Unnamed dad-daughter duo successfully decode 'alien' signal from Mars

Imagine an astronomer in a radio telescope control room when a bizarre signal appears on the screen, revealing a message from aliens. The possibility of extraterrestrial life is fascinating, and communicating with beings from other worlds could transform humanity. However, without direct interaction, decoding such a message could take years or even centuries. In May 2023, scientists received a simulated message from Mars. Thousands attempted to crack it. In June 2024, a father-daughter duo finally decoded the message, setting a record, according to a SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) press release.

The message was created by SETI Artist in Residence Daniela De Paulis as part of the “A Sign in Space” project. The goal was to simulate an alien signal as if it were received from creatures of another planet, serving as a rehearsal for when a real message arrives from space. Researchers believe decoding such a message wouldn't be easy without prior practice, hence the simulation.

Only three people knew the content of the encoded message: Daniela, the project's founder, and two co-authors. They crafted the pseudo-alien message using references from poets, scientists, programmers, and philosophers.

The message was sent from the European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) on May 24, 2023, at 7 pm UTC. It was received 16 minutes later by four radio astronomy observatories on Earth: the SETI Institute's Allen Telescope Array (ATA), The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT), the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), and the Medicina Radio Astronomical Station observatory. Thousands of space enthusiasts and puzzle solvers worldwide signed up to decode the message.

In June 2024, the father-daughter duo successfully decoded the message. Although they requested to remain anonymous, they revealed the process they used to crack the code.

According to IFL Science, when they first saw the encrypted message, they thought it might be connected to the cellular automaton, Conway’s Game of Life. They used the Unity game engine and passed the message through 6,625 iterations to convert the binary message into a readable format. It unfolded into an image of five amino acids.

The image illustrated a universal organic molecular notation, composed of a set of pixel points that were punctuated between the clusters and molecular diagrams. "I used a Margolus reversible 2x2 block cellular automata (BCA) with the simplest reversible rule, called 'single point (CCW) rotation,' acting only on 2x2 cells that contain only a single point or pixel per the header instructions, conserving pixel or point count, 625 pixels in and 625 out,” the father elaborated and shared a screen capture of the decoded image.

However, decoding the message is not the end of the mystery. Now, researchers aim to understand the hidden meaning behind this faux cosmic letter. Why five amino acids in particular? To solve this, Daniela has invited people to join the Discord Server, a community where discussions are held about decoding the message.