At this very moment, an advanced alien civilisation may be trying contact Earth.
But despite our best efforts, we could be oblivious to their messages because humanity is not clever enough to pick up the signals.
This is according to Dr Nathalie Cabrol, who is leading the hunt for alien life at the Seti Institute in California.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, Dr Cabrol said we are getting closer to finding both microbial life in our solar system and intelligent life elsewhere.
She believes, in our lifetime, we'll find simple alien organisms close to Earth and a replica of our planet in another galaxy.
Finding intelligent life, however, may not be as easy - largely because of our own limited view of the universe.
'See how much progress we have made in the past 100 years,' said Dr Cabrol.
'If there is a civilisation out there that is only 1,000 years older than we are, who knows what type of technology, or what type of process, they’ve put into communicating with others.
It wouldn't be surprising if that were indeed the case. To read more and view the video, click here.