Near-IR SETI and METI

The Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau, also known as VisitLEX, has recently embarked on an innovative project aimed at attracting extraterrestrial life. For this unique endeavor, they enlisted the help of Robert Lodder, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Kentucky and seasoned SETI scientist. Lodder brought together a multidisciplinary team of experts from fields such as linguistics, philosophy, electronics, computer science, and design. The primary focus of their campaign is to appeal to potential extraterrestrial lifeforms, particularly those that might exist within the TRAPPIST-1 system. 

Since the inception of radio signals, signs of human life have been traversing the cosmos. There have been deliberate attempts to disseminate proofs of our existence in the universe, such as the iconic recordings aboard the Voyager spacecraft. However, launching an official intergalactic tourism campaign promoting Earth, specifically the "Horse Capital of the World," as a holiday destination for aliens is indeed a first.

The team eventually decided to create a package that comprised black-and-white photographs depicting the stunning landscape of Kentucky's bluegrass hills, an audio recording by local blues legend Tee Dee Young, and an original bitmap illustration (see below). The latter is a type of image that uses basic coding to form a grid with shaded blocks, thereby creating simple images. This artwork includes representations of humans, horses, the elements essential for life (as we understand it), and the chemical maps of ethanol and water, or in other words, alcohol—specifically bourbon, a signature Kentucky product.

Guitarist Tee Dee Young also recorded a blues riff that formed the finale for the transmission to the distant solar system.

After finalizing the contents of the message, Lodder's team transformed their advertisement into a one-dimensional ray of light pulses. This was accomplished using a computer-laser interface and telescope aimed at TRAPPIST-1. VisitLEX then hosted a gathering of researchers and local guests at the Kentucky Horse Park on a clear, dark autumn night to launch their space-bound tourism package.  A scientific publication on the project will be submitted soon. 

Lasers are gradually replacing radio communications in space due to their increased data storage capacity and reduced costs. However, these transmissions need to be sufficiently powerful to travel millions of miles without degradation. This necessitates the use of robust equipment like the Deep Space Optical Communications array on NASA’s Psyche spacecraft (see https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/press-kits/psyche/dsoc).

The laser used in this endeavor is more powerful than NASA's flight laser aboard the DSOC but less powerful than the ground laser. The DSOC lasers are a near-infrared laser transceiver attached to the Psyche spacecraft. They transmit and receive data through an 8.6-inch aperture telescope. This transceiver sends high-rate data to Earth using its 4-watt, near-infrared laser and receives low-rate data from Earth via an attached photon-counting camera. The NASA high-power ground-based laser transmitter, which operates at 5 kilowatts, is managed from the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory (OCTL) at JPL’s Table Mountain facility near Wrightwood, California. The transmitter sends a beacon and low-rate uplink data to the flight laser transceiver.

The actual laser used to transmit the message is on display at the Kentucky Horse Park.