Space Apps Challenge 2018

Building a new Golden Disk is a fascinating task not less important for our own self-perception than for being able to communicate with other civilizations.

I had conversations with Jon Lomberg, Rick Tumlinson, our late astronaut Leonid Kadenyuk, Randy Bresnik, Sergii Iakymov, Dorjee Batuu and other prominent people in space exploration and use the inspiration from those discussions.

I would not repeat obvious solutions but rather focus on aspects that are often overlooked or underestimated.

We should direct the new “Disk” toward the most promising exoplanets discovered with the use of Hubble.

The capsule could send signals in frequencies that would not be lost - like IR signal - to be discovered. But maybe no radioactive elements should be used. Imagine if we received a radioactive parcel from aliens – there is good chance it would be destroyed for safety reasons.

As for the content, we could add some tech device with info but it should not be alone. Even millenials, when they see a tape recorder cassette, often have no idea what it is. Science & tech could develop in a completely different way on exoplanets.

On the other hand, if the spectral analysis shows that conditions are similar on an exoplanet, we could assume (there is not much different choice left anyway) that the civilization there has similar senses. At least they would distinguish planets and stars – we can send images of them to start “conversation”. They would need to distinguish light and other waves – so we could send our graphic messages in different wavelengths to get a good chance they would perceive this material.

Language is the main thing that made us people, and I would include pictures of alphabets but would not count on understanding by “them” – remember Rosetta? We could not understand Egyptian alphabet without Rosetta stone. We could tell them stories in pictures – like in Swiss #SilentBooks project used to educate migrants - but desirably 3d pictures. Not sure they would be able to use our technology so I would send pictures on metal with robust 3d glasses attached.

We can also send a monitor/ a robot that would assemble/transform into a video playing device at the exoplanet, using local materials wherever needed. The monitor/robot should be bullet proof, protected from radiation and have a large start button.

Gold??? Our message could be misinterpreted – they could think our planet, and maybe our part of Galaxy is an Eldorado with cheap gold. After conversations with Rick Tumlinson I think they could have their “Columbus” who could come after it. So cheaper metals should be considered.

The most interesting is the question what to include. First, we should provide information for contacting us such as radio frequency and direction. Then, I would mention technological advances, especially of the recent 30 years - and NASA has plenty of images on exploration of the Earth and space. I would use NASA imagery of Sun, Earth, other planets, satellites, ISS as well as images taken from ISS by astronauts like Randy Bresnik who showed it to us in Ukraine.

But for empathy I would mainly include images of our planet’s natural beauty as well as our civilization - how we work, study, recreate etc. In addition I would also illustrate the paradoxical nature of our civilization and our sense of humor. This is what has helped us survive so far.

If I were the “Guide” I would include things that I consider most amazing. But other people would have their views. The question what to include and how to send it could be solved via submissions and voting/rating using blockchain solutions. Surely our choices would be a snapshot of our time, so blockchain would help keep an undistorted history of such snapshots.

We should have multiple copies of our history recorded this way so that in the future someone here knows what was the essence of our age.

And Vodafone could add this to its Mission to the Moon so that we have a backup of our essential knowledge there as well, available via mobile communication.

As for past Golden Disk data, we could record better quality sounds etc.

But art is not less important. Art would also best illustrate complex phenomena like gravity and our advances to overcome it, quantum mechanics, multiple universes hypothesis etc.

“In our obscurity - in all this vastness - there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. It is up to us.” - Carl Sagan

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/

https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/golden-record/whats-on-the-record/

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050313.html