The hypothesis that extraterrestrial civilizations exist and that they sent exploratory probes to the solar system cannot be ruled out, based on currently available data. This is the conclusion of a paper presented at the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on Technological Signatures, which analyzes how successful scientific research has been in detecting signs of non-human technology in our cosmic neighbourhood.
According to the report, vast areas and many objects in the solar system are still not adequately explored. At long distances, even characterizing small objects – comparable to the size of a probe – remains a complex task.
For decades, much of the search for extraterrestrial technology has focused on detecting anomalous electromagnetic signals, ranging from radio transmissions to potential laser pulses. According to author and radio astronomer T. Joseph W. Lazio, the scope of exploration should be expanded to include the search for artefacts. They are technological objects of non-terrestrial origin whose presence can be detected in the solar system. This includes probes carrying information, objects abandoned in orbit, and even artifacts deposited on planets, moons, or asteroids.
He also believes that the main challenge is not only finding the artefacts, but interpreting them. An object may exhibit an unusual path, unusual temperature, strange materials, or unusual shape—characteristics that can distinguish these artefacts from other celestial bodies. However, confirming whether it is a natural phenomenon or a potential technological artifact requires additional observations and significant resources.
Lazio recalls a recent case that illustrates this difficulty. In 2020, an object named 2020 SO caught the attention of the scientific community due to its unusual trajectory. Later observations revealed that it was likely not an asteroid, but rather a Centaur rocket stage launched decades earlier.
Review He concludes that despite decades of space exploration, much of the solar system is still observed with limited resolution. This situation reflects practical limitations of modern exploration. Observatories generate huge amounts of data, but the resolution and coverage of this data is still insufficient to comprehensively examine every corner of the solar system.
For example, in observations of the outer solar system, an object about 1 km in size may not be observed in the available images. Even for better-studied objects, such as the Moon or Mars, the volume of information is so large that reviewing it completely poses a major technical challenge.
Given this scenario, Lazio suggests using artificial intelligence to alleviate part of this bottleneck. Machine learning algorithms can sift through the vast amounts of data generated by observatories and space missions to locate objects with unusual properties. Well-trained AI can identify candidates of interest from among data sets that continue to grow by the day.
Lazio’s conclusion does suggest that extraterrestrial probes may be hidden in the solar system. His argument is simpler: we do not yet know our cosmic neighborhood in sufficient detail to rule out this possibility with absolute certainty.
This story originally appeared on Wired Spanish It has been translated into English.
