Cold War Radio Interference Sparked Soviet Hunt for Alien Life

A space historian explores how the advent of radio astronomy led to the USSR's search for extraterrestrial life

As humans began to explore outer space in the latter half of the 20th century, radio waves proved a powerful tool. Scientists could send out radio waves to communicate with satellites, rockets and other spacecraft, and use radio telescopes to take in radio waves emitted by objects throughout the universe.

SETI’s ‘Noah’s Ark’ – a space historian explores how the advent of radio astronomy led to the USSR’s search for extraterrestrial life

The planetary radar, built in 1960 in Crimea, from which the Morse signal 'MIR, Lenin, USSR' was sent in November 1962. National Radio Astronomy Observatory ArchiveAs humans began to explore outer space in the latter half of the 20th century, radio waves proved a powerful tool. Scientists could send out radio waves to communicate with satellites, rockets and other spacecraft, and use radio telescopes to take in radio waves emitted by objects thr…

When the USSR and America Joined in the Search for ET

“Mixed Signals,” by Rebecca Charbonneau, explores an unusual period of Soviet-U.S. cooperation in the hunt for aliens.

Armenia’s Abandoned Telescope and the Soviet Search for Life

Two hours from Yerevan, amid grazing cattle, lie the abandoned remains of a 54m telescope that once searched for life beyond our world.

A Primer on SETI at the SETI Institute

SETI in Russia, USSR and the post-Soviet space: a century of research

Studies on extraterrestrial civilisations in Russia date back to the end of the 19th century. The modern period of SETI studies began in the USSR in the early 1960s. The first edition of the I.S. Shklovsky’s book Unive…