Yuri Milner, a billionaire who made his fortune through strategic tech investment, is also a passionate science investor. He’s launched various initiatives that invest in space science programmes, support leading researchers, and promote scientific ideas amongst young people. He finances these and other initiatives via his Breakthrough Foundation.
Milner believes humanity should collectively divert greater funding towards fundamental science and space exploration. In his short book Eureka Manifesto: The Mission for Our Civilisation, he explains that investing resources into these fields can help us thrive now and in the future.
Yuri Milner’s Mission for Our Civilisation
As the name suggests, Eureka Manifesto is about the power of scientific discovery and progress. The “mission for our civilisation” in the book’s title refers to Milner’s vision for a global undertaking; a mission to explore and understand our Universe.
Milner believes that deepening our understanding of the Universe through science can help humanity flourish. He explains that science can help us solve some of our biggest challenges, like climate change and energy scarcity. Accelerating science and space exploration could also see humanity one day spread out amongst the stars.
The Key to Unlocking Life’s Mysteries
Eureka Manifesto explores the birth of science and its impact on civilisation before, during, and after the Scientific Revolution. The book touches on key moments throughout history when leaps in scientific understanding brought about changes in the way we live. For instance, the discovery of quantum mechanics has transformed our lives radically.
Milner reveals that scientific and human progress are tightly interlinked: “Science is the only reliable method we have found for predicting the future and gaining some control over nature. If we allow scientific progress to stall, it will ultimately mean the end of our civilisation.”
In particular, Milner advocates for investing in fundamental science research. Research into fundamental fields like cosmology helps further our scientific understanding, without necessarily focusing on real world applications.
“Even so,” Milner writes, “while the fundamental purpose of science is not to solve practical problems, it is still our only hope of solving them. Without science, our advance into the computer age cannot continue.”
Reaching For the Stars
Milner believes fundamental science is “the most fertile ground for transformative discoveries and technologies” that can shape our collective future for the better. Likewise, advancements in space exploration can bring us closer to realising our potential as a spacefaring civilisation.
“One area in particular where progress can be accelerated dramatically is our exploration of the Solar System,” Milner writes. “Humanity’s farthest footprint beyond Earth is on the Moon, where we left it over half a century ago.”
However, the landscape of space exploration is rapidly evolving. In 2021, Harvard Business Review wrote about the dawn of the “commercial space age;” a “new chapter of space flight led by private firms.” Companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin have made significant strides in developing commercial space tourism ventures.
Additionally, government space programmes like NASA have set ambitious goals for exploring more of our Solar System, including robot and human missions to Mars.
These private and public ventures have reignited the public imagination around space exploration. Milner says this “new energy must be sustained and encouraged” if we are to “renew the promise of Gagarin’s flight [into outer space]: that our destiny is to be a galactic civilisation.”
About Yuri Milner’s Breakthrough Foundation
Yuri Milner established the Breakthrough Foundation over a decade ago to help realise the commitments of his Giving Pledge. The organisation funds projects like:
- The Breakthrough Prize. At $3 million, the Breakthrough Prize is the world’s largest scientific award. An annual gala ceremony featuring A-list celebrities and popular musicians celebrates the award winners.
- The Breakthrough Initiatives. These research programmes focus on furthering interstellar travel and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Milner and Stephen Hawking unveiled the first Breakthrough Initiative at the Royal Society in 2015.
- The Breakthrough Junior Challenge. Milner founded this annual, global competition in 2015. The Challenge invites students aged 13-18 to make and submit a short, original video that illuminates a challenging idea in science or maths.
The Breakthrough Foundation has also donated to refugee relief programmes and support for Ukrainian scientists.
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