Ann Druyan, the widow of renowned scientist Carl Sagan, and astrophysicist Steven Soter collaborated with Sagan over many years to create the famed television series Cosmos and numerous other projects. Druyan and Soter's latest collaborative project, The Search for Life: Are We Alone? screens at the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York. Narrated by Harrison Ford, the space show simulates a walk on Mars, a flyby of Jupiter's moon Europa, and other excursions with breathtaking realism. According to the New York Times, "the visuals of the Martian landscape surround the audience and create the feeling that, with a step or two, one could be out strolling among the rocks and dust of another world. The illusion is stunning." The Associated Press says, "It's quite a ride." In this interview with Astrobiology at NASA executive producer Kathleen Connell, Druyan and Soter discuss a range of subjects, such as how they depicted the possibilities of life beyond Earth, what the discovery of extraterrestrial life could mean for humanity, and what it was like to work alongside Carl Sagan.
