*****

                          PROJECT PHOENIX DESCRIPTION



   The goal of Project Phoenix is simple: to find evidence of
   intelligence elsewhere in the universe.

   In pursuit of this goal, Project Phoenix will make an unprecedented
   systematic search for radio signals from the neighborhoods of
   approximately 1,000 nearby, Sun-like stars. Because the project will
   use the largest antennas in the world, and because the receivers will
   be unequaled in terms of frequency coverage and signal-analyzing
   ability, this search will be far and away the most comprehensive ever
   undertaken.

   Thanks to its long history of cooperation with NASA, the SETI
   Institute is able to capitalize on a $58 million government investment
   representing decades of work by scientists and engineers. NASA had
   completed less than a year of a planned ten-year SETI experiment when
   Congress, under strong pressure for deficit reduction, terminated the
   observations. Because the equipment and procedures were still in a
   ramp-up phase, not even one-thousandth of the intended search had been
   conducted. It was as if the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria had all been
   called back and mothballed within moments of pulling away from the
   docks.

   NASA is willing to make this sophisticated equipment available to the
   SETI Institute, whose scientists and engineers were directly involved
   in its development. By building upon the existing equipment and the
   core technical staff at the Institute, Project Phoenix will be able to
   hit the ground running.

In the Near-Term



   The immediate tasks of this project are already underway: (1) to make
   ready for use the instrumentation from the terminated NASA program,
   and (2) to spend 5 months conducting observations of the southern sky
   -- invisible from the Northern Hemisphere -- using the Parkes 210-foot
   diameter radio telescope in Australia.

   The immediate task can be characterized by three principal
   requirements:
     * Finish doubling the existing digital receiver, or spectrometer, so
       that the total number of simultaneously-observable frequency
       channels is 74 million. The spectrometer includes on-board,
       dedicated computers capable of automatically recognizing several
       signal types including continuous, pulsed, constant frequency, or
       drifting. Doubling the spectrometer saves money by halving the
       search time.
     * Construct confirmatory hardware that can be used at a second,
       smaller antenna to determine if a signal found by the main SETI
       antenna is "real", or merely noise from nearby terrestrial
       sources. NASA's observations at Arecibo showed that this equipment
       is necessary to reliably and efficently pick out ETI signals from
       a thicket of man-made interference.
     * Make modifications to the Parkes antennas and amplifiers necessary
       for a SETI search. The principal requirements here are the ability
       to cover a wide frequency band and to do so with as little
       amplifier noise as practicable. The intended frequency coverage of
       Project Phoenix is in the quietest part of the microwave window,
       1.0 to 3.0 GHz.



   This effort is expected to be completed by late summer of 1994.
   Testing and shipping will consume the remainder of the calendar year.

   The initial observations by Project Phoenix will take place in the
   first half of 1995 in New South Wales, where all targeted stars
   readily visible only from the Southern Hemisphere will be observed. In
   total, approximately 200 Sun-like stars will be scrutinized during
   this first run.

For the Rest of the Decade



   At the conclusion of the Australian observations in mid-1995, the
   Phoenix receiving equipment will be moved to the world's largest
   antenna, the 1,000 foot diameter Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto
   Rico. By then, a major upgrade to this instrument will be completed,
   giving greater sensitivity and allowing easier coverage of broad
   regions of the radio spectrum. Project Phoenix will take advantage of
   large blocks of observing time already granted to Institute scientists
   and extending to the end of the millennium. A smaller northern
   telescope will also be modified to co-observe with Arecibo, and
   provide the necessary confirmation capability.

   The Arecibo Observatory [IMAGE]

   As the project proceeds, instrumentation, data handling and observing
   procedures will be steadily improved.

   These observations, spanning ten years and nearly 1,000 target stars,
   represent the core program of Project Phoenix, and will cost
   approximately $3 million per year.

Fundraising Status



   The Near-Term Phase of Project Phoenix, covering the period from
   December 1, 1993 through June 30, 1995, requires a total of $7.3
   million. As of June 1, 1994, we have received a total of $4.5 million.




   Contributions to Project Phoenix may be sent to:

   SETI Institute
   2035 Landings Drive
   Mountain View, CA 94043



   The SETI Institute is a nonprofit corporation founded in 1984
   (California Corporation #1261957). The Institute is a scientific and
   educational organization governed by the provisions of Section
   501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and the Instituteis Federal
   identification number for reporting and tax purposes is 94-2951356.
   All contributions to the Institute for Project Phoenix are deductible
   to the donor for both State and Federal income tax purposes.



   More information about Project Phoenix may be obtained from:
   phoenix_info@seti-inst.edu
   or from the above address.