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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Cyclops | 1/3 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Cyclops | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T13:17:28.888330+00:00 | kb-cron |
Project Cyclops is a 1971 NASA project that investigated how the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) should be conducted. As a NASA product the report is in the public domain. The project team created a design for coordinating large numbers of radio telescopes to search for Earth-like radio signals at a distance of up to 1,000 light-years to find intelligent life. The proposed design involving between 1,000 and 2,500 steerable dishes of 100m diameter each was shelved due to costs. However, the report became the basis for much of the SETI work to follow. The approach NASA devised for SETI was to develop a framework with the present understanding of the universe, and then use that as the basis for increasing the probability of discovering extraterrestrials. Making no assumptions, apart from that extraterrestrial radio signals exist, it focused on scanning the skies for signals that could indicate the presence of intelligent life forms.
== Original conclusions == The main conclusions, taken verbatim from the report. The italics are in the original, as is the flowery language (see for example conclusion 12):
- It is vastly less expensive to look for and to send signals than to attempt contact by spaceship or by probes. This conclusion is based not on the present state of our technological prowess but on our present knowledge of physical law.
- The order-of-magnitude uncertainty in the average distance between communicative civilizations in the galaxy strongly argues for an expandable search system. The search can be begun with the minimum system that would be effective for nearby stars. The system is then expanded and the search carried farther into space until success is achieved or a new search strategy is initiated.
- Of all the communication means at our disposal, microwaves are the best. They are also the best for other races and for the same reasons. The energy required at these wavelengths is least and the necessary stabilities and collecting areas are fundamentally easier to realize and cheaper than at shorter wavelengths.