Skip to main content

Scientists hope their latest alien invitation won’t trigger an invasion of Earth

METI
Solar International
Scientists have sent a message to a star system 70 trillion miles away, inviting any alien civilization living there to swipe right and send us a message back. Some people (basically anyone who’s seen Independence Day) are concerned that such a transmission may trigger an unpredictable response instead.

The project is known as METI (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence) and it actively seeks to send greetings to any alien civilizations out there, as opposed to SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) which passively looks for signs of life beyond our solar system. It’s a controversial program, to say the least. Physicist Stephen Hawking, one of its most vociferous opponents, has famously warned against such an endeavor: “If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn’t turn out well for the Native Americans.”

Recommended Videos

In an interview with Newsweek, the president of METI, Douglas Vakoch, tried to assuage the concerns raised about the program. “Any civilization that could travel to Earth to do us harm could already pick up our leakage television and radio signals,” he said. “So there’s no increased risk of alerting them of our existence.”

Dan Werthimer, a SETI researcher at Berkeley, told New Scientist: “It’s like shouting in a forest before you know if there are tigers, lions, and bears or other dangerous animals there.”

The system that’s the target of the message is a red dwarf designated GJ273, also known as Luyten’s Star in the Canis Minor constellation, with an exoplanet GJ273b that could possibly support life. It’s 12.4 light years away, and in the message researchers said they’d be looking for a response 25 years in the future.

Then there’s the question of exactly how we communicate with aliens. The Voyager missions famously carried a golden record that was filled with the sounds of Earth, as well as an interstellar map that might lead aliens back to our planet.

“Extraterrestrials won’t speak English or Spanish or Swahili,” said Vakoch. “Our message is written in the language of math and science. Over the centuries, scientists and mathematicians have repeatedly taken a vote on the most essential concepts needed to explain the nature of the universe.”

The message was beamed three times to the system, on October 16, 17, and 18. Each transmission took 11 minutes. The invite also includes a cosmic clock, indicating how much time has passed between transmissions. It’s hoped that the aliens can decipher the message and send back a reply. Another message is planned to the same star, which will include the date we’re expecting a reply.

So, set your calendars for June 21, 2043. It could be a big day for humanity.

Mark Austin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Mark’s first encounter with high-tech was a TRS-80. He spent 20 years working for Nintendo and Xbox as a writer and…
Juiced Bikes offers 20% off on all e-bikes amid signs of bankruptcy
Juiced Bikes Scrambler ebike

A “20% off sitewide” banner on top of a company’s website should normally be cause for glee among customers. Except if you’re a fan of that company’s products and its executives remain silent amid mounting signs that said company might be on the brink of bankruptcy.That’s what’s happening with Juiced Bikes, the San Diego-based maker of e-bikes.According to numerous customer reports, Juiced Bikes has completely stopped responding to customer inquiries for some time, while its website is out of stock on all products. There are also numerous testimonies of layoffs at the company.Even more worrying signs are also piling up: The company’s assets, including its existing inventory of products, is appearing as listed for sale on an auction website used by companies that go out of business.In addition, a court case has been filed in New York against parent company Juiced Inc. and Juiced Bike founder Tora Harris, according to Trellis, a state trial court legal research platform.Founded in 2009 by Harris, a U.S. high-jump Olympian, Juiced Bikes was one of the early pioneers of the direct-to-consumer e-bike brands in the U.S. market.The company’s e-bikes developed a loyal fandom through the years. Last year, Digital Trends named the Juiced Bikes Scorpion X2 as the best moped-style e-bike for 2023, citing its versatility, rich feature set, and performance.The company has so far stayed silent amid all the reports. But should its bankruptcy be confirmed, it could legitimately be attributed to the post-pandemic whiplash experienced by the e-bike industry over the past few years. The Covid-19 pandemic had led to a huge spike in demand for e-bikes just as supply chains became heavily constrained. This led to a ramp-up of e-bike production to match the high demand. But when consumer demand dropped after the pandemic, e-bike makers were left with large stock surpluses.The good news is that the downturn phase might soon be over just as the industry is experiencing a wave of mergers and acquisitions, according to a report by Houlihan Lokey.This may mean that even if Juiced Bikes is indeed going under, the brand and its products might find a buyer and show up again on streets and trails.

