The European Space Agency (ESA) used its ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter to send a 'mock' signal from Mars. The encoded message was flashed at 9pm IST on May 24 as part of the agency's 'A Sign in Space' project.
This experiment was led by artist Daniela de Paulis, who brought together a team of several international experts, including scientists and artists, to create the project ‘A Sign in Space’. But, there is a good news for all the science and space enthusiasts: now you can help decode the signal from Mars.
Reportedly, the signal was received by four stations - Green Bank Telescope (West Virginia), the Medicina Radio Astronomical Station (Italy), the Allen Telescope Array (California), and the Very Large Array (New Mexico).
"Throughout history, humanity has searched for meaning in powerful and transformative phenomena. Receiving a message from an extra-terrestrial civilisation would be a profoundly transformational experience for all humankind," said Paulis.
The ESA spacecraft has been orbiting the Red Planet since October 2016, looking for evidence of possible biological or geological activity.
The message was first sent to the spacecraft by the agency's mission control centre in Darmstadt, Germany, on May 10. It was stored in its memory, converted into 'telemetry' (data), and beamed back down to Earth.
How can you help decode it ?
The European Space Agency, which posted the request on its website, has asked the public and experts from all countries and cultures to decode and interpret the message, whose content has been kept under lock and key.
You can submit your scientific data, thoughts, sketches, drawings, and ideas for the technical decoding and cultural interpretation of the message. Contributions will be posted on the project's website and social media accounts associated with the project, sharing the process of decoding and interpreting the message with the world.
The project's website also has a dedicated page where you can download the message beamed from Mars and submit it.
Check the dedicated site: https://asignin.space/
