Written by Sikkamo Jama

“Are we the first technological race in the universe, or simply the only one left alive?”

Dr. Chenoa Tremblay began his public lecture at Rhodes University with a question that has shifted from philosophy to experiment over the years.

Dr. Tremblay is Sethi (Extraterrestrial Intelligence Exploration) Research Institute and serves as a project scientist. COSMIC backend on Very Large Array BLUSE backend for the MeerKAT telescopes in New Mexico (VLA) and South Africa in the Karoo. Her research forms part of an international effort to detect technosignatures, signs of extraterrestrial technology.

Her visit was hosted by Rhodes Professor Oleg Smirnov. the university’s Radio Astronomy Technology and Technology Center (RATT); The lecture placed the university in a worldwide network of radio telescopes quietly monitoring for evidence of extraterrestrial technology.

RATT researchers have worked extensively with MeerKAT data, contributing radio astronomy software, calibration techniques, and signal processing methods that support the telescope’s scientific output. MeerKAT is South African Radio Astronomical Observatory (SARAO) is the predecessor of Square Kilometer Array (SKA).

Through the BLUSE system, MeerKAT also forms part of the international techno signature activity.

From sending messages to listening

In 1977, NASA launched Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 carrying the Golden Record. This is a gold-plated message for any civilization you may one day encounter. Now that approach has changed. Rather than sending messages to the universe, scientists are listening.

The COSMIC and BLUSE systems operate in common. These run every time the host telescope is switched on, analyzing vast streams of radio data in real time while astronomers pursue their primary research goals. The search for techno signatures proceeds quietly in the background.

When scientists search for life beyond Earth, they often distinguish between biosignatures and technosignatures. Biosignature research looks for indicators such as water and oxygen in the atmosphere far away. Instead, technosignature research searches for distinctive signals from natural astrophysical processes.

Radio waves travel at the speed of light and are widely used by human technology, from radar systems to mobile communications. If another civilization developed a similar method of communication, it would be logical to look at radio wave emissions.

Dr. Tremblay’s team uses specialized software, mostly written in Python, to search for very narrow band signals whose frequencies vary slightly over time. Such drift is consistent with the transmitter moving relative to the Earth. Signals that remain fixed are usually interference from our own planet.

Dinosaur playing PlayStation

“If you’re looking at a planet with dinosaurs, you’re not necessarily going to find dinosaurs because they don’t have any advanced technology. Before you can find dinosaurs, you have to find dinosaurs that are playing on PlayStations and have cell phones,” Dr. Tremblay explained.

The scale of the mission is enormous. During observations of the exoplanet K2 18b, which is of scientific interest for evidence of water vapor in its atmosphere, the system identified more than 21 million potential signals. After excluding satellites, terrestrial transmitters, and instrument effects, nothing remained.

Multi-antenna telescopes such as VLA and MeerKAT require the real signal to be consistently visible across all dishes. A signal detected by only one antenna is most likely a glitch. So far, all candidates have been briefed on terrestrial TV.

Null results are part of the process. Dr. Tremblay’s team is working with SARAO to catalog the radio frequency interference detected by MeerKAT, improve filters, and enhance future searches.

Silence and the Fermi Paradox

What does it mean if increasingly sensitive telescopes find nothing?

This dilemma reflects a phenomenon known as the Fermi Paradox, which often boils down to the question, “Where is everyone?” Are we one of the earliest technological civilizations in the universe? Did intelligent life originate and disappear elsewhere? Or is advanced technology simply rare?

Despite 60 years of modern SETI research, scientists have only explored a small portion of the cosmic ocean. Undetected means we don’t have an answer yet.

From Makanda to the Karoo to New Mexico, Rhodes University is connected to a global effort to answer one of humanity’s oldest questions. One day, if the signal survives all the tests, there will be headlines after that. Until then, the work of separating cosmic noise from possibility continues patiently and methodically.