Dogs on Duty

Most SETI stations utilise large networks of sensitive radio antennae to receive signals from space that are then parsed and decoded through powerful computers.

At the YARN project base the covertly diverted data flow capacity of the powerful twin radomes is intercepted by trained dogs equipped with specially fitted foil helmets and coils of copper wire.

Many animals possess acute sensory abilities. The dogs at Waihopai record their interpretations of the signal data by pawing at touch-screen computer panels.

The difficult process of reassembling the often garbled information into comprehensible English has been painstakingly slow.

"We wanted to release as much of these wonderful transmissions as we could, as quickly as we could," she said, "but we were hampered by a lack of funds and by men in dark suits.¨

Professor Grenfell´s team is now in negotiation with sponsors in China.

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