The ESA spacecraft has been orbiting Mars since October 2016.
Humans have always been fascinated by space and the possibility of life on another planet other than Earth. Various space agencies across the world keep sending space missions to find out if any other planet has sentient beings and what happens if such a contact is made. To prepare a response to such a signal, 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.
“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 Daniela de Paulis, the artist behind the project.
The ESA spacecraft has been orbiting the Red Planet since October 2016, looking for evidence of possible biological or geological activity.
The ESA said on its website that the message was first sent to the spacecraft the agency’s mission control centre in Darmstadt, Germany, on May 10. It was stored into its memory, converted into ‘telemetry’ (data) and beamed back down to Earth.
“The public and experts from all countries and cultures are being asked to decode and interpret the message, the content of which has been kept under lock and key,” the ESA further said.
It also asked those who have cracked it to submit their interpretation of what it means to ESA.
“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 associated with the project, sharing the process of decoding and interpreting the message with the world,” said the agency.
The project’s website also has a dedicated page containing the details on how to submit the decoded message beamed from Mars.
