Can we figure any of these things out?

R_star -- no problem.

f_planets -- Good progress being made.

n_hab -- Progress being made.

f_life -- Astrobiology experiments? Miller-Urey?

f_intel -- How would we find this out?

f_techn -- How would we find this out?

L -- How would we find this out?

The Drake equation is obviously a combination of astronomy, biology, chemistry, sociology, and perhaps a healthy dose of science fiction.

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