Scientists have been aiming sensors and giant microphones at space hoping to catch some sort of signal that would signify the existence of extraterrestrial beings for years. It’s basically a decades-long version of waiting by the phone for a call that never came. Now, it would seem that they have had enough. A group called the Messaging Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (METI) is asking for $1 million in order to send a message to space, essentially amounting to sending a “You up?” text.

METI is a newly formed organization that’s based in San Francisco, Phys.org reports. It’s currently trying to raise enough funding to mobilize staff and work on powerful transmitters that will send a greeting to any species that might be listening out in space. The group was formed last year and is on track to host several workshops in the U.S. and Paris.

According to METI president Douglas Vakoch, the whole point of the project is to gain some information about the universe. What could be a faster way to gain more knowledge than to ask those who potentially know more about space than humans?

The project’s first target is the Proxima Centauri solar system, which is pretty much the closest star system to Earth. The group will beam a message at the sector via radio waves or lasers. After that, METI intends to send more signals to more places that are further and present high likelihood for the development of organic life forms.

As Circa notes, this is the first attempt by humans to actually send messages to potentially hostile aliens in a repeated and intentional manner. For decades, scientists have chosen to simply listen in and watch out for alien signals for a reason.

It wasn’t because they didn’t have the means since the radio and laser technology has been around for a long time. It was because many astronomers feared that something dangerous might receive the message and take it as an open invitation to invade.