Caleb Scharf
@calebscharf.bsky.social
Thinker, writer, sometimes both at the same time. Senior Scientist for Astrobiology at NASA Ames. Personal account, anything expressed here is my fault alone.
Pinned
Is Colonizing Space the Next Stage of Human Evolution?
Life expanded from tidal pools to forests to great cities. The next step is space.
time.com
Fun little conversation with Jeffrey Kluger at TIME about The Giant Leap and the future of space exploration is now available. (spoiler: space is undoubtedly part of our future, but it could be a slow and tricky story): time.com/7326642/colo...
Reposted by Caleb Scharf
ICYMI: Last week, @calebscharf.bsky.social asked us to imagine space exploration as life’s next "Giant Leap" during our most recent #NeighborhoodLecture.
We pulled out 5 of the most mind-blowing ideas and posted the full recording here.👇🤯
carnegiescience.edu/five-ways-ca...
We pulled out 5 of the most mind-blowing ideas and posted the full recording here.👇🤯
carnegiescience.edu/five-ways-ca...
Five ways Caleb Scharf’s "The Giant Leap" might rewire how you think about life
At a recent Neighborhood Lecture, NASA astrobiologist Caleb Scharf invited audiences to see space exploration not as a race to new worlds, but as biology in motion—life extending its reach beyond Eart...
carnegiescience.edu
November 13, 2025 at 4:58 PM
ICYMI: Last week, @calebscharf.bsky.social asked us to imagine space exploration as life’s next "Giant Leap" during our most recent #NeighborhoodLecture.
We pulled out 5 of the most mind-blowing ideas and posted the full recording here.👇🤯
carnegiescience.edu/five-ways-ca...
We pulled out 5 of the most mind-blowing ideas and posted the full recording here.👇🤯
carnegiescience.edu/five-ways-ca...
New video! My full presentation about The Giant Leap to a live audience at @carnegiescience.bsky.social is now online! We grappled with science, philosophy, and the meaning of life! www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG1V...
The Giant Leap
YouTube video by Carnegie Science
www.youtube.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:43 PM
New video! My full presentation about The Giant Leap to a live audience at @carnegiescience.bsky.social is now online! We grappled with science, philosophy, and the meaning of life! www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG1V...
Reposted by Caleb Scharf
Now on @sciam.bsky.social: In his new book, The Giant Leap, NASA astrobiologist @calebscharf.bsky.social says the fate of life on Earth may hinge on leaving our planet behind.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-s...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-s...
Is Space the Place for Earth’s Next Evolutionary Leap?
In a new book, NASA astrobiologist Caleb Scharf says the fate of life on Earth may hinge on leaving our planet behind
www.scientificamerican.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Now on @sciam.bsky.social: In his new book, The Giant Leap, NASA astrobiologist @calebscharf.bsky.social says the fate of life on Earth may hinge on leaving our planet behind.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-s...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-s...
Simultaneously beautiful and the stuff of small human nightmares...
A pitch-black cave in the Balkans is home to what appears to be the world’s largest spider web, which researchers say is a singular work of cooperation by two usually-hostile species of spider. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/s...
November 9, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Simultaneously beautiful and the stuff of small human nightmares...
A topic that has come up in interviews and presentations for my new book The Giant Leap is reconceptualizing the notion of habitability for a planetary system (like ours) where life disperses from its point of origin. I use this graphic to help discuss: [1/n]
November 9, 2025 at 9:22 PM
A topic that has come up in interviews and presentations for my new book The Giant Leap is reconceptualizing the notion of habitability for a planetary system (like ours) where life disperses from its point of origin. I use this graphic to help discuss: [1/n]
Indeed…definitely the B Ark
Speaking as a spacecraft engineer, the thing that gets me about Loeb's interpretations is that his alien engineers are insultingly incompetent.
RCS thruster plumes visible from the other side of the solar system, making no difference in the trajectory?!
And 'Oumuamua was a *terrible* solar sail.
RCS thruster plumes visible from the other side of the solar system, making no difference in the trajectory?!
And 'Oumuamua was a *terrible* solar sail.
November 8, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Indeed…definitely the B Ark
A new, fun conversation with Lyn Ware Peek at Cool Science Radio for NPR's KPCW all about space exploration and my new book The Giant Leap: www.kpcw.org/show/cool-sc...
How life evolves beyond Earth
Astrobiologist Caleb Scharf discusses his new book, "The Giant Leap: Why Space Is the Next Frontier in the Evolution of Life," exploring how humanity’s expansion into space represents a profound new p...
www.kpcw.org
November 8, 2025 at 7:38 PM
A new, fun conversation with Lyn Ware Peek at Cool Science Radio for NPR's KPCW all about space exploration and my new book The Giant Leap: www.kpcw.org/show/cool-sc...
Ah yes, back to the horrors of NYC 🤣
November 8, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Ah yes, back to the horrors of NYC 🤣
Congratulations Jason! Amazing!
