In a captivating development, a coded message, dubbed an ‘alien signal,’ has been deciphered after being beamed to Earth from Mars by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. This unique signal, part of an artistic project called ‘A Sign in Space,’ was transmitted as a collaborative effort between ESA and Daniela de Paulis, the current Artist in Residence at the SETI Institute and the Green Bank Observatory. The project, while artistic in nature, has real scientific value, providing a valuable test of how long it would take to decipher a genuine alien signal detected on Earth.
After more than a year of dedicated effort, Ken and Keli Chaffin, a father-daughter team, have successfully cracked the code. According to a statement from ESA, their ‘intuition and tireless hours of simulations’ ultimately led to the decoding. The journey to deciphering the message began with extracting it from raw radio signal data, a task that required ten days and the involvement of over 5,000 citizen scientists.
Upon analyzing the extracted signal, the Chaffin team observed ‘movement,’ prompting them to speculate that it might hold information about the cellular nature of life. The decoded message revealed images of five amino acids, fundamental building blocks of life as we know it. Now, the challenge lies in understanding the significance of these images and what they might convey.
The ‘A Sign in Space’ project was designed as a rehearsal for the real event of detecting an alien signal on Earth. By transmitting a coded message and then successfully deciphering it, scientists and artists have gained valuable insights into the complexities of extraterrestrial communication. This unprecedented collaboration highlights the intertwined nature of art and science, pushing the boundaries of our understanding and fueling the ongoing quest for extraterrestrial life.
