Space

Are Humans Inviting Alien Invasion? Sending Radio Signals Into Deep Space Will Be A Mistake?

Tripti
First Posted: Dec 29, 2016 02:30 AM EST

The scientists from Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence International (METI) organization are planning to send radio and laser signals to aliens living on other Earth-like exoplanets, somewhere in deep space. They are currently working on an interstellar messaging technology and will be ready to make the transmission by the end of 2018.

METI will make use of the already existing facilities, including the Arecibo Observatory and the radio telescope present in Puerto Rico to send repeated alien-friendly frequencies into the deep space. According to the group of scientists working on the project, the signals will help "test the hypothesis that a powerful, intentional, information-rich signal from Earth may elicit a response from extraterrestrial intelligence."

Douglas Vakoch, METI President, said, "If we want to start an exchange over the course of many generations, we want to learn and share information." 

Are Humans Making a Mistake?

The METI organization is based on the Project Cyclops, which was proposed way back in the 1970s. The project was, however, shut down at that time due to an outrageous estimated budget of $10 billion. The METI was initiated in 2015 with a strategic plan of action. Though the project seems ambitious and will help in unraveling unsolved mysteries of alien existence, according to some experts, it is a huge mistake, The Christian Post reported.

According to Mark Buchanan, a U.S. physicist, the scientists of the METI organization are going to invite troubles. He published an article in the Nature Physics journal, in which he wrote, "We have almost zero idea of whether aliens are likely to be dangerous."

This also raises the possibility of an alien invasion in the future, if extraterrestrial beings or aliens did find us. It would be too late if there is an alien invasion.

In the defense of METI, Douglas Vakoch also published an article in Nature, in which he said that it is too late to be worrying about alien invasion, because if there really occurs an alien civilization on other planets, which is more advanced than humans, then they must have already detected our presence in the past.

"The risk we most often hear about - alien invasion - is simply not plausible," he said.

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