Chance to text aliens — just don’t expect a response

AN Australian website is giving texting an intergalactic touch and allowing users to send short mobile phone-type messages into space.

Up until August 24, people hankering for an out-of-this-world experience can visit www.HelloFromEarth.net to post messages no longer than 160 characters that will be transmitted to Gliese 581d, the nearest Earth-like planet outside the solar system likely to support life.

Expected delivery time, however, is some 20 years, the website said. And there’s no guarantee of a response.

“It’s like a ‘message in a bottle’ cast out into the stars. What’s interesting is not just whether there’s anyone listening, but what the public will say to intelligent life on another planet,” said project spokesperson Wilson da Silva.

The messages, to be transmitted from the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, with the close co-operation of US space agency Nasa, is part of Australia’s National Science Week which celebrates the country’s scientific achievements and creates awareness of the importance of science.