By: Sérgio dos Céus Nelson[1]
NEAL
(2014:5) defends that scientific evidence is thus increasingly supportive of
there being life of some kind in the universe – and this includes life on other
planets in our own galaxy.
Understanding
the world remains a constant challenge and it will take generations to really
discover who we are, why we are here, how we got here and whether there are
other beings, who make us company, from the other planets. Thinking about the
existence of other beings is not just a goal or dream, but a constant search
for the hidden truth about the composition of the other planets. I think the
discovery of the existence of aliens could be the biggest challenge or the
biggest leap for humanity.
Very
recently I had the opportunity to speak with Alyssa Carson[2],
NASA Astronaut, in preparation to be the first astronaut to step on Mars in
2033. In the conversation, [she] told me that one of her goals on Mars was to
study surface waters, more in the perspective of understanding whether there
would be possibilities for human exploration on Mars, or simply what is
commonly called "colonization of Mars". In the same direction, NAZARI-SHARABIAN,
AGHABABAEI, ARAMI (2020:1) believe that there are other places on Mars that contain
significant amounts of water are at the South Pole, where there is a permanent
carbon dioxide ice cap, as well as in the shallow subsurface, where more
moderate conditions exist.
I
bring this approach, from Alyssa, in a way to get to the question that we will
always remain: what would it be like if humanity shared a planet with other
beings, with aliens. It is certainly that question that is worth millions of
eternities.
In my
empirical approach, I try to think aloud about "communication as a
strategic vehicle in interplanetary or interstellar connections". I say
this because I believe that the first contact that humanity will make with
extraterrestrials will not be physical, but through communication channels that
will need to be deciphered. I say this if we look at the aliens, not only as
(probably) mentally advanced beings, but I also look at the fact that we do not
share the same communication channels. “The point here is that even among two
human languages, the approach to something as simple as counting differs
significantly” (VAKOCH, 2012:161).
There
is a catch in the middle of all this: it may be that the aliens are not as
intelligent as humans and are therefore unable to establish contact due to the
lack of sophisticated channels like ours. I say this in the sense that humanity
does not always need to put itself at a disadvantage in relation to beings
resident in heaven or other planets. As NEAL
(2014:5) says: “there is life out there,
but it is non-conscious, non-intelligent and non-technological”.
Physicist
Michio Kaku, a professor at City College in New York, quoted by History, said
that "I have the impression that in this century we will make contact with
an alien civilization by radio". It is a very interesting view, given the
fact that he understands that communication will be the basis of this whole
process.
"Communication with them will be difficult, as they can
be many light years away. In the meantime, we must decipher their language and
understand their level of technology" - Michio Kaku.
While
I agree with the radio perspective, I think we need to start thinking about the
possibility that we are failing to create a reliable and efficient channel of
communication - capable of deciphering loose codes that may be being sent daily
by aliens. In fact, the need to decipher the language of the aliens and
understand their level of technology seems to me to be one of the biggest
focuses that we should have, if the goal is really to establish the first
contact. I think that the formula for maintaining contact is not necessarily
time, but the channels for establishing contact.
If
the aliens are more intelligent, surely we have already gained their attention
with the Apollo 11 Mission, when we step on the Moon. With this I try to say
that we probably need to show our presence, in the real sense of the word, when
we are in their territory. As they say, sometimes it is necessary to make noise
in the other's house to be attended to or heard by the owner (of the house).
It is
known that groups of astronomers, physicists and astrobiologists from
prestigious universities have tried to hear people's opinions about what we
should do if we are contacted by another planet. Sometimes I think that
humanity can be the most dangerous and advanced species in relation to aliens -
which motivates the delay in the existence of the first contact.
Personally,
I think, on one hand, that we will not be the ones to detect interstellar
signals. Aliens will be contacting us, but we may need to improve our
communication systems - to be able to detect signals. Our technology may still
be far short of what is necessary to establish the first contact. But on the
other hand I think about the possibility that we are too advanced, to the point
that we are using difficult channels that do not allow contact with other
beings, hence perhaps the need to rethink the need to reuse old communication
channels to try to establish some contact .
We
are certainly missing something in this process of looking for life in space.
We are not thinking about something correctly, it may be that the existing
communication systems are able to detect interstellar signals, but that we are
not touching the right key.
METI,
an institute dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence that was
supported by cosmologist Carl Sagan, recognizes that the possibilities of
detecting extraterrestrial intelligence "may be low". In contrast, a
calculation made by scientists at the University of Nottingham in England
indicates that there are 36 alien civilizations that humans can contact.
In an
interview with the British newspaper “The Guardian”, the professor of astrophysics
and co-author of the study, Cristopher Conselice, said that “it is extremely
important and exciting because for the first time we have an estimate of the
number of intelligent civilizations that we can contact to find out if there is
life in universe - a question that has not been answered for thousands of years”.
