When it comes to looking for life on extra-solar planets, scientists rely on what is known as the “low-hanging fruit” approach. In lieu of being able to observe these planets directly or up close, they are forced to look for “biosignatures” – substances that indicate that life could exist there. Given that Earth is the only planet (that we know of) that can support life, these include carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and water.
However, while the presence of these elements are a good way of gauging “habitability”, they are not necessarily indications that extra-terrestrial civilizations exist. Hence why scientists engaged in the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) also keep their eyes peeled for “technosignatures”. Targeting the Kepler field, a team of scientists recently conducted a study that examined 14 planetary systems for indications of intelligent life.
VanderSat came out of stealth with a satellite data analysis service for the agriculture sector in January after receiving €1.34 million ($1.6m) in grant funding from the European Commission late last year.
Orthos Ventures sleept als eerste business angel seed regeling in de wacht. Het ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat (EZK) stelt dit jaar 10 miljoen euro beschikbaar voor private fondsen die geld willen investeren in startups en het innovatieve MKB. Deze zogenoemde business angels kunnen per fonds maximaal 1 miljoen euro lenen van de overheid.