When Vancouver Heard From Mars

A signal from the Red Planet to Canada in 1924?

Mars has long fascinated humans, especially the possibility of life there.

Until we landed spacecraft on the planet, there was always the hope and belief that maybe extraterrestrials were looking to make contact with us.

We know now that while Mars may have had life in the distant past, there is nothing there now.

There is certainly nothing that can send a signal to Canada.

Or is there…

On July 27, 1923, Signal Station opened at Prospect Point in Stanley Park, the highest point in the park.

The station was erected to alert vessels passing through Burrard Inlet about tide conditions and possible hazards.

And for a brief time humans thought it was where we made First Contact.

In August 1924, Mars made one of its closest approaches to Earth in many years, coming within 55.7 million kilometres. This was the closest approach by the planet in over 100 years.

With it being at its closest from Aug. 22 to 24, the American and Canadian militaries agreed to observe radio silence each day to check for any signals from our celestial neighbour. A signal would also be sent to Mars to see if anyone answered back.

Then…a signal was heard.

At 7:12 a.m. on Aug. 21, 1924, Signal Station picked up four distinct group of dashes. The dashes started on a low note and rose in frequency with each subsequent dash.

The news of the signal was reported by newspapers around the world.

With the belief we had just made contact with Martians, Admiral Aberle, Chief of Naval Operations, issued an order to all naval stations around the Pacific to listen for signals from the Red Planet.

But…it turned out that the signal had a very terrestrial origin. It was identified as a new type of beacon being developed to aid navigation in the inland waterways of Washington state.

As for the Signal Station, it closed in 1939, one year after the completion of the Lions Gate Bridge.