SpaceX could do more than just put Starlink satellites into the orbit and provide internet to humans on Earth.It could also enable aliens to see us.
According to a new study that has been accepted for publication in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, we are on Earth, currently invisible to any potential alien life in space.
However, as more and more technology is floating and flying in space and around us, thanks to space companies like SpaceX, we may finally be visible to them.
This will not be a rapid change, as the study suggests that this will probably take 800 years to happen. But it looks like if Starlink keeps sending satellites at us at its current rate, it will expose us.
Musk's Starlink mission is to send internet-beaming satellites into orbit so that remote places on Earth are able to access high-speed internet.
In a single launch, SpaceX sends about 60 Starlink satellites into the orbit.
As Forbes points out, there are 1,000 Starlink satellites in orbit at present, and the space company plans to have about 12,000 of them in orbit by 2030, with the possibility of some 40,000 down the line.
Having so many satellites above us Earthlings creates what is being called the first "techno-signature". This techno signature is what could enable aliens to realize that humans live on Earth, allowing us to see into deep space.
So, Elon Musk's Starlink mission will do much more than just provide internet access to remote areas on Earth; This would also allow to aliens to learn about our existence on this planet.
However, with 800 years before that happens, we've got some time to think about ways to welcome him.
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