Sonar Barcelona Sends Music to Extraterrestrial Planet GJ273b

For its 25th anniversary, the Sonar festival in Barcelona has launched Sonar Calling GJ273b, a project transmitting music into space to communicate with extraterrestrial intelligence. The initiative targets Luyten's Star (GJ273b), a potentially habitable exoplanet, using a radio message never before sent. Scientific supervision comes from the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC) and METI International. The festival directors Enric Palau, Sergio Caballero, and Ricard Robles explained that the project stems from humanity's innate need to connect and question whether we are alone in the universe. They also noted that given humanity's negative impact on Earth, this may be the best time to seek help from superior extraterrestrial intelligence. The festival commissioned 33 ten-second music pieces from artists who performed at Sonar over its first 25 years, including Carsten Nicolai, who submitted a recording of his unborn daughter's heartbeat, and Autechre, who created a composition based on the prime number 449. The first transmission occurred in October 2017, with a second planned for April 2018, open to public participation via a call. The organizers hope the project will rekindle global awareness and lead to new ideas and partners—including alien ones.