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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Time capsule to be beamed from Mexican pyramid

Mexico's Teotihuacan, once the center of a sprawling pre-Hispanic empire, is set to become the launch pad for an attempt to communicate with extraterrestrial life.

Starting on Tuesday, enthusiasts from around the world will have a chance to submit text, images, video and sounds that reflect human nature to be included in the message.

Those contributions -- part of media company Yahoo's "Time Capsule" project -- will be digitised and beamed with a laser into space on October 25 from the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan, now an archaeological site near Mexico City.

Archaeologists say a culture centred in Teotihuacan, known as the City of the Gods, dominated Mesoamerica for hundreds of years during the first millennium. It is unclear what led to the society's collapse.

"We have this incredible ancient site and from that site we can project contemporary content," Srinija Srinivasan, Yahoo's editor in chief, told Reuters. "What is new is the ability to capture this information in such scale."

In the 1970s, astronomer Carl Sagan compiled a record with sounds and images, including a mariachi band and greetings in an ancient Sumerian language, to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth.

His record was sent out with the Voyager spacecraft in the hope that extraterrestrial life forms would eventually find it.


Sources: timecapsule.yahoo.com/capsule.php

today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID=2006-10-10T013539Z_01_N09302372_RTRIDST_0_OUKIN-UK-LIFE-MEXICO-TEOTIHUACAN-DC.XML&WTmodLoc=TechInternet-C4-Internet-6

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I wonder what the SETI people feel about this?

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Ain't Gonna Happen: Mexican Govenrnment

Mexico to Yahoo: Not on our pyramid!

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Lasers on our pyramid? No way!

Yahoo Inc. said on Wednesday it dropped plans to use Mexico's Teotihuacan archaeological site for its much-hyped "time capsule" project after authorities fearing damage to the ancient ruins denied them permission.

Yahoo launched the project this week aimed at gathering text, images, video and sounds submitted by visitors from all over the world through 20 of the company's multi-language sites.

The information was to be beamed by laser into space on October 25 from the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan, once the center of a sprawling pre-Hispanic empire, in an attempt to communicate with extraterrestrial life.

"We did have the permit, but Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) told us Monday night that it could not be done," Manuel Mazzanti, head of marketing at Yahoo Mexico, said on Wednesday.

An INAH spokesman said the Yahoo event posed technical and operational problems that might damage Teotihuacan. "We are the guardians of the heritage of Mexico," the spokesman said.

Mexico is highly protective of its archaeological sites, many of which are subject to nonstop tourist traffic and are must-sees for dignitaries and artists from around the world.

Yahoo's Mazzanti said the company was looking for another launch site for the event but had ruled out Mexico.

Source: today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID=2006-10-12T023700Z_01_N11414699_RTRUKOC_0_US-MEDIA-YAHOO-PYRAMID.xml&src=101206_1333_ARTICLE_PROMO_also_on_reuters

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Sounded like a good idea. Why not stay in the U.S. and send it via the large pyramid in Las Vegas?