On 24 May, radio dishes around the world received a mystery-coded signal from Mars. If this message had been a real signal sent by aliens, it would have been the biggest event in human history. However, the signal was sent by humans as a practice run, to see how hard it might be to decode a real alien message.
The project, called A Sign in Space, involved a signal being sent from a human-built satellite orbiting Mars called the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO). A Sign in Space was organised by the California-based SETI Institute. SETI stands for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence – a field of astronomy that looks for signs of intelligent beings in space. So far, Earth is the only planet known to be home to intelligent life, but there are billions of other worlds in our galaxy.
This story is from the Issue 63 edition of The Week Junior Science+Nature UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Issue 63 edition of The Week Junior Science+Nature UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
What happens to the ocean if we take out all the fish?
Find out about the vital role fish play in sea life.
Cleopatra's lost tomb
You told us that historical mysteries capture your imaginations, so here's an ancient Egyptian riddle.
Kate Speller
For our readers' issue, we met a zookeeper who works with big cats.
Voyager 1 turns back on
At more than 15 billion miles from Earth, the Voyager 1 spacecraft is the most distant human-made object in space.
Orangutan uses plants to heal wound
For the first time ever, a wild animal has been observed healing a wound using a plant as medicine.
Mammoth marine reptile found on UK beach
Scientists believe the ichthyosaur could be the largest ever found.
THE LAB
Three things to make and do
The brains between the sticks
Is it true that goalkeepers see the world differently?
ALIEN HUNTERS
JD Savage blasts off on an out-of-this world quest to find life beyond Earth's borders.
NATURE IN FOCUS
Join in with Science+Nature's trail at Cheltenham Science Festival.
