across interstellar space, and if any aliens happen to receive it and respond, first contact could happen as soon as 2042. Of course, that's quite a huge "if." Nonetheless, Doug Vakoch, president and founder of METI (Messaging Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) International, is optimistic that his organization's detailed message encoded in radio waves could be received by an intelligent civilization. The message is "distinctive because it's designed with extraterrestrial SETI scientists in mind. We sent the sort of signal we'd want to receive here on Earth," he told me. https://www.cnet.com/news/seti-space-aliens-extra-terrestrial-intelligence-luytens-star-gj-273/
