Voices
Samantha Lawler, Ph.D.. is a Plaskett Fellow at the NRC Herzberg Astronomy & Astrophysics Research Centre in Victoria, British Columbia. In the fall of 2019, she will be an assistant professor of astronomy at Campion College, University of Regina, Saskatchewan.
Politics & SocietyShort Take
We know of at least 4,000 planets outside our solar system, writes the astronomer Samantha Lawler, but we will not be visiting any of them soon—nor do we know if any are inhabitable. Exploring space teaches us the fragility of Earth.