Simulation of NASA's Europa Clipper mission
NASA's campaign to collect the names of Earth's inhabitants is like a "message in a bottle", allowing people the opportunity to send their names along with the Europa Clipper mission to a world with a high possibility of extraterrestrial life, according to Engadget today, December 31.
However, that window of opportunity is quickly closing for NASA, with the name-collecting campaign ending as the New Year's bells ring, marking the end of the old year and the world welcoming the new.
Europa, one of Jupiter's largest moons, is thought to have a deep salt ocean beneath its icy crust. The salt ocean could potentially have the right environment to allow life in the form of bacteria to thrive.
To participate in the “message in a bottle” campaign, anyone can visit the website and fill out a short registration form. The deadline is December 31 (US time).
To date, NASA says it has received more than 2.4 million names.
NASA said the names of everyone who signed up would be printed in tiny letters onto microchips, using electron beam technology that can create lines of text smaller than 1/1000th the width of a human hair.
These microchips will be mounted on a metal plate engraved with a poem by American poet Ada Limón.
The Europa Clipper is scheduled to launch in October 2024, and will spend six years orbiting Jupiter. There, the spacecraft will search for possible habitable moons.
Europa is one of Jupiter's 95 moons, and among the first known to humans.
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