Sealing panel used aboard the Jupiter-bound Europa Clipper spacecraft to sport a message encoded in Hindi!

Last year, NASA extended an invitation to people worldwide to submit their names. This initiative, far from a mere attendance record, aimed to immortalise these names on microchips aboard the Europa Clipper spacecraft, destined for Jupiter's moon to investigate its potential for sustaining life.

With submissions now closed, the 2.6 million accepted names are being inscribed onto a microchip attached to a triangular metal plate, shielding the spacecraft from space radiation. One side of this plate features a handwritten poem by Ada Limón, the US poet laureate, titled “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa”. The opposite side displays etchings of 103 waveforms, representing the word “water” in different languages, including Hindi.

This pioneering initiative reflects NASA's tradition of imbuing space missions with human touches to inspire and unite across cosmic expanses. The panel, measuring 7 inches by 11 inches and made of tantalum, draws inspiration from the iconic “Golden Record” carried by Voyager spacecraft in the 1970s.

Additionally, the Drake Equation, estimating the possibility of finding advanced life beyond Earth, is etched onto the plate's interior side. This serves as a reminder of humanity's enduring curiosity about the cosmos and pays homage to planetary science pioneers like Ron Greeley, whose contributions paved the way for missions like Europa Clipper.

Lori Glaze, Director of NASA's Planetary Science Division, describes the vault plate's content and design as rich with meaning, symbolising the best of humanity's endeavors across science, technology, education, art, and maths. The inclusion of water as a connecting element underscores Earth's relationship with the mysterious ocean world Europa.

As Europa Clipper embarks on its six-year journey covering nearly 3 million kilometres, it carries the collective hopes and dreams of countless individuals. The spacecraft will conduct 49 close flybys of Europa, investigating its icy shell and subsurface ocean for signs of habitability.