Welcome to the first episode of the Scientific Imagination x A Sign in Space series! In this special series, we explore the theory and process behind a fascinating project called “A Sign in Space.” We’ll be talking to a team of experts from different parts of the world and different fields of study.
A Sign in Space is an interdisciplinary project by media artist Daniela de Paulis, in collaboration with the SETI Institute, the European Space Agency, the Green Bank Observatory and INAF, the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics.
The project consists in transmitting a simulated extraterrestrial message as part of a live performance, using an ESA spacecraft as celestial source. The objective of the project is to involve the world-wide Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence community, professionals from different fields and the broader public, in the reception, decoding and interpretation of the message. This process will require global cooperation, bridging a conversation around the topics of SETI, space research and society, across multiple cultures and fields of expertise.
In this episode, we focus on the theory and concept behind the project, as well as the meaning of the message it carries. Our special guests for this episode are Daniela de Paulis, Frank White, and Jörg Matthias Determann. They’ll be sharing their insights and ideas with us.
Join us as we dive into the world of scientific imagination and uncover the secrets of “A Sign in Space” with our amazing guests.
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Daniela de Paulis is a former contemporary dancer and a media artist exhibiting internationally. She is also a licensed radio operator. Her artistic practice is informed by Space in its widest meaning. Since 2009 she has been implementing radio technologies and philosophies in her art projects. She is currently Artist in Residence at the SETI Institute (California) and Artist in Residence at the Green Bank Observatory (West Virginia), with the support of the Baruch Blumberg Fellowship in Astrobiology.
She is collaborating with some prominent research institutes, including the European Space Agency, INAF (Italian Research Institute for Radio Astronomy), the Donders Centre for Neuroimaging and the University of Cambridge. For her projects, she is using state of the art radio telescopes, such as the Green Bank Telescope (West Virginia), the Allen Telescope Array (California), the Square Kilometre Array prototype and the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory (UK), the Medicina Radio Telescope and the Sardinia Radio Telescope (Italy). Previously, she has been collaborating with radio operators based at historical antennas, such as the Bochum Radio Observatory (DE). In 2009 she has developed the Visual Moonbounce technology, in collaboration with international radio operators, and for the past fourteen years she has been working on a series of innovative projects combining radio technologies with live performance art and neuroscience. From 2010 to 2019 she has collaborated with Astronomers Without Borders as the founder and director of the Arts programme. She has been collaborating with several other organizations, including the Human Space Program, lead by space philosopher Frank White, the Space and Society Working Group lead by philosopher Jayme Schwartz.
She is a member of the IAA SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Permanent Committee and a regular host for the Wow! Signal Podcast, a platform dedicated to conversations on SETI, science, technology and the humanities. In addition to her artistic practice, she is part of the editorial board for the Springer Space and Society series. She has published her work with the Leonardo MIT Journal, Routledge, Springer, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Inderscience and RIXC, amongst others.
Jörg Matthias Determann is Associate Professor of History at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. He also serves as an Associate Editor of the Review of Middle East Studies and as Book Review Editor of the Journal of Arabian Studies. He holds a doctorate from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and two master’s degrees from the University of Vienna. He is the author of four books including Islam, Science Fiction and Extraterrestrial Life and Space Science and the Arab World.
Frank White has authored or coauthored numerous books on topics ranging from space exploration to climate change to artificial intelligence. His best-known work, The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution, is considered by many to be a seminal work in the field of space exploration. A film called “Overview,” based largely on his work, has had nearly 8 million plays on Vimeo.
Since the first edition of his book on the subject was published in 1987, “the Overview Effect” has become a standard term for describing the spaceflight experience. The fourth edition of The Overview Effect, including original interviews with 31 astronauts, is scheduled for publication in 2019.
White considers himself to be a “space philosopher,” and has long advocated developing a new philosophy of space exploration. His book on this topic, The Cosma Hypothesis: Implications of the Overview Effect, has just been published. In it, he asks the fundamental question, “What is the purpose of human space exploration? Why has the evolutionary process brought humanity to the brink of becoming a spacefaring species?”