NASA has revealed that it is sending a “message in a bottle” to possible alien life hiding 1.8 billion miles away on Jupiter’s moon Europa.
The message, in the form of a plaque mounted on NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, features US Poet Laureate Ada Limon’s handwritten ‘In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa’.
It will be fixed to the probe with a silicon microchip stencilled with millions of names submitted by the public, NASA said.
Newsflash obtained a statement from NASA saying: “When it launches in October, the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft will carry a richly layered dispatch that includes more than 2.6 million names submitted by the public.”
They added: “Following in NASA’s storied tradition of sending inspirational messages into space, the agency has special plans for Europa Clipper, which later this year will launch toward Jupiter’s moon Europa.
“The moon shows strong evidence of an ocean under its icy crust, with more than twice the amount of water of all of Earth’s oceans combined.
“A triangular metal plate on the spacecraft will honor that connection to Earth in several ways.
“At the heart of the artifact is an engraving of U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón’s handwritten ‘In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa’, along with a silicon microchip stenciled with more than 2.6 million names submitted by the public.
“The microchip will be the centerpiece of an illustration of a bottle amid the Jovian system – a reference to NASA’s ‘Message in a Bottle’ campaign. Which invited the public to send their names with the spacecraft.”
NASA said the plate, measuring seven by 11 inches (18 by 28 centimetres), features a number of drawings.
The statement said: “The outward-facing panel features art that highlights Earth’s connection to Europa.
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“Linguists collected recordings of the word ‘water’ spoken in 103 languages, from families of languages around the world.
“The audio files converted into waveforms (visual representations of sound waves) and etched into the plate.
“The waveforms radiate out from a symbol representing the American Sign Language sign for ‘water’.”
Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said: “The content and design of Europa Clipper’s vault plate are swimming with meaning.”
She added: “The plate combines the best humanity has to offer across the universe – science, technology, education, art, and math.
“The message of connection through water, essential for all forms of life as we know it, perfectly illustrates Earth’s tie to this mysterious ocean world we are setting out to explore.”
The probe is packed with advanced scientific instruments geared towards searching for life and for life-supporting conditions.
NASA says the Clipper will begin orbiting Jupiter in 2030 after five and half years in space.
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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