smithsonian Astro physical Observatory, Cambridge, MA, sponsored by the International Association of Geochemistry and Cosmo chemistry. (See in Space Science Reviews 15, Sept. 1973) |
| 1972 | (Oct.) | Founding of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life (ISSOL), Washington, DC. (See in Space Life Sciences 3(Oct. 1972).) |
| 1972 | (Oct.8-l5) | First Intl. Review Meeting on CETI (#3864, #1465-1470). |
| 1972 | (Nov.20) | "Life Beyond Earth and the Mind of Man," symposium held at Boston University, organized by Richard Berendzen with Ashley Montagu, Philip Morrison, Carl Sagan, Krister Stendahl, and George Wald participating. (#24) |
| 1973 | Second Intl. Review Meeting on CETI (#3858, #5057) | |
| 1973 | (April 6) | Pioneer 11 launched to Jupiter and outer planets, carrying another Plaque. |
| 1973 | (May 23-June 5) | Life Sciences and Space Research (COSPAR) XII (#4408) |
| 1973 | (June 25-28) | Fourth International Conference on the Origin of Life, held at Barcelona, Spain; also, first meeting of ISSOL. (#3872) |
| 1973 | (July 21) | Mars 4 launched to Mars. |
| 1973 | (July 25) | Mars 5 launched to Mars. |
| 1973 | (Nov.3) | Mariner 10 launched to Venus and Mercury. |
| 1973 | (Dec. 4) | First successful unmanned flyby of Jupiter by Pioneer 10. |
| 1974 | "The Search for Extraterrestrial Life," panel discussion held in San Francisco as part of the AAAS Annual Meeting, for the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, including George B. Field, Herbert Gursky, Donald W. Goldsmith, Harold P. Kline, and Carl Sagan. (#5226) | |
| 1974 | "Symposium on Extraterrestrial Communities," a discussion of living in space habitats, part of the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association. (See #630) | |
| 1974 | J. Allen Hynek founds the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS), in Evanston, Illinois--first attempt to establish a full-time scientific organization exclusively devoted to the study of extraterrestrial life and the UFO phenomenon. | |
| 1974 | (Jan.) | Mars 4 and Mars 5 return data from Mars orbit, lander unsuccessful. |
| 1974 | (Feb.5) | Mariner 10 returns data from Venus after successful flyby. |
| 1974 | (March) | "The CETI Program," meeting sponsored by the Board of the Scientific Council on the Radio Astronomy Problem Area, Academy of Sciences, USSR. (#1480) |
| 1974 | (March 29) | First successful unmanned flyby of Mercury, by Mariner 10. |
| 1974 | (May 2) | "The Recognition of Alien Life," organized by N.W.Pirie for the Royal Society, London, also with Carl Sagan, C.H. Waddington, P.H. Gregory, J.E. Lovelock, I.R. Kaplan, P.C. Sylvester-Bradley, J. De Ley, and A.G. Cairns-Smith. (#4779-#4788) |
| 1974 | (June) | Life Sciences and Space Research (COSPAR) XIII (#4407) |
| 1974 | (Aug.29-30) | "Workshop on Extraterrestrial Civilizations," organized by P.A. Sturrock, Stanford University. (#1448) |
| 1974 | (Sept.) | IAA CETI Standing Committee formed. (#2151, #5057) |
| 1974 | (Oct.) | "Chemical Evolution of the Giant Planets," three-day symposium sponsored by the Laboratory of Chemical Evolution, Uni versity of Maryland. (#1996) |
| 1974 | (Oct.4) | Third Intl. Review Meeting on CETI, lAP. (#1142, #1093, #5057) |
| 1974 | (Nov.16) | First radio beacon message from humanity, beamed from Arecibo radiotelescope facility in Puerto Rico to the globular cluster M13. (#1571) |
| 1974 | (Dec.3) | Pioneer 11 returns data from Jupiter after successful flyby. |
| 1975 | Fourth Intl. Review Meeting on CETI, JAF. (#5057) | |