Read more
Volkswagen plans 8 new affordable EVs by 2027, report says
volkswagen affordable evs 2027 id 2all

Back in the early 1970s, when soaring oil prices stifled consumer demand for gas-powered vehicles, Volkswagen took a bet on a battery system that would power its first-ever electric concept vehicle, the Elektro Bus.
Now that the German automaker is facing a huge slump in sales in Europe and China, it’s again turning to affordable electric vehicles to save the day.Volkswagen brand chief Thomas Schaefer told German media that the company plans to bring eight new affordable EVs to market by 2027."We have to produce our vehicles profitably and put them on the road at affordable prices," he is quoted as saying.
One of the models will be the ID.2all hatchback, the development of which is currently being expedited to 36 months from its previous 50-month schedule. Last year, VW unveiled the ID.2all concept, promising to give it a price tag of under 25,000 euros ($27,000) for its planned release in 2025.VW CEO Larry Blume has also hinted at a sub-$22,000 EV to be released after 2025.It’s unclear which models would reach U.S. shores. Last year, VW America said it planned to release an under-$35,000 EV in the U.S. by 2027.The price of batteries is one of the main hurdles to reduced EV’s production costs and lower sale prices. VW is developing its own unified battery cell in several European plants, as well as one plant in Ontario, Canada.But in order for would-be U.S. buyers to obtain the Inflation Reduction Act's $7,500 tax credit on the purchase of an EV, the vehicle and its components, including the battery, must be produced at least in part domestically.VW already has a plant in Chattanooga, Tennesse, and is planning a new plant in South Carolina. But it’s unclear whether its new unified battery cells would be built or assembled there.

Read more
Nissan launches charging network, gives Ariya access to Tesla SuperChargers
nissan charging ariya superchargers at station

Nissan just launched a charging network that gives owners of its EVs access to 90,000 charging stations on the Electrify America, Shell Recharge, ChargePoint and EVgo networks, all via the MyNissan app.It doesn’t stop there: Later this year, Nissan Ariya vehicles will be getting a North American Charging Standard (NACS) adapter, also known as the Tesla plug. And in 2025, Nissan will be offering electric vehicles (EVs) with a NACS port, giving access to Tesla’s SuperCharger network in the U.S. and Canada.Starting in November, Nissan EV drivers can use their MyNissan app to find charging stations, see charger availability in real time, and pay for charging with a payment method set up in the app.The Nissan Leaf, however, won’t have access to the functionality since the EV’s charging connector is not compatible. Leaf owners can still find charging stations through the NissanConnectEV and Services app.Meanwhile, the Nissan Ariya, and most EVs sold in the U.S., have a Combined Charging System Combo 1 (CCS1) port, which allows access to the Tesla SuperCharger network via an adapter.Nissan is joining the ever-growing list of automakers to adopt NACS. With adapters, EVs made by General Motors, Ford, Rivian, Honda and Volvo can already access the SuperCharger network. Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, BMW, Volkswagen, and Jaguar have also signed agreements to allow access in 2025.
Nissan has not revealed whether the adapter for the Ariya will be free or come at a cost. Some companies, such as Ford, Rivian and Kia, have provided adapters for free.
With its new Nissan Energy Charge Network and access to NACS, Nissan is pretty much covering all the bases for its EV drivers in need of charging up. ChargePoint has the largest EV charging network in the U.S., with over 38,500 stations and 70,000 charging ports at the end of July. Tesla's charging network is the second largest, though not all of its charging stations are part of the SuperCharger network.

Read more