Hawking launches quest to find life on other planets

Physicist Stephen Hawking has teamed up with a Russian billionaire to launch a new quest to discover life on other planets.

The celebrated scientist has given his backing to Yuri Milner’s Breakthrough Initiatives project, which will provide $100 million over the next decade to those searching for extraterrestrial intelligence.

Mr Milner, an entrepreneur who made his fortune through investments in technology companies such as Facebook, said he will harness the innovation of Silicon Valley to scan the skies for signs of life, including searching the entire Milky Way and 100 nearby galaxies The Breakthrough Listen branch of the project will use the world’s finest telescopes to carry out state-of-the-art radio and optical surveys.