Russian billionaire investor Yuri Milner believes that humans are not the only living creatures in the universe. Not only that, but Milner plans to drop a whopping $100 million just to explore this notion.
On Monday, Milner announced at The Royal Society in London that he would fund the search for extraterrestrial life over the next ten years.
The project dubbed "Breakthrough Listen" was announced alongside Stephen Hawking, whom Yuri Milner coins as the "ideological leader" of the venture.
"Breakthrough Listen" aims to examine one billion stars around the earth along with 100 galaxies that are found beyond the Milky Way with a team of 25 researchers.
Not only that, but the project will also make use of two massive radio telescopes, and another telescope that is "sensitive to laser communication coming from the galaxy around us," as per Business Insider UK.
One telescope that will be used for the project is called the "Green Bank Telescope," which is located in West Virginia. The telescope placed in the Northern Hemisphere spans 2.3 acres. The telescope is so sensitive that cellphones are not allowed within a 100-mile radius.
Meanwhile, the "Parkes Telescope" in Australia will also be used for the endeavor, and boasts of a 64-meter diameter.
There's also the "Lick Observatory" telescope in California, which is intended to find messages sent via laser from the Milky Way.
The telescopes will be rented out and will be directed at areas in the cosmos that are likely to have alien life, while researchers analyze the results obtained from the devices.
"We have a responsibility to not stop searching. It should always be happening in the background. This is the biggest question. We should be listening," Milner told The New York Times.
Yuri Milner even notes that the data and software will be shared with the public, so that others can provide input on the findings. He further states that the "Breakthrough Listen" team will be watching the skies 10 times more than it has ever had.
53-year-old Yuri Milner was able to source his wealth and funds for the project through early investments in Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, and Groupon, among many other Internet-based companies.
