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This is a list of interstellar radio messages (IRMs) transmitted from Earth.

Classification of interstellar radio messages

There are twelve realized IRM projects:

The 1986 Poetica Vaginal signal, briefly transmitted from the MIT Millstone Radar, was an techno-art project created by Joe Davis who was concerned about government censorship of messages such as the removal of genatilia on the voyager probe record. His response was to utilize a sensitive instrument to record the contractions of a woman's vaginal canal, convert it into analog signal and digitally map the input into a phoenetic audible representation (or voice). [2] The project was able to send out a few "test signals" consisting of this data to the intended targets; however, the US Air Force shutdown the project before it sent out the bulk of the message. [2]

"Across the Universe", " Hello From Earth" and " A Simple Response to an Elemental Message" are not always considered serious. The first two of them were sent to Polaris, which is 431 light years distant from us and whose planetary system, even if it exists, may not be suited for life, because it is a supergiant star, spectral type F7Ib which is only 70 million years old. [7] In addition, both transmission rates were very high, about 128 kbit/s, for such moderate transmitter power (about 18 kW). The main defect of the "Hello From Earth" is an insufficient scientific and technical justification, since no famous SETI scientist made statements with validation of HFE's design. As it follows from [1]: "After the final message was collected on Monday 24 August 2009, messages were exported as a text file and sent to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, where they were encoded into binary, packaged and tested before transmission", but nobody explained why he hopes that such encoded and packaged text will be understood and conceived by possible extraterrestrials.

Some use the term Active SETI Project, but Alexander Zaitsev, who was a scientific head of composing and transmissions of Cosmic Call 1999 & 2003, and Teen Age Message 2001, and a scientific consultant of A Message From Earth, emphasized that he considers above IRMs as the METI ( Messaging to Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence Projects).

These seven messages have targeted stars between 20 and 69 light-years from the Earth. The exception is the Arecibo message, which targeted globular cluster M13, approximately 24,000 light-years away. The first message to reach its destination will be A Message From Earth, which should reach the Gliese 581 planetary system in Libra in 2029.

On 13 February 2015, scientists (including Geoffrey Marcy, Seth Shostak, Frank Drake, David Grinspoon and David Brin) at a convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, discussed Active SETI and whether transmitting a message to possible intelligent extraterrestrials in the Cosmos was a good idea; [8] [9] one result was a statement, (which was not signed by Seth Shostak or Frank Drake), that a "worldwide scientific, political and humanitarian discussion must occur before any message is sent". [10]

Current transmissions en route

Stars to which messages were sent include:

Star Designation Constellation Date sent Arrival date Message
Messier 13 NGC 6205 Hercules November 16, 1974 25974 approx. Arecibo message
Epsilon Eridani HD 22049 Eridanus 1986 Unknown Poetica Vaginal
Tau Ceti HD 10700 Cetus 1986 Unknown
16 Cyg A HD 186408 Cygnus May 24, 1999 2069, November Cosmic Call 1
15 Sge HD 190406 Sagitta June 30, 1999 2057, February
? HD 178428 Sagitta June 30, 1999 2067, October
Gl 777 HD 190360 Cygnus July 1, 1999 2051, April
? HD 197076 Delphinus August 29, 2001 2070, February Teen Age Message
47 UMa HD 95128 Ursa Major September 3, 2001 2047, July
37 Gem HD 50692 Gemini September 3, 2001 2057, December
? HD 126053 Virgo September 3, 2001 2059, January
? HD 76151 Hydra September 4, 2001 2057, May
? HD 193664 Draco September 4, 2001 2059, January
? HIP 4872 Cassiopeia July 6, 2003 2036, April Cosmic Call 2
? HD 245409 Orion July 6, 2003 2040, August
55 Cnc HD 75732 Cancer July 6, 2003 2044, May
? HD 10307 Andromeda July 6, 2003 2044, September
47 UMa HD 95128 Ursa Major July 6, 2003 2049, May
Polaris HIP 11767 Ursa Minor February 4, 2008 2439 Across the Universe
Gliese 581 HIP 74995 Libra October 9, 2008 2029 A Message From Earth
Gliese 581 HIP 74995 Libra August 28, 2009 2030 Hello From Earth
Polaris HIP 11767 Ursa Minor October 10, 2016 2450 A Simple Response to an Elemental Message
Luyten's Star HIP 36208 Canis Minor October 16-18, 2017;
May 14-16, 2018
2030, March Sónar Calling GJ273b

Along with serious IRM projects, a bulk of pseudo-METI [11] projects also exist:

  • Poetica Vaginal (1986) [12]
  • Discovery Channel Message (2005)[ citation needed]
  • Craigslist Messages (2005), [13] (2005) [14]
  • CNES Cosmic Connexion (2006) [15]
  • Doritos Advert (2008) [16]
  • RuBisCo Message (2009) [17]
  • Sent Forever, [18]
  • Penguin UK [19]

References

  1. ^ An Awkward History of Our Space Transmissions
  2. ^ a b c "BIOMEDIALE". web.archive.org. 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  3. ^ Reply To 'WOW! Signal' Gets Beamed Into Space
  4. ^ "A Simple Response". European Space Agency official website. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  5. ^ "How to send a message to another planet". The Economist. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Sónar Calling GJ 273b". Sónar Calling. Sónar Music Festival. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  7. ^ Wielen, R.; Jahreiß, H.; Dettbarn, C.; Lenhardt, H.; Schwan, H. (2000). "Polaris: Astrometric orbit, position, and proper motion". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 360: 399. arXiv: astro-ph/0002406. Bibcode: 2000A&A...360..399W.
  8. ^ Borenstein, Seth (of AP News) (13 February 2015). "Should We Call the Cosmos Seeking ET? Or Is That Risky?". New York Times. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  9. ^ Ghosh, Pallab (12 February 2015). "Scientist: 'Try to contact aliens'". BBC News. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  10. ^ Various (13 February 2015). "Statement - Regarding Messaging To Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI) / Active Searches For Extraterrestrial Intelligence (Active SETI)". University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  11. ^ Cooper, Keith (2010-05-03), SETI: Cosmic Call, Astronomy Now, archived from the original on 2015-05-26, retrieved 2010-05-05
  12. ^ Gibbs, W. Wayt (2001), "Art as a Form of Life", Scientific American, 284 (4): 40–41, Bibcode: 2001SciAm.284d..40G, doi: 10.1038/scientificamerican0401-40
  13. ^ Deep Space Network Frequently Asked Questions, Deep Space Communications Network, archived from the original on 2010-01-04
  14. ^ List in Space: Calling the Cosmos Gets Commercial, Space_com, 23 March 2005
  15. ^ Connecting with the Cosmos, CNES, 2006-01-26, archived from the original on 2010-05-13
  16. ^ Doritos Makes History With World's First ET Advert, Spacedaily.com, 2008-06-13
  17. ^ Chandler, David L. (2009-11-24), ET: Check your voicemail, MIT News
  18. ^ Harris, Mark (2009-09-16), Is Sent Forever the worst Apollo 11 tie-in?, TechRadar, archived from the original on 2010-03-02
  19. ^ Colvile, Robert (2010-02-09), Calling ET: Your chance to send a message to alien life, The Daily Telegraph, archived from the original on 2010-02-11

External links