The Message to Jupiter's Moon EuropaCredit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA unveiled the message we are sending to Jupiter’s Moon Europa later this year.

NASA has a tradition of sending inspiring messages aboard its spacecraft, and Europa Clipper will keep this tradition alive. Scheduled to launch in October 2024 to explore Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons believed to harbor an ocean beneath its icy surface, the spacecraft will carry a special message into the cosmos.

A protective vault on Europa Clipper holds a triangular plate with the message, shielding its electronics from Jupiter’s radiation.

The Message to Jupiter's Moon EuropaThe art on this side of the plate, which will seal an opening of the vault on NASA’s Europa Clipper, features waveforms that are visual representations of the sound waves formed by the word “water” in 103 languages. At center is a symbol representing the American Sign Language sign for “water.”   Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

At its core, the artifact features an engraving of a poem titled “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa” by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón.

Additionally, a silicon microchip carries over 2.6 million names submitted by the public. This microchip will be featured alongside an illustration of a bottle amidst Jupiter’s system, a nod to NASA’s “Message in a Bottle” campaign, inviting the public to include their names with the spacecraft.

source NASA