Earth’s first message to aliens and an ode to space to feature at Expo 2020 Dubai – The National

From a radio telescope capable of detecting alien life forms to a poem beamed into the sky as a message from Earth, interstellar content will play a big part in Expo 2020 Dubai.

Space exploration has been a theme of the world fair for decades and next year in Dubai South that tradition will continue.

Visitors queued up to see a moon rock brought back by the Apollo astronauts on display at the 1970 world expo in Osaka. More than a decade earlier replicas of the Sputnik satellites drew curious crowds to the Soviet pavilion at the 1958 Brussels exposition.

Hazza Al Mansouris historic achievement in becoming the first Emirati in space sets new heights for our nations achievements

Marjan Faraidooni, Dubai Expo 2020

The Man in the Space Age theme of the 1962 Seattle world fair is believed to have inspired generations into space research and technology.

Closer to home, a global poem will be created at the British pavilion at the expo site next year. The architect was inspired by physicist Stephen Hawkings final project to prepare a message from Earth to advanced beings in space.

The mobility section of the expo, one of three main themes that include opportunity and sustainability, will also document the UAEs space plans.

Hazza Al Mansouris historic achievement in becoming the first Emirati in space sets new heights for our nations achievements, said Marjan Faraidooni, chief pavilions and exhibitions officer, expo pavilions and exhibitions, Expo 2020 Dubai.

Space exploration is set to be a key focus throughout Expo 2020 with the Mobility Pavilion documenting the UAEs space missions.

"Our exciting space ambitions are the next stage of this journey, with preparations already well underway to chart a course to Mars. This demonstrates the UAEs ambitious, progressive vision and technical excellence ideals that also underpin Expo 2020 Dubai."

Pavilions designed by other countries will also engage visitors with space-related attractions and encourage them to conjure visions of future societies.

The UK pavilion will invite visitors to submit words that will be illuminated using music and video projections on LED screens from a stunning sculpture that resembles a splintered cone.

UK designer Es Devlin has conceptualised a constantly changing poem in English, Arabic and Chinese created by expo visitors from all walks of life that will be beamed across the site.

She said the idea drew directly from one of Stephen Hawkings final projects the Breakthrough Message.

Hawking and his colleagues invited people around the globe to participate in a competition in 2015 to consider what message they would want to communicate as a planet should Earth one day encounter advanced civilisations in space.

What if the UK Pavilion at Expo 2020 became a place where visitors from all over the world chose to take part in a collective global project that showcases British expertise in AI technologies and poetry while transcending national identities? Ms Devlin said.

The China pavilion will explain how a giant satellite dish located in the southwest Guizhou province listens for radio signals from outer space to detect alien life.

The size of 30 football fields, the Five-hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope or FAST is the worlds largest single-dish radio telescope.

Exploring space, hunting for extra-terrestrial life and a better understanding of the origin of the universe are its high reaching aims.

Luxembourg will also feature space content in its pavilion. The country has agreed to work with the UAE on space exploration and its pavilion will be re-purposed as a permanent space centre after the expo.

Other pavilions that will feature space exploration include the Canadian and Belarussian structures to touch on that will touch on aerospace innovations and space research.

Updated: October 6, 2019 08:52 AM

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Earth's first message to aliens and an ode to space to feature at Expo 2020 Dubai - The National