Australia tries to make first contact with space aliens

[BeBMan]

THEY may or may not like to "phone home" -- but if there are aliens living on the planet Gliese 581d, they are soon to be bombarded with text messages from Science Minister Kim Carr.

Senator Carr will today send an interstellar SMS to the planet, which at a distance of 20 light years, or 194 trillion kilometres, away is the closest Earth-like planet that could support life.

The message, to be sent from Canberra's Questacon to mark National Science Week, will say: "Hello from Australia on the planet we call Earth. These messages express our people's dreams for the future. We want to share those dreams with you."

If there are aliens out there, they will need a dish to receive the message, which will not arrive before 2029.

It is believed to be the first attempt to make contact with the planet, which astronomers believe could hold abundant liquid water, necessary for supporting life. The planet, whose "years" last just 66.8 days, was discovered in 2007.

Australians will also be able to send Twitter-like messages to

the planet via www.hellofromearth.net.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25917676-5013871,00.html

Until monday you can add your own message via: http://www.hellofromearth.net/ (see deadline info there)

[Theben]

With that pansy-ass message you can expect their invasion fleet in early 2030.

[MikeH]

Are interstellar texts covered under my 500 free texts a month?

[Japher]

Whatever there are aliens on that planet? And they are allowing us, the general public, to send first contact to them? WTF are they thinking?!

I'm going to Twitter; Do you taste good?

[BeBMan]

BTW, does anybody *reaaally* think those aliens there are superior? I mean, they don't even have 100 days per year, what kind of civilization can that be? Say you have yearly plans to produce the usual rayguns and planet killers - the year will be over before you finished the first prototype!

[Winston]

I've never sent a text message in my life, and it's going to take more than some hide-and-seek inclined aliens that noone's ever heard of to make me start now.

Also, all of humanity now owes me one.

[MikeH]

You've never sent a text message?!

[Wezil]

BTW, does anybody *reaaally* think those aliens there are superior? I mean, they don't even have 100 days per year, what kind of civilization can that be?

That would be great so long as they leave my vacation days untouched.

[Traianvs]

Sending a declaration of war as we speak

[Asher]

You've never sent a text message?!

Well, you need someone to send messages to...

[Kitschum]

You can send them to yourself...

[Winston]

Well, you need someone to send messages to...

Exactly.

As well as a worthwhile purpose for sending them, which I've yet to experience with people past adolescence.

[Blaupanzer]

Why does this idiot Aussie Sen think we have anything faintly resembling a common language or even character set? They may just ignore primitive tech broadcasts (or narrowcasts for that matter).

Alternatively, their leaders will be redirecting their fleets soon after receiving this organized noise, Note we do not know how easy or difficult distanced space flight actually is as we have no experience. They could get here and find our weapons are orders of magnitude superior to theirs.

[chequita guevara]

Have they tried California?

Anyway, any life forms on Gliese 581d capable of hearing us has been hearing us are already hearing us. Our radio and television transmissions have been hitting them for about 50 years.

[Kitschum]

As well as a worthwhile purpose for sending them, which I've yet to experience with people past adolescence.

It's good for when something is 1) not urgent or complicated or 2) they can't talk right then and especially for 3) flirting. Now I wonder how the the inhabitants of Gliese 181d would respond to the last one.