--- description: A stirring call to action from many of the world's greatest thinker about the search for intelligence beyond our solar system title: Read the Inspiring Letter from the World’s Greatest Thinkers image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt118bdcdd695037ee/69885b8df887dc6c1be916e5/565700795bd00004_yuri_milne.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Read the Inspiring 'Questions of Existence' Letter from the World’s Greatest Thinkers by [Matt Vella](/author/matt-vella/) ## Matt Vella Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 20, 2015 1:42 PM CUT  DST Global Founder Yuri Milner, Theoretical Physicist Stephen Hawking, Cosmologist and astrophysicist Lord Martin Rees, Chairman Emeritus, SETI Institute Frank Drake, Creative Director of the Interstellar Message, NASA Voyager Ann Druyan and Professor of Astronomy, University of California Geoff Marcy attend a press conference on the Breakthrough Life in the Universe Initiatives. DST Global Founder Yuri Milner, Theoretical Physicist Stephen Hawking, Cosmologist and astrophysicist Lord Martin Rees, Chairman Emeritus, SETI Institute Frank Drake, Creative Director of the Interstellar Message, NASA Voyager Ann Druyan and Professor of Astronomy, University of California Geoff Marcy attend a press conference on the Breakthrough Life in the Universe Initiatives.Stuart C. Wilson—Getty Images for Breakthrough Initiatives by [Matt Vella](/author/matt-vella/) ## Matt Vella Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 20, 2015 1:42 PM CUT On July 20, a consortium of scientists funded by billionaire [investor Yuri Milner](http://time.com/3964238/yuri-milner-breakthrough-listen/ "undefined") announced a $100 million project to scan the universe for signs of intelligent life. Milner, 53, a prescient technology investor, is also a former physicist. The endeavor, named Breakthrough Listen, is being supported by some of the world’s most well-known scientists and thinkers. As part of the announcement, the group release a letter explaining why the search matters and why it must continue. Here is the document in full. --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3964301/breakthrough-listen-letter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3964301/breakthrough-listen-letter/"},"headline":"Read the Inspiring 'Questions of Existence' Letter from the World’s Greatest Thinkers","datePublished":"2015-07-20T13:42:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:06:05.459Z","description":"Why we should be searching for life beyond our solar system","url":"https://time.com/3964301/breakthrough-listen-letter/","keywords":["Tech","Innovation","Science topic","philanthropy"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt118bdcdd695037ee/69885b8df887dc6c1be916e5/565700795bd00004_yuri_milne.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Matt Vella","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/matt-vella/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt118bdcdd695037ee/69885b8df887dc6c1be916e5/565700795bd00004_yuri_milne.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Yuri Milner And Stephen Hawking Host Press Conference On The Breakthrough Life In The Universe Initiatives","caption":"Yuri Milner And Stephen Hawking Host Press Conference On The Breakthrough Life In The Universe Initiatives","creditText":"Stuart C. Wilson—Getty Images for Breakthrough Initiatives","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3964301/breakthrough-listen-letter/","name":"Read the Inspiring 'Questions of Existence' Letter from the World’s Greatest Thinkers"}}]}] ```