A4.2 Billingham Cutting Edge Lecture: A Sign in Space - an interdisciplinary exploration of the potential reception of an extraterrestrial signal

Daniela DE PAULIS

, IAA Permanent SETI Committee

Netherlands

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A Sign in Space is a project by media artist Daniela de Paulis, in collaboration with INAF, the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics. The project consists in transmitting a simulated extraterrestrial message as part of a live performance, using a Mars rover. The objective of the project is to involve the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence world-wide community, professionals from different fields and the general public, in the reception, decoding and interpretation of the message. This process will require global cooperation, bridging a conversation around the topics of SETI, space research and society, across multiple languages and fields of expertise. The first test for the project was conducted in collaboration with satellite company D-Orbit on 30 July 2021. As part of the test, the Arecibo message was transmitted by the satellite and it was successfully received by the Medicina and the Sardinia Radio Observatories. The last phase of the project is the actual live cosmic performance, with the active transmission of a message by a satellite or ideally a Mars rover. For the performance, a global network of radio telescopes will be involved in the reception of the signal. The message transmitted as part of the live cosmic performance will be developed by media artist Daniela de Paulis, in collaboration with a team of specialists representing different cultural backgrounds and disciplines.