If aliens come to Earth, what happens next?

On Thursday June 1 at 19:30 GMT:
With at least 100 billion galaxies in our observable universe, astronomers have long scanned the skies for signs of life beyond Earth.

But if an alien civilization really did send us a message, what would happen next? Would humans have the appropriate technology or knowledge to even crack it? These are some of the questions being asked as part of a simulation organized by the research group SETI, or Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

The project, known asA sign in space”, is a practice for humanity’s first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence. It began last week when a planned interplanetary signal was transmitted to radio telescopes on Earth from a European Space Agency spacecraft orbiting Mars. Now it’s up to humans to crack the code and translate it to the world. SETI has invited the public to join the troubleshooting event via its Discord page..

What would it mean for humanity if scientists found a genuine sign of an advanced extraterrestrial civilization? And who decides if we should respond again?

Once considered a fringe area of ​​scientific study, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence has gained prominence in recent years thanks to powerful new scientific instruments, the growth of exoplanet discoveriesand new radio telescope observatories that are scanning the skies for anomalous signals.

In this episode of The Stream, we’ll talk to those involved in the ongoing search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

In this episode of The Stream, we speak to:
daniela DePaulis, @danieladepaulis
Founder of the project, “A Sign in Space”

Chenoa Tremblay, @chenoachem
Researcher, SETI Institute

Frank Marchis, @AllPlanets
Senior Planetary Astronomer, SETI Institute