A group of scientists is sending a racy image into space in the hopes of attracting aliens. The scientists from NASA are hoping to use the image to lure any hidden alien life forms out of hiding in an attempt to communicate with alien life, which has been fruitless for over 150 years. The scientists have decided to launch an illustration depicting two naked humans into space.
It's part of a project called the ‘Beacon in the Galaxy' (BITG). The illustration that the scientists have decided to send includes the figures of a man and woman, both fully naked, raising their hands, and waving hello.
The BITG project aims to send a message to other space civilisations inviting them to contact humans. Apart from the pixelated illustrations of the male and female couple waving hello, the scientists have also included a portrayal of gravity and DNA.
In a study, the scientists behind the project state that for transmission to extra-terrestrial life in the Milky Way galaxy, an updated binary-coded message has been created. They say, “Though the concept of mathematics in human terms is potentially unrecognisable to extra-terrestrial intelligence, binary is likely universal across all intelligence. Binary is the simplest form of mathematics as it involves only two opposing states: zero and one, yes or no, black or white, mass or empty space.”
Along with the figures of the man and woman, in the image, the scientists have also added a double helix — the description of the structure of a DNA molecule. In the image we can see, a “double-helix and an image of male and female humans along with the path of a falling object in the bottom left to help any recipient with orientation of the image”.
“The proposed message includes basic mathematical and physical concepts to establish a universal means of communication followed by information on the biochemical composition of life on Earth, the Solar System's time-stamped position in the Milky Way relative to known globular clusters, as well as digitised depictions of the Solar System, and Earth's surface,” the scientists wrote.
As a result, the BITG message is based on the binary transmission of the code, which is extremely likely to be understood by all extra-terrestrial life. The digitised representations of the human form are accompanied by an invitation to respond from any receiving bits of intelligence.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world