IAU COMMISSION 51
Bioastronomy: Search for Extraterrestrial Life
President: Prof. Stuart Bowyer (acting)
Vice President: Prof. Stuart Bowyer
Organising Committee: Dr. Ivan F. Almar (Hungary), Dr. Fernando R. Colomb (Argentina), Dr. Frank Drake (USA), Dr. Jean Heidmann (France), Dr. Alain Leger (France), Dr. Michel Mayor (Switzerland), Dr. Tobias Owen (USA), Prof. Woodruff Sullivan III (USA), Dr. Jill Tarter (USA), Dr. Kelvin Wellington (Australia).
Bioastronomy: Search for Extraterrestrial Life was established as Commission 51 of the IAU in 1982. The objectives of the commission include: The search for planets around other stars; The search for radio transmissions, intentional or unintentional, of extraterrestrial origin; The search for biologically relevant interstellar molecules and the study of their formation processes; Detection methods for potential spectroscopic evidence of biological activity; The coordination of efforts in all these areas at the international level and the establishment of collaborative programs with other international scientific societies with related interests.