By Marbeya Garcia-Bermudez

For years our society has been searching for the unknown. This quest has been long and contains plenty of controversial topics. As of late, alien themed movies have become popular in the cinema world. From Alien to Signs and War of the Worlds, it’s easy to see our obsession and fascination for extraterrestrials and the possibility of their existence.

However, recently the search for life in space has been put on hold because of the recession. Astronomers at SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), located in Northern California, announced that they will have to discontinue using their 40 radio dishes that search the skies for alien signals. The project, which began in October of 2007, has gone into “hibernation” as of April 22nd because of a lack of funding. The institute is in the process of negotiating a partnership with the U.S. Air Force and is hoping to exchange funding for tracking space debris.

SETI has faced its share of criticism for being too “optimistic” or “euphoric” in its research. Additionally, the institute has also been criticized by people who suggest that their practices are a form of pseudoscience. Many scientists have argued that a lack of evidence prevents the theory of extraterrestrial life from being reliable. Coincidentally enough, SETI use to be federally funded but has been privately funded more recently.