These
are eager looks to discover an apparent hidden truth: are there aliens? And if
they don't exist, who and what inhabits the other planets? I think that the
Artemis Mission, the new courses to the moon, Mars, should set new projections
and probably look at communication as one of the key sectors. It is easier for
me to believe that the aliens never visited the earth. It is as impossible as
believing that it is possible to cross the Sahara desert on foot without
drinking a glass of water.
If
they had arrived here they would have left marks that would challenge us to
locate them. The essence of communication, no matter how entropy, noise, is
always to transmit a message, clear or diffuse, that is, if they did not want
to contact us, then they would have left visible marks to confuse us. This does
not eliminate the possibility of their existence, after all, for something to
exist it is not always necessary for us to be able to see it.
In
1938, Orson Welles caused panic in the United States with the radio broadcast
of his dramatization of “The war of the worlds”, by the British writer
H.G.Wells, which tells of the Martian invasion of Earth. After that, what
happened in the world were attempts after attempts to discover the truth, but
in the midst of this, the world most powerful countries were creating
competition to see who would be the first to arrive in space, etc.
Perhaps
that is one of the problems for us not being able to establish contact. I think
it would be strategic, for us, to be joining forces, synergies in order to
combine technological and scientific capacities so that we can jointly, as
humanity, take an even more solid step and capable of detecting life in space.
According
to NASA (2020:1) “over the past two decades, missions flown by NASA’s Mars
Exploration Program have shown us that Mars was once very different from the
cold, dry planet it is today. Evidence discovered by landed and orbital
missions point to wet conditions billions of years ago. These environments
lasted long enough to potentially support the development of microbial life”. These
approaches certainly make us think about a greater possibility of life in
space.
CALLIMAHO
believes that “we are not alone in the universe”, but at the same time he
understands that unless we are terribly conceited (a very unscientific
demeanor), we must assume that the "others" are far more advanced
than we are. In other hand, JOSEPH ET all (2019:35) defends that we can only conclude
that the question of life on Mars remains unanswered. He believes that conversely,
at present, there is no microscopic evidence depicting cells or intra-cellular
structure and thus no definitive proof of Martian life, while NAZARI-SHARABIAN,
AGHABABAEI, ARAMI (2020:31) defend that the Pathfinder lander’s measurements
indicated that Mars had quite low atmospheric pressure, about 0.6% of Earth’s,
and this is not high enough to allow for the presence of pure liquid water on
the planet’s surface.
Certainly,
in an infinite universe, anything that is possible happens, even the most
unlikely of things. In particular, in an infinite universe, there are
infinitely many copies of our planet Earth, and infinitely many copies of you
and me.[3]
Professor
Iosif Shklovsky, quoted by CALLIMAHO, says that Russia's greatest radio
astronomer, has cited the profound crises which lie in wait for a developing
civilization, any one of which may well prove fatal:
· Self-destruction as a
result of a thermonuclear catastrophe or some other discovery which may have
unpredictable and uncontrollable consequences;
·
Genetic danger;
·
Overproduction of
information;
· Restricted capacity of
the individual's brain, which can lead to excessive specialization, with
consequent dangers of degeneration; and
·
A crisis precipitated by
the creation of artificial intelligent beings.
The world is a universe of learning and we are constantly discovering new things as time goes by and with that new truths may appear.
REFERENCES
CALLIMAHOS,
Lambros D., Communication with
Extraterrestrial Intelligence, DOCID: 3052333
JOSEPH,
R. Gabriel, DASS, Regina S., RIZZO V., et all, Evidence of Life on Mars?, Journal of Astrobiology and Space
Science Reviews, Vol 1, 40-81, 2019
NAZARI-SHARABIAN,
Mohammad, AGHABABAEI, Mohammad, Moses Karakouzian, KARAMI, Mehrdad, Water on Mars, 2020
National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, Mars
2020/Perseverance, 2020
NEAL,
M., Preparing for Extraterrestrial
Contact, Risk Management, 2014
VAKOCH,
Douglas A., Archaeology, anthropology,
and interstellar communication, 2012
http://41.89.4.180/high-school/physics/the-big-questions/lecture-notes-and-videos/MITHFH_bigquest_lec4.pdf
[1]
Sérgio
dos Céus Nelson is a Communication and
Information Specialist, Journalist, activist and researcher.
[2] Alyssa Carson is an astronaut at NASA, preparing to be the first to step on Mars in 2033.
[3]http://41.89.4.180/high-school/physics/the-big-questions/lecture-notes-and-videos/MITHFH_bigquest_lec4.pdf
