Have you ever wondered what message you’d send to the stars?
This week marks a final opportunity for Australians to add their voices to a once-in-a-lifetime cosmic project a message that might one day travel further from Earth than anything created by humanity.
Fifty years after the launch of NASA’s iconic Voyager spacecraft in 1977 each carrying a “Golden Record” designed as a time capsule representing life and culture on Earth a new initiative is inviting everyday people to share what they want the universe to remember about life here.
The HUMANS (Humanity United with MIT Art and Nanotechnology in Space) Deep Space Message project, in collaboration with Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum and scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has already collected more than 1,700 personal messages from around the world.
But submissions will close on February 27, meaning this week is the last chance for locals to record their voice, thoughts or reflections before the final collection is sealed for deep space.
The messages are as diverse as the people who send them from children expressing wonder at the night sky, to playful quips like “humans are mostly harmless, however, people eat pineapple on pizza don’t judge,” and heartfelt reflections about family, curiosity, life on Earth and what it means to be human.
Rather than simply documenting facts about our planet, the HUMANS project asks Australians to think deeply about our collective story: what makes us human, what we value most, and how we’d like to be remembered.
Project lead Dr. Maya Nasr says the initiative isn’t just about communicating with potential extraterrestrial life it’s an opportunity for people to reflect on their own lives and values.
“When you think about what you would tell the universe … it makes you more aware of how fragile and rare life on Earth is,” she explains.
Once final submissions close this weekend, the collected messages will be etched onto a tiny silicon nano-wafer and sent on a space mission planned to commemorate the Voyager probes’ half-century journey.
It’s a rare chance for voices from our community from the Hawkesbury and across Australia to be part of a profound moment in space history.
Whether it’s a message of love, curiosity, humour or hope, what you choose to say could become part of humanity’s legacy among the stars.
You can send your message by clicking on the link below:
Powerhouse Museum
Powerhouse Museum Sydney is the largest museum group in Australia. It sits at the intersection of the arts, design, science and technology and is custodian to over half a million objects within their collection.
