Father and daughter decipher message coming from Mars.
Ken and Keli Chaffin, a
father/daughter team from the US, have deciphered a simulated “extraterrestrial”
message that was transmitted in May 2023 via a radio signal sent by the
European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. The message was intercepted
by three observatories on Earth. It was part of a project which aimed to engage
citizen scientists in decoding an alien message.
The Chaffins realized
that the message contained a diagram that represented the structures of five
amino acids, the fundamental building blocks of life. According to specialists,
the Chaffins conducted hours-long simulations every day and ultimately organized
the bits into coherent structures using computer simulations and reversible
cellular automata.
The simulated signal
was received on Earth 16 minutes after it was sent. A worldwide community of
over 5,000 citizen scientists went to work on the raw data and managed to
extract the signal within ten days. This extraction of the encrypted message
from the raw radio signal showcases the potential of global collaboration
The project, called “A
Sign in Space”, was initiated by artist Daniela de Paulis in collaboration with
the European Space Agency, the SETI Institute, the Green Bank Observatory in
West Virginia, and the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics. It was
conceived to test which methods might be useful for decoding transmissions from
extraterrestrial civilizations.
According to the
European Space Agency, the results of the project showed that if humanity ever
receives a signal from real extraterrestrials, citizen scientists could play a
crucial role in deciphering it. The involvement of so many amateur scientists
and the success of the Chaffins demonstrate the power of collaborative efforts
and diverse approaches.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/father-daughter-duo-decipher-message-coming-from-mars/ar-AA1tpWJl?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=6fc7dd98f17b42d8852b3bbcb7f5d7c6&ei=69
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