A simple response to an elemental message

A Simple Response to an Elemental Message

The logo of A Simple Response
Duration	434 light year journey
Date	20:00 UTC, 10 October 2016
Location	Cebreros Station (DSA 2)
Coordinates	Lat: +40° 27’ 09.68” N, Long: +04° 22’ 03.18” W
Type	interstellar transmission
Organised by	University of Edinburgh, UK European Space Agency, DE UK Astronomy Technology Centre; Royal Observatory Edinburgh, UK European Southern Observatory, DE Johns Hopkins University, US University of Potsdam, DE Saint Mary's University, Halifax, CA Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias
Participants	3775 participants from 146 countries
Website	www.asimpleresponse.org

University of Edinburgh, UK

European Space Agency, DE

UK Astronomy Technology Centre; Royal Observatory Edinburgh, UK

European Southern Observatory, DE

Johns Hopkins University, US

University of Potsdam, DE

Saint Mary's University, Halifax, CA

A Simple Response to an Elemental Message (ASREM) was an Interstellar Radio Message (IRM) consisting primarily of 3775 worldwide responses to this initiatives posed question; “How will our present, environmental interactions shape the future?” This transmission also features a smaller 'Honorary Mention' text archive and a series of images of Earth.

This interstellar “message in a bottle” was transmitted on 10 October 2016, at 20:00 UTC by the European Space Agency Cebreros (DSA2) deep-space tracking station towards Polaris; the Pole Star which is approximately 434 light years (133 parsecs) from Earth. The IRM consisted of a single 27,653,733 byte, 866 second transmission. As of 3 April 2017, the signal has traveled 4,532,861,964,960km.

The non-for-profit ASREM initiative was devised and produced by the artist Paul Quast in collaboration with the UK Astronomy Technology Centre, European Space Agency and the University of Edinburgh along with researchers working at the Johns Hopkins University and also the European Southern Observatory.

Unlike other IRM, the transmissions stated purpose was devised for a terrestrial, 'Overview Effect' application; “to look at our civilisations past, present and future environmental interactions on Earth by using lights 'round trip' from our planet’s Pole Star as a symbolic and temporal odyssey”. This initiatives narrative examined the 'Critical Decade' (2010-2020); a pivotal point within our civilisations’ history proposed by a series of climate researchers in which present ecological decisions may irreversibly commit future generations to adversity. The worldwide public were challenged to consider their role within shaping the planet's future biosphere in the newly defined Anthropocene era while also considering approaches which may be adopted to resolve climatic/ biological concerns faced on Earth today.