Can Aliens Hear Us? NASA Study Finds Extraterrestrials Could Be Eavesdropping on Earth’s Space Conversations

New York, September 20: Earth may be accidentally announcing its presence to the cosmos, and alien civilisations could be listening in on our space communications. A new study by researchers at Pennsylvania State University and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory suggests that our routine space communications could be detectable by alien civilisations.

The research, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, finds that when mission teams send powerful radio commands to Mars rovers or orbiters, not all of the energy is absorbed. Instead, a portion escapes into deep space, travelling indefinitely, like a cosmic breadcrumb trail that could tip off extraterrestrial eavesdroppers. Have Aliens Already Visited Earth? Ex-NASA Engineer Claims US Government, Private Firms Trying To Reverse Engineer Alien Technology Recovered From Crashed UFOs.

Could Aliens Be Listening to Us Right Now?

“Humans are predominantly communicating with the spacecraft and probes we have sent to study other planets like Mars,” explained Pinchen Fan, Penn State astronomer and lead author of the study. “But a planet like Mars does not block the entire transmission. So, a distant spacecraft or planet positioned along the path of these interplanetary communications could potentially detect the spillover,” he added.

According to the study, the chances of being overheard are not random. If Earth and Mars align from an alien observer’s perspective, there’s a 77% chance our signals would beam straight past them. Alignments with other solar system planets still carry a 12% chance of exposure. Outside of such alignments, however, the odds drop close to zero. Alien Invasion or Human Hoax? 'Mysterious UFO Sphere' Found in Colombia Sparks Debate Over Possible Extraterrestrial Origins.

The team analysed decades of logs from NASA’s Deep Space Network, the massive antenna system that manages communications with spacecraft beyond the Earth-Moon system. Because our planets orbit within the same flat plane, civilisations within about 23 light-years and along that orbital path would be best placed to listen in.

The twist? The method works both ways. If aliens are also commanding probes around their own planets, Earth could theoretically catch their signals during planetary alignments. That could give the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) a new playbook: stop just listening for random broadcasts and start scanning star systems where two planets line up from Earth’s point of view.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 20, 2025 05:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).