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Decoding an Alien Message
Citizen scientists decipher a simulated alien message sent from Mars, revealing amino acid configurations but leaving the meaning open to interpretation.
English
United States
ScienceArtificial IntelligenceSpaceAlienMessageDecoding
Seti InstituteEuropean Space AgencyAllen Telescope ArrayRobert C. Byrd Green Bank TelescopeMedicina Radio Astronomical Station
Ken ChaffinKeli ChaffinDaniela De Paulis
- Who successfully decoded the message and what methods did they use?
- Ken and Keli Chaffin, a father-daughter team, successfully decoded the message after nearly a year, using cellular automata simulations. They recognized the configurations as amino acids, although the meaning remains open to interpretation.
- What was the nature of the simulated extraterrestrial message transmitted to Earth?
- The project simulated an extraterrestrial message transmission from Mars to Earth, picked up by three observatories. Citizen scientists then worked to decipher the message, which involved five amino acid configurations, the building blocks of life.
- Describe the visual representation of the message and the process of extracting the data.
- The message, visualized as white pixels on a black background, showed five moving amino acid configurations. It was a complex signal that was intentionally designed to be difficult to decode, taking around ten days to extract and visualize.
- What was the primary goal of the 'A Sign in Space' project, and what challenges did it present?
- The project aimed to realistically simulate the process of receiving and interpreting an extraterrestrial message, without any guidance. The ambiguous nature of the message highlights the challenges of deciphering a real extraterrestrial signal.
- What are the ongoing discussions regarding the meaning of the decoded message and what are the plans for the future?
- The meaning of the amino acid message is still debated among the citizen scientist community. Interpretations range from representing panspermia (life distributed throughout the universe) to simply a greeting. The creators plan to compile interpretations in a book.