More than half of those living in the US, UK, and Germany tend to think that we are not alone in the universe, and that those alien civilizations have developed the ability to communicate with distant planets.
But while 52% of British citizens believe in intelligent life, they are much more hesitant about the notion of getting in touch with those extraterrestrials. While 46% supported the idea of reaching out to our cosmic neighbors, 33% said there is no need for communication. Roughly 21% said they were unsure.
Along gender lines, men seem to be more accepting of the idea. While 54% of men think aliens exist and should be contacted, only 40% of women agree.
It's not the first time that people around the globe have pondered whether we're alone in the universe, and a number of scientific projects have been launched to hunt for signs of intelligent life.
You are not alone: most people believe that aliens exist – http://t.co/dU9PfxSRtV pic.twitter.com/eo8D2qOubk
— YouGov (@YouGov) September 24, 2015
Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking, for instance, has teamed up with Russian tycoon Yuri Milner and launched two new attempts to find intelligent alien life. The first, called Breakthrough Message, is an international competition aimed at creating a signal to send from Earth out into the void of space.
The second has been dubbed Breakthrough Listen, and hopes to find any possible evidence of alien beings. Using both the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia and the Parkes Observatory in Australia, the project will listen for alien radio signals.
Then there's the Square Kilometer Array. While the SETI Institute already uses radio telescopes to hunt for artificially constructed signals in the recesses of space, new SKA installations in South Africa and Australia could add to that search in 2018.
In a recent interview, even famed NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden stated his belief that aliens may already be listening in.
When asked why E.T. has not yet tried to reach out to humans, 58% of respondents cited distance as the main reason, while 57% believe our technology is simply not developed enough to communicate with sophisticated, intergalactic beings.
Twenty four percent of E.T. believers agreed with the statement that intelligent life is aware of Earth, but prefers not to contact humanity.
There are also the conspiracy-minded, with 17% of those polled blaming the world's governments for hiding information about alien contact.
