|
from
SETI Website
recovered through
WayBackMachine Website
|
70-meter
(230-ft.) diameter deep space antenna in Evpatoria, Ukraine
used for interstellar radio transmissions.
Photo courtesy of Dr. Alexander Zaitsev, Russian Academy of
Science |
Encounter 2001
For three days in late May of 1999, a second radio message was
deliberately beamed into the cosmos.
The so-called Cosmic Call was
placed by a commercial company based in Houston, Texas -
Encounter
2001 LLC - and used the 70 meter radio telescope at Evpatoriya, in
the Ukraine.
That telescope is part of the Russian Deep Space
Network, and the broadcast was arranged by a couple of Canadian
astronomers. The telescope time was purchased for $35,000.
The broadcast, which was made in 2.5 hour increments over four days,
was, once again, a binary coded image, very much like the 1974
Arecibo message. It describes the solar system, earthly life, and
some simple mathematical relationships. The 1974 Arecibo message is
also being re-sent by Cosmic Call. The targets of the broadcast are
four nearby stars, roughly 60 light-years distant.
The Cosmic Call is part of a larger commercial operation by
Encounter 2001 that will include launching a small spacecraft
bearing photos, hair follicles, and other personal paraphernalia from
customers. The company also rockets cremated remains into space,
again on a commercial basis.
Two more Cosmic Calls are being planned
by the company for the near future.
|