GALAXY QUEST

As the world’s richest invest in space travel, we ask some Generation T and Tatler 500 listers whether they think there is life out there and what that might mean for the future of the human race

RUTH CHAO

Designsavvy Ruth is founder of her eponymous creative and design studio, which works with some of the city’s hippest brands. Given that our Earth is only a speck in the vastness of space, 91 billion light years large, it is an intriguing thought, with high probability, I dare add, that other life forms exist elsewhere in our universe. If Stephen Hawking’s theory that humanity has only 100 years left on Earth stands true, then presumably a portion of humans would leave Earth at a point in time to populate an alternate planet, in which case Darwin’s natural selection may create a whole new breed of human. Either that or we take better care of our Mother Earth.

ARTHUR LAW

Arthur is a co-founder of Hong Kong’s coolest venture capital firm, Vectr Ventures, which has interests in everything from tech companies to virtual reality goggles. I don’t think we’re alone in the universe. It’s simply far too big (or we’re far too small) for Earth organisms to be the only living, breathing, functioning organisms in the entirety of what’s beyond us and still 99 per cent unknown. I think this means, given our ever-increasing technological levels, we will reach a point where either by travel (less likely) or by sending long-range probes or other beacons to gauge lifeforms in other solar systems and galaxies, we will confirm that there is indeed life. And we can hope to not go through what the world went through in Independence Day or The Avengers.

ARTHUR LAM

Arthur is the founder of Hong Kong-listed Synergy Group, a clean energy company. Before switching to mechanical engineering at university, he studied aerospace engineering. I definitely think we are not alone in the universe. Compare the history of the human race to the more than 10-billion-year history of the universe—i don’t think it is statistically possible that life forms could exist only on Earth. I wouldn’t reject the possibility of living on another planet. But if we don’t act now, we might never have the chance to even consider this. The future of the human race could be relatively short— potentially just one or two more generations—as we are drawing on more energy than the Earth could ever sustain.

MIRAYEH

Given her love of travel and penchant for fast cars, it’s no surprise that Mira is an enthusiastic supporter of space exploration. I choose to believe that we are not alone in the universe, even if there is no proof of life now. I fully support the space exploration programmes. I am a space sci-fi fan. I always dream of a place as good as earth for the human race in the future.

SEANDAVIES LEE-

Sean, CEO of VR agency Awethentic Studio, is an avid conservationist, photographer and television presenter whose shows have appeared on National Geographic, Channel News Asia and TVB. I don’t think we are alone in the universe. Statistically speaking there is strong evidence to show there are other life forms out there. I believe the universe is too big to deny the possibility that other life forms exist beyond planet Earth. If there is a higher life form, it could potentially be a threat to the survival of humanity, as a populated universe may mean a number of species and civilisations far beyond what we could fathom. To add to that, there would most likely be a battle for colonisation and resources, which would accelerate the destruction of our planet.

PHILIP LIANG

Philip is the founder and chairman of tech company General Sensing and a founding member of the Smart Cities group at the MIT Media Lab, from which he holds a master’s degree. I think the sheer size of the universe almost guarantees the existence of life. The question is how much of the life is intelligent. Even if there is intelligent life, we have yet to solve how to communicate in a method which is faster than light, making communications rather difficult. On the other hand, at some point our first radio/tv signals may reach other civilisations, helping them to learn and watch the progress of our own civilisation. The initial data we have from Europa [one of Jupiter’s moons] suggests there may be life below the ice. We live in exciting times.

The carbon footprint of a human is massive. Combine that with the risk of war and the fact that it only takes somebody pushing one button to annihilate the planet. Thus, it’s feasible to say that being an interplanetary species is essential to the survival of the human race. By lowering the cost of access to space and removing the government aspect, as companies like Spacex and Blue Origin are doing, this puts us on a path to eventually colonising Mars. Although the exciting part of this is the short-term benefit, companies like Oneweb and Spacex are now sending up constellations of low earth orbit satellites to give high-speed internet to the world. Imagine that you can be in the middle of the Congo and getting the same Khan Academy lesson as a student in Manhattan. Not to mention the increased options not just for space tourism but also going through low Earth to reach a destination—imagine Hong Kong to New York in one hour.

ZEMAN JONATHAN

Drawn towards anything related to technology, media or entertainment, Jonathan is the CEO of the Lan Kwai Fong Group. I do not think we are alone in the universe. I believe it is very likely that there is some other kind of life form out there on another planet. That life may not necessarily look like life as we know it. Recent discoveries such as Earth-like planets or planets that could possibly support life, in addition to the discovery of further evidence of water on our moon and on Mars and other planets, makes this belief of life out there all the more strong.

The future of the human race depends on a few factors. One is that we don’t end up blowing ourselves up. Another is our ability to colonise other planets and parts of space. If we can figure out how to do this, then there is some hope for the human race. However, as other inhabitable planets are light years away, colonisation where we find a new planet on which to relocate the human race is not really feasible. But finding small corners of our solar system where certain members of the human race can escape to in times of trouble or calamity could be very possible. The last factor is the alien factor. If there really is intelligent life out there and they end up discovering us, then things could get interesting. Either we go the way of the Incas, or aliens bring us more knowledge and more technology.