The message consists of seven parts that encode the following ( from the top down ) : Because it will take 25,000 years for the message to reach its intended destination ( and an additional 25,000 years for any reply ) , the Arecibo message was more a demonstration of human technological achievement than a real attempt to enter into a conversation with extraterrestrials .
This means the Arecibo message was a show of human technological achievement , not a real attempt to talk to extraterrestrial life .