We have been exploring the universe for millennia (albeit from here on Earth) - all the while speculating about life elsewhere. Where do we stand in this quest? We've performed an initial, but still incomplete reconnaissance of our solar system and have begun to identify other planetary systems. We have peered backward in time across great distances to the earliest days of our Universe while simulating the events of those early times in laboratories here on Earth. We know how to live in space for years at a time, and understand both the norms and extremes wherein life thrives on Earth.

We have thrown our machines across and then out of this solar system, and have sent radio waves outwards, forming an irregular bubble perhaps a hundred light years across in the process. The preparatory work has been completed - we're getting better at finding life - and where to look for it - but we still have much more to learn.

Welcome to Astrobiology.