EDITORIAL INFORMATION

This is the second book about extraterrestrial life forms published in this collection. In the first one the possibility of the qualitative leap there is between inanimate matter and life was studied. In this second book the probability of the qualitative leap there is between life without a consciousness and civilization, consisting of conscious individuals, is analyzed. For extraterrestrial life forms to exist, it is necessary that somewhere else in the universe these qualitative leaps that took place on Earth happen once again. Current scientific knowledge shows that the first one is relatively probable, while the second is considerably improbable, though not exactly impossible.

Luis Ruiz de Gopegui has a doctorate in Physics (University of Barcelona) and a master in Communications Engineering (Universidad de Stanford). During the last thirty years he has collaborated, holding posts of responsibility, with numerous space programs at NASA, ESA, INTA, NASDA (Japan) and Glavkosmos (the former Soviet Union), which has allowed him to partake in the missions Apollo, Skylab, Voyager, Apollo-Soyuz, IUE, etc.

(Extracted from the back cover).

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

-Prólogo. Javier Armentia.

-Prefacio.

-Introducción.

-Agradecimientos.

-1-¿Cómo Tendrían que Ser los Extraterrestres?

-2-¿Estamos Solos en el Universo?

-3-La Reunión de Green Bank.

-4-Análisis Probabilístico.

-5-Humanoides y Biología.

-6-Consciencia y Extraterrestres.

-7-El Principio Antrópico.

-8-Principales Investigaciones en Busca de Vida Extraterrestre.

-9-La Importancia de Encontrar Inteligencia Extraterrestre.

-10-Riesgos de los Mensajes a Estrellas Lejanas.

-11-El Fenómeno "OVNI".

-12-Cuatro Anécdotas Sobre Extraterrestres.

-Epílogo 1: Reflexiones Sobre el Ser Humano.

-Epílogo 2: Iniciativa Para un Arca de Noé Galáctica.

-Apéndice 1: La Ecuación de Drake.

-Apéndice 2: Estrellas más Apropiadas Para Trasplantar el Mensaje Genético del Homo Sapiens.

-Vocabulario.

-Indice de Autores.

-Indice de Materias.

OUR REVIEW

Ruiz de Gopegui is a good science writer, as is shown in this book. His plain style allows readers lacking specialized technical knowledge to understand in a very clear way the concepts, sometimes complex, the work displays. The content harbours interesting explanations and speculations on the necessary conditions for a living species to reach a level of intelligence comparable to the human one. Ruiz de Gopegui also deals with sociological questions referring to the possibility of contacting an extraterrestrial civilization, cosmological questions related to the physical probability that such a contact may ever happen, and he also offers a summary of reasoned arguments against the extraterrestrial origin of the "UFO" phenomenon, attributing to it a sociological explanation.

The author not only unfolds general concepts and theories, but also some personal experiences which illustrate the sociological aspects of his work. These being first hand experiences, the anecdotes on extraterrestrial life forms in chapter 12 turn out to be very interesting material.