In 1977 it was a golden record, now scientists are sending a “message in a bottle” plaque into space to communicate with aliens.
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft will carry a message when it launches in October 2024 and heads toward Jupiter’s moon Europa.
The outward-facing side of the spacecraft’s silver vault plate is engraved with waveforms for the word ‘water’ in 104 languages.
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.
It is not the first time, NASA has sent messages into space on their spacecraft.
The Voyager Golden Records were two identical phonograph records which were included aboard the two Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977. The records contain sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, and are intended for any intelligent extraterrestrial life form who may find them.
Also in the 1970s, the two NASA Pioneer spacecraft carried gold-anodised aluminum plaques featuring nude figures of a human male and female along with several symbols designed to provide information about the origin of the spacecraft. It also detailed a map to find Earth.
The Clipper plaque is made of tantalum metal and is engraved on both sides. It seals an opening in the electronics vault, which houses the spacecraft’s sensitive electronics.
One side features U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón’s handwritten “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa,” and will be affixed with a silicon microchip stenciled with more than 2.6 million names submitted by the public.
The microchip will be placed at the centre of the 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.
The artwork includes the Drake Equation, which was formulated by astronomer Frank Drake in 1961 to estimate the possibility of finding advanced civilisations beyond Earth.
Also featured is a reference to the radio frequencies considered plausible for interstellar communication, symbolising how humanity uses this radio band to listen for messages from the cosmos.
These particular frequencies match the radio waves emitted in space by the components of water and are known by astronomers as the “water hole.” On the plate, they are depicted as radio emission lines.
The plate includes a portrait of one of the founders of planetary science, Ron Greeley, whose early efforts to develop a Europa mission two decades ago laid the foundation for Europa Clipper.
The other side of the plate, which displays the audio waveforms of the word “water”.
NASA say: “In the spirit of the Voyager spacecraft’s Golden Record, which carries sounds and images to convey the richness and diversity of life on Earth, the layered message on Europa Clipper aims to spark the imagination and offer a unifying vision.”
Europa Clipper, set to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will arrive at the Jupiter system in 2030 and conduct about 50 flybys of the moon Europa.
The mission’s main science goal is to determine whether there are places below Europa, that could support life. The mission’s three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon’s icy shell and its surface interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterise its geology.
The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.
Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, says: “The content and design of Europa Clipper’s vault plate are swimming with meaning. 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.”
Project Scientist Robert Pappalardo, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, says: “We’ve packed a lot of thought and inspiration into this plate design, as we have into this mission itself. It’s been a decades-long journey, and we can’t wait to see what Europa Clipper shows us at this water world.”