November 4, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Congratulations Jason! Amazing!
I'm excited to be heading to DC later this week to give a public talk at the amazing @carnegiescience.bsky.social about the ideas in my new book The Giant Leap! carnegiescience.edu/giant-leap-nls
The Giant Leap
NASA Astrobiologist and author Caleb Scharf explores how humanity’s expanding reach into space marks a pivotal moment in life’s evolution—revealing what it means for a species to step beyond its home ...
carnegiescience.edu
November 4, 2025 at 3:08 PM
I'm excited to be heading to DC later this week to give a public talk at the amazing @carnegiescience.bsky.social about the ideas in my new book The Giant Leap! carnegiescience.edu/giant-leap-nls
The solar system represents scales of space, causal connection, and resources that life on Earth has not encountered before. What will this do to us and to all life as our efforts to explore and experiment in space expand? This is a major theme of The Giant Leap.
November 4, 2025 at 3:06 PM
The solar system represents scales of space, causal connection, and resources that life on Earth has not encountered before. What will this do to us and to all life as our efforts to explore and experiment in space expand? This is a major theme of The Giant Leap.
The solar system represents scales of space, causal connection, and resources that life on Earth has not encountered before. What will this do to us and to all life as our efforts to explore and experiment in space expand? This is a major theme of The Giant Leap.
November 4, 2025 at 3:03 PM
The solar system represents scales of space, causal connection, and resources that life on Earth has not encountered before. What will this do to us and to all life as our efforts to explore and experiment in space expand? This is a major theme of The Giant Leap.
Wow, the 10,000 th Starlink satellite was recently launched. The growth of space enterprise is hard to ignore - and is something I discuss in my new book The Giant Leap in the much larger context of the history of life on Earth
November 1, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Wow, the 10,000 th Starlink satellite was recently launched. The growth of space enterprise is hard to ignore - and is something I discuss in my new book The Giant Leap in the much larger context of the history of life on Earth
Reposted by Caleb Scharf
The two physicists who detected the neutrino in 1956, Frederick Reines and Clyde Cowan, had wanted to put their detector 50 metres from the destination of an atomic bomb! In the end, they settled for a nuclear reactor.
www.hive.co.uk/Product/Marc...
www.hive.co.uk/Product/Marc...
November 1, 2025 at 3:45 PM
The two physicists who detected the neutrino in 1956, Frederick Reines and Clyde Cowan, had wanted to put their detector 50 metres from the destination of an atomic bomb! In the end, they settled for a nuclear reactor.
www.hive.co.uk/Product/Marc...
www.hive.co.uk/Product/Marc...
Reposted by Caleb Scharf
The man who predicted the existence of neutrinos, Wolfgang Pauli in 1930, bet a case of champagne that nobody would ever detect them.
“I have done a terrible thing, I have postulated a particle that cannot be detected”
- Wolfgang Pauli
www.hive.co.uk/Product/Marc...
“I have done a terrible thing, I have postulated a particle that cannot be detected”
- Wolfgang Pauli
www.hive.co.uk/Product/Marc...
November 1, 2025 at 3:40 PM
The man who predicted the existence of neutrinos, Wolfgang Pauli in 1930, bet a case of champagne that nobody would ever detect them.
“I have done a terrible thing, I have postulated a particle that cannot be detected”
- Wolfgang Pauli
www.hive.co.uk/Product/Marc...
“I have done a terrible thing, I have postulated a particle that cannot be detected”
- Wolfgang Pauli
www.hive.co.uk/Product/Marc...
Reposted by Caleb Scharf
For the 1st time in 4 billion years, life has escaped its home planet!
Join NASA Ames astrobiologist @calebscharf.bsky.social as we venture into the void to see how space exploration is reshaping our next great leap.
🗓️ 11/6 | 6:30 PM EST
📍 Carnegie Science, NW DC & Online
🎟️ RSVP → bit.ly/4qxBBT7
Join NASA Ames astrobiologist @calebscharf.bsky.social as we venture into the void to see how space exploration is reshaping our next great leap.
🗓️ 11/6 | 6:30 PM EST
📍 Carnegie Science, NW DC & Online
🎟️ RSVP → bit.ly/4qxBBT7
The Giant Leap
NASA Astrobiologist and author Caleb Scharf explores how humanity’s expanding reach into space marks a pivotal moment in life’s evolution—revealing what it means for a species to step beyond its home ...
bit.ly
October 31, 2025 at 2:52 PM
For the 1st time in 4 billion years, life has escaped its home planet!
Join NASA Ames astrobiologist @calebscharf.bsky.social as we venture into the void to see how space exploration is reshaping our next great leap.
🗓️ 11/6 | 6:30 PM EST
📍 Carnegie Science, NW DC & Online
🎟️ RSVP → bit.ly/4qxBBT7
Join NASA Ames astrobiologist @calebscharf.bsky.social as we venture into the void to see how space exploration is reshaping our next great leap.
