from SETI Website

recovered through WayBackMachine Website

 

 

 

70-meter (230-ft.) diameter deep space antenna in Evpatoria, Ukraine used for interstellar radio transmissions.
Photo courtesy of Dr. Alexander Zaitsev, Russian Academy of Science

Encounter 2001

For three days in late May of 1999, a second radio message was deliberately beamed into the cosmos.

 

The so-called Cosmic Call was placed by a commercial company based in Houston, Texas - Encounter 2001 LLC - and used the 70 meter radio telescope at Evpatoriya, in the Ukraine.

 

That telescope is part of the Russian Deep Space Network, and the broadcast was arranged by a couple of Canadian astronomers. The telescope time was purchased for $35,000.

The broadcast, which was made in 2.5 hour increments over four days, was, once again, a binary coded image, very much like the 1974 Arecibo message.

 

It describes the solar system, earthly life, and some simple mathematical relationships.

 

The 1974 Arecibo message is also being re-sent by Cosmic Call. The targets of the broadcast are four nearby stars, roughly 60 light-years distant.

The Cosmic Call is part of a larger commercial operation by Encounter 2001 that will include launching a small spacecraft bearing photos, hair follicles, and other personal paraphernalia from customers. The company also rockets cremated remains into space, again on a commercial basis.

 

Two more Cosmic Calls are being planned by the company for the near future.