| 1975 | (Jan.22-23) | First Science Workshop on Interstellar Communication, held at NASA?Ames Research Center. (#2865) |
| 1975 | (Feb.) | First National Exosociology Symposium, organized by Richard Yinger, West Palm Beach, FL. (#631) |
| 1975 | (April 24-25) | Second Science Workshop on Interstellar Communication, held at Cal Tach, Pasadena, CA. (#2865) |
| 1975 | (May 7-9) | Princeton/AIAA/NASA joint Conference on Space Manufacturing Facilities and Space Colonization. (#3902) |
| 1975 | (May 29-June 7) | Life Sciences and Space Research (COSPAR) XIV (#4235) |
| 1975 | (June 8) | Venera 9 launched to Venus. |
| 1975 | (June 14) | Venera 10 launched to Venus. |
| 1975 | (Aug.20) | Viking 1 launched to Mars, carrying the first experimental xenobiology package ever sent to another planet. |
| 1975 | (Sept.9) | Viking 2 launched to Mars. |
| 1975 | (Sept. 15-16) | Third Science Workshop on Interstellar Communication, held at NASA/Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA. (#2865) |
| 1975 | (Oct.22) | First photographs from the surface of Venus, from Venera 9. |
| 1975 | (Oct.25) | More photographs from the surface of Venus, from Venera 10. |
| 1975 | (Nov.24-25) | Workshop on Evolution of Intelligent Species and Technological Civilizations,
at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford,
CA, chaired by Joshua Lederberg. (#3241) |
| 1975 | (Dec. 3-5) | Fourth Science Workshop on Interstellar Communication, held at Arecibo, Cerromar Beach Hotel, Puerto Rico. (#2865) |
| 1976 | "Man and Space" Conference, USSR. (#3906) | |
| 1976 | (Feb.21) | Second National Exosociology Symposium, organized by Richard Yinger, South Palm Beach, FL. (#631) |
| 1976 | (Feb.l8-24) | "Symposium on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence," held in Boston, MA, during annual meeting of AAAS. (#2389) |
| 1976 | (March 22-23) | Fifth Science Workshop on Interstellar Communication, held at NASA/Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA. (#2865) |
| 1976 | (March 24-25) | First Extrasolar Planetary Detection Workshop, held at the University of California at Santa Cruz. (#2865) |
| 1976 | (May 4) | LAGEOS Earth-orbiter with 10-million-year lifetime carries Pangea Plaque that may survive humanity and tell the finders when we launched the satellite. |
| 1976 | (May 20-21) | Second Extrasolar Planetary Detection Workshop, held at NASA/Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA. (#2865) |
| 1976 | (May 24-26) | Jupiter Science Symposium, NASA/Ames Research Center. (#2091) |
| 1976 | (May 27) | SETI Meeting, held at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. (#3142) |
| 1976 | (June 2-3) | Sixth Science Workshop on Interstellar Communication, held at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. (#2865) |
| 1976 | (June 8-19) | Life Sciences and Space Research (COSPAR) XV (#4233) |
| 1976 | (June-Aug.) | "Project Orion: A Method for Detecting Extrasolar Planets," a NASA/ASEE/Ames Research Center Summer Study. (#2200) |
| 1976 | (July 20) | First successful unmanned landing on Mars, by Viking 1. First experimental tests to determine whether there is life on Mars. |
| 1976 | (Aug.) | Luna 24 returns soil and core sample from the Moon. |
| 1976 | (Sep.33 | Viking 2 lands on Mars, tests for life but finds none. |
| 1976 | (Oct. 10-16) | Fifth Intl. Review Meeting of CETI, IAF. (#2151, #5057) |
| 1977 | Sixth Intl. Review Meeting of CETI, IAF. | |
| 1977 | (Feb.24-25) | "The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence," symposium held at Ames Research Center, organized by FAAST/AIAA (#2160) |
