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- Filecoin collaborates with SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute to protect and decode simulated extraterrestrial message data.
- The message will be transmitted from the European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter to Earth, detected by three major radio astronomy observatories, processed, and stored securely on Filecoin’s decentralized storage network.
Simulating Extraterrestrial Communication
The SETI Institute, in collaboration with artist Daniela de Paulis and an international group of experts, has teamed up with Filecoin to facilitate a pioneering global theatre project, A Sign in Space. On May 24, 2023, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), in orbit around Mars, will send an encoded message to Earth to mimic a signal from an alien civilization. This message will be detected and processed by three world-class radio astronomy observatories: the SETI Institute’s Allen Telescope Array, the Green Bank Telescope at the Green Bank Observatory, and the Medicina Radio Astronomical Station observatory under Italian National Institute for Astrophysics.
1/ What would happen if we received a message from an extraterrestrial civilization? 👽
The @SETIInstitute, artist @danieladepaulis, an international team of experts and @Filecoin are collaborating to find out.https://t.co/Nvpk9y1N7i pic.twitter.com/3pTl814niS
— Filecoin (@Filecoin) May 22, 2023
The processed message data will be preserved and made accessible on Filecoin, the world’s largest decentralized storage network, for future analysis and interpretation.
Securing Extraterrestrial Data with Filecoin
SETI chose Filecoin as the storage medium for this ground-breaking data due to its security, reliability, and resilience. Unlike traditional cloud storage systems, Filecoin’s decentralized storage network minimizes the risk of data breaches, outages, and potential censorship. With decentralization, data is distributed across multiple computers, which offers heightened data security. Filecoin’s approach to data storage includes features such as immutable data objects, increased data availability, and daily data integrity checks, thereby ensuring that the “Message” remains intact and accessible.
Stefaan Verveat, Head of Network Growth at Protocol Labs, expressed excitement about this partnership with SETI, stating,
“Our decentralized data storage solutions are ideally suited for the secure and reliable storage of the vast amounts of data generated by this project.”
To celebrate this unique project, SETI Institute will host a social media livestream event on May 24th, featuring interviews with the team members and live feeds from the control rooms of the participating observatories. This event will offer a unique opportunity for the public to engage with the project and its groundbreaking approach to interpreting potential extraterrestrial communications.
