Scientists have wanted to establish communication with alien life for the longest time, and there have been many unsuccessful attempts to do so.
The question of whether there is alien life somewhere in the universe has been the subject of debate for centuries. While sightings of UFOs and contact with aliens have been reported, scientists have uncovered no hard, scientific evidence that such alien life exists. As such, the accepted conclusion is that there are no aliens living beyond our planet Earth.
The current approach being used by scientists to establish communication with aliens has been to track radio signals in space that may be coming from alien civilizations. The method has largely been inefficient, with some scientists clamoring for a more active approach in reaching out to possible alien life.
Douglas Vakoch, a scientist from the SETI Institute, which stands for "search for extraterrestrial intelligence," proposed to The American Association for the Advancement of Science a different approach to trying to contact aliens under the so-called Active SETI program.
Instead of waiting to receive radio signals from alien civilizations, Vakoch believes that scientists would get a response if signals are sent out from Earth to show that the planet's inhabitants are looking to reach out to alien life.
"The most critical reason to add Active SETI to our search strategy is that this may be the right strategy that lets us make contact," Vakoch said.
Vakoch adds that this new strategy would require people to control their uncertainties and fears and look optimistically at the project.
Center for SETI Research director Seth Shostak made a suggestion for scientists to send out the contents of the Internet into outer space, with the massive collection of text, videos, sounds and images offering alien life that would be receiving the signals a glimpse of the civilization living in our planet.
Using a radio transmitter would not be efficient for the proposal as it would take too long, about a month, to transmit the contents of the Internet to outer space. Instead, scientists are looking to use a laser to beam out the contents of the Internet, which would be expected to be completed in only a few days.
The proposal of SETI, however, was not welcomed by all the attendees of the meeting. Some scientists voiced out their concerns that reaching out to alien life could expose humanity to a risk far greater than the reward of establishing communication with aliens.
Photo: Andrés Nieto Porras | Flickr