| 1977 | (April) | Fifth International Conference on the Origin of Life, held at Kyoto, Japan. (#3296) |
| 1977 | (April 23-24) | Third National Exosociology Conference, organized by Richard Yinger, South Palm Beach, FL. (#631) |
| 1973 1977 |
(Feb.)- (April) |
Project Daedalus, the first serious engineering feasibility study of the design and operation of an unmanned inter stellar probe, sponsored by the British Interplanetary Society. (#2953) |
| 1977 | (May 1) | "Exobiology Symposium," held at Cal. State Hayward. (#2160) |
| 1977 | (June 7-18) | Life Sciences and Space Research (COSPAR) XVI (#4234) |
| 1977 | (Aug.20) | Voyager 2 launched to Jupiter and the outer planets. |
| 1977 | (Sept.53 | Voyager 1 launched to Jupiter and the outer planets. |
| 1977 | (Oct.18-20) | Conference on Space Industrialization, held at the 23rd Annual AAS Meeting in San Francisco. |
| 1978 | (May 20) | Pioneer Venus Orbiter launched to Venus. |
| 1978 | (May 29-June 10) | Life Sciences and Space Research (COSPAR) XVII (#4406) |
| 1978 | (Aug.83 | Pioneer Venus Multiprobe Bus launched to Venus. |
| 1978 | (Sept.9) | Venera 11 launched to Venus. |
| 1078 | (Sept. 14) | Venera 12 launched to Venus. |
| 1978 | (Sept. 19-20) | First Congressional Hearings on SEll, with testimony given by Richard
Berendzen, Philip Morrison, Noel Hinners, George C. Pimentel, A.G.W.
Cameron, David S. Heeschen, and Bernard M. Oliver. (#3286) |
| 1978 | (Oct.1-8) | Seventh Intl. Review Meeting of CETI, IAF. (#3758) |
| 1978 | (Aug.23 | International Scientific Radio Union (URSI), "Conference on SETI," held at Helsinki, Finland, organized by K.I. Kellerman, N.S. Kardashev, with B.M. Oliver, S. Gulkis, J. Tarter, F. Drake, F. Biraud, R. Wielebinski, J.Seiradakis, M. Morimoto, W. Sullivan III, S. Gorgolewski, and B. F. Burke participating. (Cosmic Search (Fall, 1979).) |
| 1978 | (Dec.43 | Pioneer Venus Orbiter arrives in Venus orbit. |
| 1978 | (Dec.93 | Pioneer Venus Multiprobe returns atmospheric entry and surface data from Venus. |
| 1978 | (Dec.21) | Venera 11 returns surface data from Venus. |
| 1978 | (Dec.25) | Venera 12 returns surface data from Venus. |
| 1979 | (March 5) | Voyager 1 flyby of Jupiter system. |
| 1979 | (May-June) | Life Sciences and Space Research (COSPAR) XVIII |
| 1979 | (June 19-20) | "Conference on Life in the Universe," held at NASA/Ames Research Center. (#4952, #5191) |
| 1979 | (July 10) | Voyager 2 flyby of the Jupiter system. |
| 1979 | (Aug.15) | "Strategies for the Search for Life in the Universe," held in Montreal, Canada, organized by Michael Pappagiannis, sponsored by the International Astronomical Union. (#5187) |
| 1979 | (Sept.13 | First successful unmanned flyby of Saturn, by Pioneer 11. |
| 1979 | (Sept.16-22) | Eighth Intl. Review Meeting of CETI, IAF. (CS Win. 80:33) (#5511) |
| 1979 | (Nov. 2-3) | "Where Are They: A Symposium on the Implications of Our Failure to Observe Extraterrestrials," conference held at College Park, MD, organized by Michael H. Hart, Ben Zuckerman, and Michael Pappagiannis. (#5100) (#5513) |
| 1979 | (Nov. 19-21) | "Life in the Universe," meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. (CS Win. 80:33) (#5513)(#6297) |
| 1980 | (May-June) | Life Sciences and Space Research (COSPAR) XIX |
| 1980 | (Sept. 21-28) | Ninth Intl. Review Meeting of CETI, IAF. |
| 1980 | (Nov.12) | Voyager 1 flyby of Saturn system. |
| 1981 | (Aug.27) | Voyager 2 flyby of Saturn system. |
Last updated on 6 December 2008