An essay by Winston Churchill, written in 1939 and revised in 1950, has been rediscovered, and reveals how the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom—who was also a science enthusiast—hypothesized on the possibility of life in the universe in much the same way that astrobiologists have today.

This connection was made by Mario Livio, astrophysicist and author, who examined the manuscript housed in the US National Churchill Museum archives and published his discoveries in Nature.

Livio outlines Churchill’s essay, entitled “Are We Alone in the Universe?”, showing how the statesman’s thoughts on the search for “highly-organised life” began with the presence of water, expanded to regions that might allow for the retention of planetary water and atmospheres (what scientists today would call habitable zones), and led to Mars and Venus as planets in our Solar System with the proper gravity and distance from our Sun to potentially harbor life. Churchill envisioned that in the not-so-distant future travel to the moon, Venus, or Mars would be possible, and he also considered the possibility of there being other planetary systems with extrasolar planets the right sizes and distances from their suns to maintain habitable conditions.

“Hundreds of thousands of nebulae, each containing thousands and millions of suns,” he writes, “the odds are enormous that there must be immense numbers which possess planets whose circumstances would not render life impossible.”

His views align with several research angles pursued in modern times. Scientists have explored the presence of water on ancient Venus, Mars, Europa, and other ocean worlds. Missions to discover the habitability of Mars are underway, and astrobiologists continue to hone their search for habitable exoplanets. The essay is also discussed with viewpoints from astrobiologists in Popular Science.