2024-03-18 15:48:07
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft will launch towards Jupiter’s moon next October, carrying on board a metal plate charged with sending a “message from humanity”.
A bottle in the sea. On March 8, NASA announced on a “message from humanity”.
“A message from humanity from one water world to another – carried to Europa on a piece of tantalum metal,” reads X.
Main objective of the space mission: to determine if there are habitable places beneath the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon, named “Europa”.
2.6 million names engraved
Made entirely of tantalum, the metal plate measures approximately 18 by 28 centimeters and presents graphic elements, heavy with symbols, on both sides.
On one side, a poem by the American poet Ada Limón, In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa, accompanied by the drawing of a bottle representing Jupiter and the celestial objects that surround it.
In the center of the bottle hides a silicon electronic chip listing more than 2.6 million names. Indeed last June, NASA invited those who wish to sign Ada Limón’s poem during its campaign “Message in Bottle”.
A little further down, the portrait of Ron Greeley, one of the founders of planetary science, adorns the poem. He is particularly known for having laid the first foundations of the Europa Clipper mission, indicates the Nasa.
Photo of the metal plate that will accompany the Europa Clipper spacecraft during its launch, published by NASA on X (formerly Twitter) on March 8, 2024. – NASA –
On the other side of the plaque are engravings of sound waves translating the word “water” spoken in 103 different languages. An important symbol for NASA, which highlights the link between the Earth and the moon Europa, both composed mainly of water.
Photo of the metal plate that will accompany the Europa Clipper spacecraft during its launch, published by NASA on its launch, published by NASA on X (formerly Twitter) on March 8, 2024. – NASA –
On one of the sides facing inwards, NASA has also taken care to note the Drake equation, a mathematical formula developed in 1961 by the astronomer Frank Drake, to estimate the possibility of finding advanced civilizations in the beyond the Earth. According to the US space agency, this equation has since inspired and guided research in astrobiology and related fields.
“The plate combines the best humanity has to offer across the universe – science, technology, education, art and mathematics,” said Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Sciences Division. of NASA in Washington.
Photo of the metal plate that will accompany the Europa Clipper spacecraft during its launch, published by NASA on X (formerly Twitter) on March 8, 2024. – NASA –
On the way to the cosmos
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft will make dozens of close flybys of Jupiter’s moon Europa. The main objective of the ship is to determine if there are places beneath the surface of this moon that could be habitable.
Indeed, under the icy crust of Europa, there is an ocean “with more than twice the quantity of water of all the oceans on Earth combined”, specifies the Nasa. Conditions favorable to the potential development of a form of life.
Through this mission, scientists hope to better understand “the astrobiological potential” of habitable worlds beyond our planet.
The Europa Clipper spacecraft is scheduled to take flight from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in October 2024. By 2030, it is expected to orbit Jupiter and perform 49 close flybys of Europa.
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