Nov 21, 18 / Sag 17, 02 14:57 UTC
General News: Nov 21 ¶
Humans aren’t the only things sent into space. Along with actual people society has sent many objects, messages and miscellaneous items from Earth into outer space, hoping it will make its way to some form of extraterrestrial life. For example, there are more conventional items like the 1974 Arecibo message, which famously outlines scientific concepts such as chemical elements, DNA and the numbers one through ten. Then there’s the 2008 Message sent from Earth, which is a collection of 501 text messages, photographs, and drawings that depict the lives and ambitions of those who wrote and drew them.
Moreover, there are slightly more fun transmissions like the 2008 Doritos’ video advertisement, a Star Trek-inspired invitation to an Earth-based Klingon Opera performance and a personal note from Paul McCartney.
Although researchers have had a vague sense of what’s been sent into the universe as a way to introduce ourselves to our alien counterparts, now there is a new study published in the International Journal of Astrobiology that represents the first comprehensive account of every cultural artifact and message ever sent into space.
In other news, Oumuamua is the first object scientists have discovered passing through our solar system that came from another star system similar to our own.
Oumuamua was spotted moving between the Sun and the planet Mercury in November 2017. Now, one year later, there is still a lot of mystery surrounding this celestial rock. Although scientists are still thrilled by its discovery, there is a disagreement about what it is and how it got here.
Harvard University has written a new research paper which suggests that an alien life form may have sent Oumuamua. The article has not yet been published.
However, based on what many scientists are saying, and what astronomers know about space rocks, Oumuamua appears to be behaving like other space rocks.
Lastly, to improve commercial activities in space, a new advisory committee has suggested a set of recommendations to NASA in areas ranging from export control to advertising.
The Regulatory and Policy Committee of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC) met for the first time on Nov. 16 at NASA Headquarters. The committee was formed at the council’s last meeting in August and is mostly made up of representatives of space companies. They are tasked with studying the issues connected to the commercialization of NASA activities and the agency’s support for commercial space.
Mike Gold of Maxar Technologies and chairman of the committee said that this is a significant change for the NAC. For a while, he was the only industry representative on the NAC, and now they have a committee full of industry representatives. Gold believes that this committee is representative of the shifts taking place in the industry, and he greatly appreciates NASA’s willingness to move in this direction.
What do you think about the messages and artifacts we've sent into space? How do you think potential aliens will react or view our society based on what we've sent in?
Let's discuss in the comments below!