{"id":160201,"date":"2023-06-03T18:16:17","date_gmt":"2023-06-03T18:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/culture.org\/?p=160201"},"modified":"2023-06-02T14:17:23","modified_gmt":"2023-06-02T14:17:23","slug":"a-glimpse-of-the-extraterrestrial-setis-artistic-experiment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/culture.org\/special-interest\/a-glimpse-of-the-extraterrestrial-setis-artistic-experiment\/","title":{"rendered":"A Glimpse of the Extraterrestrial: SETI\u2019s Artistic Experiment"},"content":{"rendered":" \r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n
<\/p>\n
On May 24, the world bore witness to an extraordinary experiment that tested our ability to understand extraterrestrial communication.<\/span><\/p>\n The European Space Agency\u2019s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) transmitted an encrypted message to Earth at 3:00 p.m. ET, simulating an alien signal from Mars.<\/span><\/p>\n Three leading astronomy stations, the SETI Institute\u2019s Allen Telescope Array, the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope at the Green Bank Observatory, and the Medicina Radio Astronomical Station managed by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics, are set to receive the signal.<\/span><\/p>\n It will take approximately 16 minutes for this coded transmission to reach us from Mars.<\/span><\/p>\n This experiment, known as “A Sign in Space,” is the brainchild of artist Daniela de Paulis and her colleagues.<\/span><\/p>\n The message has been carefully crafted but remains undisclosed, enhancing the challenge for the public invited to decrypt it.<\/span><\/p>\n The SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) community and the public worldwide are invited to partake in this exceptional project, enabling an open-ended search for meaning across all cultures and disciplines.<\/span><\/p>\n After the astronomy stations process the signal, it will be made available to the public through the A Sign in Space Discord server.<\/span><\/p>\n Interested individuals can join and contribute their efforts to decode the signal, submitting scientific data, sketches, thoughts, and other ideas to facilitate the interpretation process.<\/span><\/p>\n The innovative project is not just about scientific exploration but also an experiment in global theater and cross-cultural communication.<\/span><\/p>\n It aims to explore how diverse groups of people might interpret an extraterrestrial message, considering our fundamental need to transcend our current limitations and understand the unknown.<\/span><\/p>\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n The SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) community and the public worldwide are invited to partake in this exceptional project, enabling an open-ended search for meaning across all cultures and disciplines.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\r\n\r\n The broader scope of “A Sign in Space” extends to an ambitious effort to anticipate and prepare for a potential real-life encounter with extraterrestrial intelligence.<\/span><\/p>\nPublic Participation in Decoding the Message<\/b><\/h2>\n
Global Collaboration in Anticipation of Alien Contact<\/b><\/h2>\n