Our thoughts of life elsewhere tend be skewed toward versions of ourselves.
From film, Chariots of the Gods
“Face” on Mars
Crop circle in England
Although it’s highly unlikely that whatever is out there will be much like us, the truth is it’s all that we know. 
To imagine what might be out there, we need to break through to this reflection.
Only then can we start to picture what might be on the other side.