Bebo's latest expansion - into space

Now here's something you don't get to write about every day: an interstellar radio telescope normally used to detect asteroids that could hit Earth is being taken off duty on October 9 so that messages from Bebo users can be transmitted into space.

Bebo is working with Dr Alexander Zaitsev on the project, which is led by TV production firm RDF. User can send in messages from August 4 until September 30, and then the top 500 text and picture messages, as be voted by Bebo users, will be transmitted into space on October 9.

Here's the full monty from Dr Zaitsev on the technology he uses and why he wanted to do the project with Bebo:

Photo by SETI League.

What are other, more practical applications for this type of information transition?
"The RT-70 radio telescope that will be sending A Message From Earth is normally used for radio astronomy, and specifically near Earth asteroid research, where it broadcasts radio waves to help identify and track asteroids that could potentially pose a hazard to Earth.

"Russian-British cooperation in radio astronomy has a very rich history - we led the world-first international radar astronomy experiment in Jan-Feb 1966, when Russian scientists under the direction of academician Vladimir Kotel'nikov, transmitted the power sounding signal from Evpatoria antenna in the direction of Venus, and UK scientists under the direction of
Sir Bernard Lovell detected the radio echo from Venus, usung 250 ft dish at Jodrell Bank Observatory."

What is his realistic expectation about whether these messages will be read, received or understood by anyone or anything? And what happens when the messages get to 'the end'?
"Whether intelligent life exists elsewhere in the Universe is one of the greatest unanswered questions, over the last few years scientists have made a number of discoveries that significantly increase its likelihood, namely that we've been able to detect exoplanets orbiting other stars (over 200 to date). The target planet for A Message From Earth Gliese 581c was the first that was discovered at the edge of the habitable zone, which is essentially where the temperature is right for liquid water on its surface, thus potentially capable of supporting life as we know it.

"The chances of there also being intelligent life, and a civilization that's at least as advanced as the human race are obviously smaller.

"The message will reach Gliese 581c in 20.5 years time (2029), and the radar wave will continue past it on into deep space, with it being feasibly detectable up to 100 light years away."

Could he comment on this 'democratisation' of inter-stellar radio messaging? What is his understanding of a social network and the service it provides, and what does he expect in terms of the type of comments and messages?
"It will be really exciting to see what young people want to send into space to represent them as a snapshot of humanity and our planet. I understand that in the majority of cases these messages may be naive, but I also hope that we will receive a creative and fresh look at the subject from young people."

Update: Craig Newmark (he put the 'Craig' into Craigslist) sent us this piece from back in 2005. He said chief executive Jim Buckmaster already led a project to put Craigslist into space, sending 100,000 classifieds out there somewhere too.

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