Earth will receive its first ‘alien’ message in human history this Wednesday.
The message will reportedly be beamed to Earth from a spacecraft that is currently orbiting Mars by the SETI Institute and will be intercepted by three major telescopes on the globe.
While the contents of the message remain unclear, the move represents the first time Earth will receive a message from an alien planet.
The encoded signal will reportedly help scientists prepare for potential contact with alien species in the future.
Besides the contents of the message, it is also unclear what type of signal the SETI Institute will send. It was revealed, however, that the signal will be shared with the general public upon its receipt on Earth.
The transmission will be beamed from the spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet at 3 pm ET on Wednesday. The signal is set to be received on Earth 16 minutes and 180 million miles later.
“Throughout history, humanity has searched for meaning in powerful and transformative phenomena. Receiving a message from an extraterrestrial civilization would be a profoundly transformational experience for all humankind,” Daniela dePaulis, one of the masterminds behind the project, said.
“A Sign in Space offers the unprecedented opportunity to tangibly rehearse and prepare for this scenario through global collaboration, fostering an open-ended search for meaning across all cultures and disciplines.”
The alien signal will be intercepted by three major satellites including Italy’s Medicina Radio Astronomical Station, California’s Allen Telescope Array, and West Virginia’s Robert C. Byrd at the Green Bank Observatory.
After the signal is processed by the scientists, the message will be shared on Open Data Archive and Filecoin.
“Anyone working to decode and interpret the message can discuss the process in the A Sign in Space Discord server,” SETI promises.
“Submissions of findings, thoughts, and artistic and scientific inputs may be made through the dedicated submission form on the project’s website.”
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