The 42 radio antennas that make up the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) , in the mountains of Northern California (USA), have scanned outer space since 2007 in search of extraterrestrial life . Now, lack of resources has forced the suspension of the search program for signs of alien life coordinated by the SETI Institute . The ATA had planned to scan the 1,235 new exoplanets detected by NASA's Kepler space telescope for radio signals.
SETI astronomer Seth Shostak compared the project's suspension to "leaving the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria in dry dock." According to the scientist, "if all Americans contributed only 3 extra cents in their taxes, we could know if we have a cosmic company. "
The $ 50 million radio telescope was built by SETI and the University of California at Berkeley thanks to donations from one of Microsoft's founders, Paul Allen. Keeping the antennas running costs $ 1.5 million a year.
