Frank Drake Dies at 92; Learn More About the Founder of Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence and Alien Enthusiast

American astrophysicist, radio Astronomer and founding member of SETI Institute, Frank Drake passed away. He was 92.

The American astrophysicist and radio Astronomer who dedicated his life to the search for extraterrestrial life took his last breath in his home in Aptos, California.

Who Is Frank Drake?

Born in 1930, Drake is one of the principal founders of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). He had a major role in crafting messages sent outside the blue planet, hoping one day an alien civilization would find it.

Eldest in the three siblings, Frank grew up with Baptist beliefs, he had a realization about 'religion's narrow belief shaped mainly whichever world that had begun in;" which later led to his early heart in astronomy.

He went to Cornell University and earned his bachelor's majoring in engineering physics in 1951, and later on, pursued astronomy at Harvard from 1955 until 1958.

One of the profound contributions of Drake in astronomy is a mathematical conclusion called, "Drake Equation," a framework for calculating the number of possible Milky Way civilizations.

In 1974, he crafted the "Arecibo message" a radio signal that beamed to a star cluster 22,000 light years away from earth.

The Drake Equation

His effort to create an estimation of the galactic civilization in the Milky Way galaxy was guided by his developed equation, named after him.

In an interview with National Geographic, Drake's daughter, Nadia said his dad has no idea what the equation will become and its representation.

Frank's Drake equation is presented as N=R⁎ fp nɛ fl fi fc L

where:

N is the number of detectable civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy

R* is the rate at which new stars are a form

fp represents the fraction of stars with host planets

ne stands for the habitable planets per planetary system

fl is the portion of planets where life develops

fi is the fraction of life-containing planets' intelligent development

fc is the fraction of intelligent civilizations with communications technology earth can detect

L is the average length of time the communication that stays detectable

Drake's chapter in the 1965 book "Current Aspects of Exobiology" explores the chances of success in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) from two angles — how common communicative civilizations are in the galaxy and which search techniques are the most likely to succeed, Astrobites reported.

"Contact with another sapient species will have the most profound impact on terrestrial science and philosophy," Drake said.

(Photo : Photo courtesy of SETI Institute)
American astrophysicist, radio Astronomer and founding member of SETI Institute, Frank Drake dies at 92.

ALSO READ: NASA Scientist Finally Decodes Sun's 60-Year-Old Explosive Secret

Frank Drake's Other Notable Contribution

Drake is the other mind in designing the Pioneer Plaque in 1972, an installed picture message in Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 with an illustration of the human sexes, the planetary system that lies under the sun, and the galactic location of the sun.

He served as a technical director in "writing" a "message in the bottle" in the sea of space called the Voyager Golden Record, a compilation of earth's visuals and sounds.

He became the dean of the Division of Natural Science at the University of California in Santa Cruz where he stepped down in 1988 as the head of the division yet continued as a college professor.

In the same year, he was invited to be the president of the board of trustees of SETI Institute where he dedicated his life, later on, he retired from teaching in 1996.

Frank also became a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the National Academy of Arts and Science, Astronomical Society of the Pacific president, National Research Council's Board on Physics and Astronomy president, and became the vice president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.