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In May 2023, the ESA\u2019s Exomars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), currently in orbit around Mars, sent a signal to Earth to simulate a possible extraterrestrial transmission. As part of the multidisciplinary art project \u201cA Sign in Space,\u201d the purpose was to engage citizen scientists in helping to decode it. The campaign was inspired by Cosmicomics<\/em> by Italian writer\/journalist Italo Calvino, a series of short stories exploring various scientific principles. The project is partnered with the SETI Institute, the Green Bank Observatory, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF).<\/p>\n After three radio astronomy observatories on Earth intercepted the message, the challenge was to extract the message from the raw data of the radio signal and then decode it. After ten days, more than 5000 citizen scientists worldwide gathered online and used their combined resources to extract the signal. After a year of attempts, two U.S. citizens \u2013 the father-daughter team of Ken and Keli Chaffin \u2013 managed to crack the code after days of simulations. They discovered that the message consisted of five clusters of white dots and lattices against a black background, suggesting cellular formation and life!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The project was founded by Daniela de Paulis, a media artist and licensed radio operator currently serving as the Artist in Residence at the SETI Institute and the Green Bank Observatory. Daniela and a small group of astronomers and computer scientists crafted the message with support from the ESA, the SETI Institute, and the Green Bank Observatory. On June 7th, 2024, she received the decoded image, which depicted five amino acids\u2014the very building blocks of life\u2014in a retro-like format. <\/p>\n \n