If aliens really exist, what would you want to say to them?
Prepare your words quickly and log on to an Australian website to write them down. According to a recent report by the British "Daily Telegraph", the website will transmit messages to outer space, letting aliens “hear” your greetings.
Sending SMS Greetings to Aliens
As part of Australia’s National Science Week, an activity titled “Hello from Earth” has been launched to send short messages to aliens.
Interested individuals can log on to the “Hello from Earth” website (http://www.hellofromearth.net) from now until August 24 at 5:00 PM local time (3:00 PM Beijing time) to write down what they want to say to aliens, with a limit of 160 characters.
At that time, the Canberra Space Information Center, in close cooperation with NASA, will transmit these greetings from Earth to the exoplanet Gliese 581d.
Gliese 581d is the closest Earth-like planet to Earth outside our solar system. Discovered in April 2007, it belongs to the constellation Libra and is approximately 20.3 light-years away from Earth, with a mass eight times that of Earth. Astronomers have confirmed that this planet possesses elements such as appropriate temperatures, an atmosphere, and water that could allow life to flourish, suggesting that life may exist there.
For more content, please refer to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliese_581_d
Information Takes 20 Years to Travel or May Never Return
The organizers of “Hello from Earth” stated that it is expected to take 20 years for the messages to reach Gliese 581d. Furthermore, the messages may never receive a response, and there is no guarantee of a reply. The Daily Telegraph quoted activity spokesperson Wilson da Silva on the 13th: “It’s like a message in a bottle, but drifting into space. The interesting part is not just whether someone is listening, but also what everyone wants to say to the intelligent life on another planet.”
He also added: “Through this activity, we demonstrate that science can make the impossible possible. We have landed on the moon, and now we can speak to space.”
Organizers stated that this activity is part of Science Week, aimed at celebrating the country’s scientific achievements and raising awareness of the importance of science. “Hello from Earth” has been very popular. Within the first five minutes of the activity, the website received 26,000 hits, causing the server to crash briefly.
Australian Science Minister Kim Carr was the first person to successfully leave a message. “As a child, like many Australians, I liked to look up at the stars and wonder what was there. Now, science allows me to send such a personal message, and perhaps I will be able to get an answer because of it,” Carr said in praise of the activity.
Message Leavers Look Forward to “Meeting” Aliens
More than 8,600 people from countries and regions including the United States, Canada, South Korea, Indonesia, Cambodia, and China have already written short messages.
Some people sent simple greetings, some were curious about what the alien world looks like, some invited aliens to a barbecue, and many expressed their expectation to meet aliens.
Matt from Kansas, USA, said: “I have been waiting for you. I know you are there. We are ready—ready to progress, cooperate, and learn from you.”
Tamasin from Richmond, Australia, introduced the beautiful things on Earth to the aliens: “If you come to Earth, you must know these: music, beaches, ice cream, hugs, family, love, dancing, cheese, trampolines, friendship, books, and dreams.”
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