In the U.S., researchers decoded an "extraterrestrial" signal that was sent as part of an experiment.

Astronomers generally lean towards the belief that a full-fledged contact with an extraterrestrial civilization is unlikely to occur, even if such a civilization exists somewhere. Theoretical calculations suggest that we should not hope to find any intelligent beings within approximately one thousand light years around us. This inevitably means that, at best, we would receive a signal that is thousands of years old.

If we consider the advent of written language, humanity as an intelligent civilization has existed for only about five and a half thousand years. It was less than a century after the introduction of radio communication that we began to anxiously contemplate our chances of survival and continuity. Thus, it is quite possible that the long-awaited moment of receiving a meaningful signal from space will turn out to be a significant disappointment: the senders may no longer be present by that time.

Some scientists, despite this perspective, believe that a signal from an extraterrestrial civilization is fundamentally important for the future development of humanity: we could compare ourselves with them and learn lessons, or perhaps even borrow breakthrough technologies that are currently beyond our reach.

However, it is not just about receiving a signal; we must also be able to understand and decode it. This question was recently posed by SETI researcher Daniela de Paulis. At her initiative, in May 2023, the interplanetary station Trace Gas Orbiter, which orbits Mars, sent a radio signal that is easily distinguishable as artificial based on all its characteristics.

The signal was received by three observatories in the USA and Italy, and then all the collected "raw" data was made publicly available with a call for all progressive humanity to help read this message. This is the essence of the A Sign in Space experiment. Thousands of people joined in, spending over a year on this "brainstorming."

Recently, the European Space Agency (ESA) finally announced that two residents of the USA managed to "crack" the code and decode the message. Ken Chaffin and his daughter Kelly sent what they had come up with to the initiative's author, Daniela de Paulis.

The enthusiasts are convinced that they are looking at a drawing depicting complex organic molecules known as the "building blocks" of life—amino acids. In their opinion, such a message can be interpreted as an attempt to introduce "intelligent brothers" to the biology of their home planet.

However, it remains unclear how comprehensive this interpretation is. SETI has intentionally not disclosed the content of the message and emphasized that the experiment is not yet complete, allowing for continued speculation about what hypothetical intelligent beings from another world might have meant.