Abstract
Various messages have been sent out to potentially existing intelligent extraterrestrial life since the 1960s. Considering the significance of such messages as a medium of first contact and representation of humankind, it is surprising that they have received no attention from sociology. What is their purpose? Who speaks for earth? What is their content and has it changed over time? This work seeks to answer these questions by analyzing all relevant messages (N = 14) sent to outer space as well as related press coverage and official statements from the period 1962–2018. Analyses find a striking shift in purpose, authorship, and content, from political and scientific elites celebrating nation, science and (high) culture to, more recently, for-profits and science facilitating commercial exploitation but also individual agency and planetary awareness. However, such plurality makes global consensus and oversight on whether and what kind of messages should be sent even more difficult.
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