[/align][align=center]ARE WE ALONE in the universe? Is there life on other planets? Are there other civilisations in our galaxy?
How life began, and whether it exists elsewhere, is a fascinating question which we still cannot answer. Of the eight planets in our Solar System, only one - Earth - has life as far as we know. But there are 400 million other suns in our galaxy, and billions of galaxies in the universe - so the chances are high that life exists elsewhere, and that intelligence and civilisation will have arisen more than once.
Since 1995, more than 350 planets have been discovered orbiting other stars. Known as exoplanets, they vary greatly in size and composition.
At COSMOS magazine, we thought it would be a cool way to celebrate National Science Week in Australia - and the International Year of Astronomy - by sending a message to a potentially habitable planet outside the Solar System.
Thanks to the support of Australia's Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, the CSIRO and NASA, and a bunch of other really helpful people, the text messages collected on this site will be transmitted to the closest Earth-like planet that might harbour life: Gliese 581d.
At the end of Science Week, NASA will transmit the messages to Gliese 581d using the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex in Tidbinbilla.
Will we get an answer? No-one really knows. So why not send a message and find out?
Thanks for taking part in HELLO FROM EARTH. Come to the site to check the messages others have sent. And we'll keep you posted on developments.
Have you always dreamed of contacting aliens? Here's your chance! Tweet your messages @ HelloFromEarth.net!
Quick! Another week to go before messages are collated and transmitted to Gliese 581d![/align]
