Astrobiologist and author Caleb Scharf explores a radical idea in his new book, "The Giant Leap: Why Space Is the Next Frontier in the Evolution of Life." Throughout Earth’s history, life has undergone several major transitions — the emergence of cells, the rise of multicellularity, the move from sea to land, and eventually, from land to air. Scharf argues that our journey into space is the next step in that same evolutionary narrative.
Drawing inspiration from Darwin’s voyage on the Beagle, Scharf connects the scientific revolution of understanding evolution to a new kind of transformation: one where life extends its reach beyond a single planet. He examines how technology and biology are now intertwined, forming a new symbiosis that may reshape what it means to be alive.
In conversation, Scharf reflects on how this perspective reframes everything from space colonization and AI to the role of human creativity in shaping life’s future. As the senior scientist for astrobiology at NASA’s Ames Research Center and a former Columbia University researcher, Scharf brings both scientific depth and philosophical insight to one of the biggest questions imaginable — what happens when evolution itself leaves Earth.
