Many researchers who study the origins, evolution, and distribution of life in the universe (astrobiology) believe we are on the brink of one of the most important discoveries in human history.  As NASA’s chief scientist recently announced: “I think we're going to have strong indications of life beyond Earth within a decade, and I think we're going to have definitive evidence within 20 to 30 years.”  If so, humanity will soon confront a series of complex challenges that cannot be resolved without strong input from disciplines beyond the sciences. While NASA’s and the nascent European vision for astrobiology are far ranging and include broad questions about the future of life in the universe, these have so far received less attention than they deserve.  SoCIA 2016 is designed to help address this deficit, fostering a wider conversation and perhaps even sowing the seeds for a new academic society.  Some of the questions in need of further exploration include:

• What is life? 
• What are our ethical obligations to extraterrestrial life?  To non-living features of extraterrestrial environments?
• How should we utilize space-based resources and/or colonize space, if at all? 
• Are there truly universal principles (of biology, psychology, morality, etc.) that might apply to life elsewhere in the universe?
• What impact would the discovery of extraterrestrial life have on human society?
• Is astrobiology a science, a proto-science or a speculative enterprise?
• What can be learned from history concerning the challenges we will face and how best to address them? From literary portrayals?