🗓️ 11/6 | 6:30 PM EST
📍 Carnegie Science, NW DC & Online
🎟️ RSVP → bit.ly/4qxBBT7
Reposted by Caleb Scharf
Teaching chatbots to say “I don’t know” could curb hallucinations.
It could also break #AI’s business model. https://scim.ag/49cPY9d
It could also break #AI’s business model. https://scim.ag/49cPY9d
AI hallucinates because it’s trained to fake answers it doesn’t know
Teaching chatbots to say “I don’t know” could curb hallucinations. It could also break AI’s business model
scim.ag
October 30, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Teaching chatbots to say “I don’t know” could curb hallucinations.
It could also break #AI’s business model. https://scim.ag/49cPY9d
It could also break #AI’s business model. https://scim.ag/49cPY9d
Potentially contentious idea: space exploration is less about ignoring Earthly problems and more about giving ourselves a chance to do better...
October 30, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Potentially contentious idea: space exploration is less about ignoring Earthly problems and more about giving ourselves a chance to do better...
Looking forward to it!
Hey, DC area!
Come hear NASA astrobiologist @calebscharf.bsky.social talk about his new book "The Giant Leap: Why Space is the Next Frontier in the Evolution of Life" at @carnegiescience.bsky.social on November 6!
You might even take home your very own copy of the book!
Come hear NASA astrobiologist @calebscharf.bsky.social talk about his new book "The Giant Leap: Why Space is the Next Frontier in the Evolution of Life" at @carnegiescience.bsky.social on November 6!
You might even take home your very own copy of the book!
The Giant Leap
NASA Astrobiologist and author Caleb Scharf explores how humanity’s expanding reach into space marks a pivotal moment in life’s evolution—revealing what it means for a species to step beyond its home ...
carnegiescience.edu
October 27, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Looking forward to it!
Major events in the history of life are often about new possibilities for evolution. In The Giant Leap I contend that the emergence of space exploration is just one such event.
October 27, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Major events in the history of life are often about new possibilities for evolution. In The Giant Leap I contend that the emergence of space exploration is just one such event.
I'm going to be on Elevation with John Kelly tomorrow on U2 X-Radio (yep, that U2, on SiriusXM) talking about my new book The Giant Leap!
October 25, 2025 at 6:55 PM
I'm going to be on Elevation with John Kelly tomorrow on U2 X-Radio (yep, that U2, on SiriusXM) talking about my new book The Giant Leap!
"Certainly human exploration beyond Earth orbit ground to a halt after Apollo. But the rest of space exploration has just barreled ahead." ...and that story is part of The Giant Leap (quote from my new interview at TIME): time.com/7326642/colo...
Is Colonizing Space the Next Stage of Human Evolution?
Life expanded from tidal pools to forests to great cities. The next step is space.
time.com
October 24, 2025 at 7:46 PM
"Certainly human exploration beyond Earth orbit ground to a halt after Apollo. But the rest of space exploration has just barreled ahead." ...and that story is part of The Giant Leap (quote from my new interview at TIME): time.com/7326642/colo...
Reposted by Caleb Scharf
@calebscharf.bsky.social’s last book, “The Ascent of Information,” literally changed my career trajectory. I can’t wait to find out where “The Giant Leap” will take me 🚀
October 23, 2025 at 12:13 AM
@calebscharf.bsky.social’s last book, “The Ascent of Information,” literally changed my career trajectory. I can’t wait to find out where “The Giant Leap” will take me 🚀
"People born many generations after us will perhaps have the option to decide, do I want to stay on Earth, or do I want to go somewhere else? I don't know what their choices would be."
From my interview with Jeff Kluger at TIME:
time.com/7326642/colo...
From my interview with Jeff Kluger at TIME:
time.com/7326642/colo...
Is Colonizing Space the Next Stage of Human Evolution?
Life expanded from tidal pools to forests to great cities. The next step is space.
time.com
October 24, 2025 at 7:13 PM
"People born many generations after us will perhaps have the option to decide, do I want to stay on Earth, or do I want to go somewhere else? I don't know what their choices would be."
From my interview with Jeff Kluger at TIME:
time.com/7326642/colo...
From my interview with Jeff Kluger at TIME:
time.com/7326642/colo...
Reposted by Caleb Scharf
Excited for this to go live! My in-depth conversation with the amazing @fcain.universetoday.com over at his YouTube channel on my new book The Giant Leap and the nature of space exploration and science... www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt4X...
Why Space Exploration is The Next Frontier in the Evolution of Life
YouTube video by Fraser Cain
www.youtube.com
October 23, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Excited for this to go live! My in-depth conversation with the amazing @fcain.universetoday.com over at his YouTube channel on my new book The Giant Leap and the nature of space exploration and science... www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt4X...