In astronomy, the possibility of detecting a message from extraterrestrial life has captivated minds for generations. If such a signal were ever intercepted, it would require a collective effort to decode and understand its purpose. Recently, a father-daughter team of citizen scientists decoded the complex message, yet the true meaning remains enigmatic.
The SETI Institute’s initiative, “A Sign in Space,” orchestrated by artist Daniela de Paulis, explored what a message from an extraterrestrial might look like. Designed as a realistic exercise, the simulation involved sending a coded message from the European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter orbiting Mars. In May 2023, this “alien” signal was transmitted across 16 minutes to Earth, where observatories, including the Allen Telescope Array in California and the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, received it. Released to the public as raw data, this cosmic puzzle was intended for citizen scientists worldwide to analyze and decode.
Ken Chaffin and his daughter Keli rose to the challenge, dedicating nearly a year to the task. Their efforts, which required “thousands of hours” of simulations and experimentation, finally yielded a breakthrough. The decoded message revealed itself in clusters of white dots—configurations that represented five amino acids, foundational molecules in the development of life. Chaffin shared his amazement at the discovery, recalling, “I had no idea what the message would show or say. I suspected that it might have something to do with life.”
The challenge, however, didn’t end with decoding the message; it evolved into interpreting its significance. The amino acid configurations flashed on the screen for mere tenths of a second, adding another layer of mystery. The project’s designers confirmed the intended message of amino acids but deliberately left the interpretation open, fostering a space for diverse theories and hypotheses from the global community of citizen scientists.
To analyze the raw data, Chaffin used cellular automata, a technique involving coded grids that follow specific rules of movement. When he first encountered what the citizen scientists referred to as the “starmap,” he recognized its complexity, and Keli described the visualization as “biological,” resembling various lifeforms such as “a mouse, a starfish, or an elephant.” This perception mirrors a Rorschach test, where participants often see recognizable forms in seemingly random patterns, highlighting the human tendency to find familiarity in the unknown.
For Chaffin and Keli, the real significance of the decoded message remained a mystery. In one interpretation, the message could represent essential elements such as hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, essential to life’s development, combining in space—a concept linked to the theory of panspermia. Chaffin elaborated on this idea: if the message begins with amino acids dispersing through space, it could symbolize life’s building blocks traveling and assembling across the cosmos.
De Paulis and her team intentionally designed the signal to be challenging, with some predicting that it might take years to unravel fully. Reflecting on the difficulties of interpreting such a message, she noted, “The idea is that if we ever received a message from an alien civilization, we would not have feedback. So, we will have to come up with the meaning ourselves.” This exercise emphasized the real-world complexity of decoding an extraterrestrial signal, where interpretations could vary widely due to cultural and intellectual diversity.
For the Chaffins, this decoding journey went beyond a mere scientific endeavor—it was a deeply personal experience. Keli described working alongside her father on such a unique project as “a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Despite the countless hours and seemingly insurmountable odds, she reflected, “We don’t give up on a project even if it is deemed near impossible.”