ASU researchers propose searching for alien artifacts on the moon

ASU professor Paul Davies and student Robert Wagner have a new paper in the journal Acta Astronautica, calling on volunteers to search high resolution photos of the Moon for evidence of alien visitation. [Right, the "Blair Cuspids" photographed by Lunar Orbiter 2 in 1966. Credit, NASA] The basic concepts are that:

Alien civilizations may have sent probes to our region of the galaxy. Any mission to the solar system would probably have occurred a very long time ago. The lunar environment could preserve artifacts for millions of years. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter provides a photographic database to search for artifacts. Searching the LRO database would make an excellent educational project.

The authors conclude that "Although there is only a tiny probability that alien technology would have left traces on the moon in the form of an artifact or surface modification of lunar features, this location has the virtue of being close, and of preserving traces for an immense duration."

The article is generating buzz in the planetary science community

Link: Searching for alien artifacts on the moon, Acta Astronautica, In Press. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2011.10.022