“Archaeology, Anthropology, and Interstellar Communication”
Kindle version: MOBI.
Other readers: EPUB
Fixed layout: PDF.

Scientists are becoming more and more excited about the possibility of encountering alien life forms – just a few days after some astronomers claimed that we will encounter intelligent life by 2034, NASA is already releasing a free eBook about communicating with aliens: “Archaeology, Anthropology, and Interstellar Communication”. You can download it in either of the three formats presented above.

“Addressing a field that has been dominated by astronomers, physicists, engineers, and computer scientists, the contributors to this collection raise questions that may have been overlooked by physical scientists about the ease of establishing meaningful communication with an extraterrestrial intelligence.”, the NASA website reads.

Indeed, dealing with extraterrestrial life (especially advanced life) raises interesting, and little tackled questions. We’re focusing so much on detecting and finding alien worlds, what will we do when we actually encounter alien life? This seems like a matter of “when” rather than a matter of “if” nowadays.

The authors of the book discuss the enormous challenges that humanity will face if an information-rich signal emanating from another world is detected. By drawing from historical and contemporary archaeology and anthropology, we can be better prepared in the case of such an event. An interesting, and highly recommended read.