The NASA SETI sky survey: Recent developments

Abstract

NASA's Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project utilizes two complementary search strategies: a sky survey and a targeted search. The SETI team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, has primary responsibility to develop and carry out the sky survey part. Described here is progress that has been made developing the major elements of the survey including a 2-million channel wideband spectrum analyzer system that is being designed and constructed by JPL for the Deep Space Network (DSN). The system will be a multiuser instrument; it will serve as a prototype for the SETI sky survey processor. This prototype system will be used to test the signal detection and observational strategies on DSN antennas in the near future.