The American space agency Nasa launched the Europa Clipper Mission to Jupiter’s watery moon, Europa, on Monday.
Along with the spacecraft, a unique message recorded in Hindi and other languages has been sent.
Europa shows strong evidence of an ocean beneath its icy crust, containing more than twice the amount of water found in all of Earth’s oceans combined. Scientists have engraved a message on the spacecraft in 103 languages, including Hindi.
This message is etched on a 7 by 11-inch plate made from tantalum metal.
The plate features graphic elements on both sides, showcasing recordings of the word “water” in over 100 languages spoken on Earth, highlighting the connection between our planet and Europa.
One of the waveforms on the plate reads “paani,” which is how water is pronounced in Hindi. The concept takes inspiration from the golden record sent aboard the Voyager mission, which is now traveling through interstellar space.
“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,” said Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division.
In addition to the linguistic plate, the spacecraft will carry an engraving of US Poet Laureate Ada Lim³n’s handwritten poem “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa,” along with a silicon microchip stenciled with more than 2.6 million names submitted by people worldwide.
Artwork on the inward-facing side of the plate includes references to radio frequencies considered plausible for interstellar communication, symbolizing humanity’s efforts to listen for messages from the cosmos.
