On August 4, 2008 the blogging site “Bebo” began the “A Message From Earth” (AMFE) project. The project was based on input from its Bebo users as well as other notable celebrities and politicians. On September 30, 2008 the submission period ended and 501 messages that received the most votes by users were chosen to be sent to Gliese 581c on October 9, 2008. The message contained text and images that were converted into a digital format and were sent via high powered radio transmission from the National Space Agency of Ukraine’s RT-70 interstellar radar telescope. It is expected to reach Gliese 581c by the Spring of the year 2028.

The planet Gliese 581c which is 20 light years away from earth, was chosen as the target of the transmission, because it is believed that it may be able to support life. Gliese 581 is a red dwarf star located outside our solar system. Gliese 581c is one of several planets that orbits Gliese 581. At the time of its discovery it was believed to have earth-like characteristics and therefore be a good candidate to support life, but it is now believed that another planet that circles the star Gliese 581d, would be an even better candidate to support life. A fifth candidate, Gliese 581e has also been discovered.

According to the project manager, Oli Madgett of RDF Digital, the goal of sending such a message was to “help capture young people’s imaginations and inspire them to think about our own planet earth and humanity’s impact upon it”. RDF Digital is a division of RDF Media, an independent television production and distribution company in the United Kingdom. RDF Digital was “established to focus on the creation of video content for distribution over the Internet.” RDF Digital was responsible for paying the $40,000 bill for the transmission. Although, Bebo’s audience may be diverse, social networking surveys indicate that Bebo users are more likely to be children. Hence, Bebo users would appear to be a good venue for the goal of the project.

The goal of the message was to convey to others that there is intelligent life on earth. This was done by using digital text and images selected by Bebo voters. Therefore, those items selected would seem to reflect the interests of humanity and the Earth more of younger people than older generations. Topics ranged from politics, the environment, the all-important first kiss, family relationships, and music to world peace. Some specific items included a picture of Wall-E the animated litter collecting Disney robot, illustrations drawn by Bebo users, pictures of Hilary Clinton, Cheryl Cole, the faces of the television duo Richard and Judy, and the pop band McFly. Pictures of famous landmarks were also included. Perhaps one of the more controversial submissions was actress Gillian Anderson’s contribution of a picture of good and evil, symbolized by Barack Obama and George W. Bush, respectively. All of the graphics would appear as somewhat primitive by today’s standards as they were reduced to black and white pixels so they could be sent in a simple binary format.

Assuming that a return transmission would be sent via a similar technique as the 501-item message, the earliest that a response to the message would be received by earth would be approximately 2048. Although the majority of the content may be geared more toward the younger generation and represent a “slice” of a somewhat immature view of the world, various scientific experts agree that the submission would still serve the purpose of saying to other planetary life forms that there is intelligent life on earth.