NASA is calling for anyone interested to submit their name to be registered on the Europa Clipper spacecraft, which will travel 1.8 billion miles to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa.
These names will accompany a piece of the libretto, In Praise of Mystery: An Ode to Europe, written by the American poet Ada Lemon.
NASA describes the initiative as a “message in a bottle” because it involves sending greetings from Earth to the dark depths of the solar system.
“The message in the bottle is the perfect convergence of science, art, and technology, and we are excited to share this opportunity with the world to be part of the Europa Clipper’s flight,” said NASA Science Officer Nicola Fox. The Mission Directorate loved the idea of Our Name traveling through the solar system in a radiation-proof spacecraft, seeking to discover the secrets of Jupiter’s frozen moon.
The Europa Clipper is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in October 2024 and take six years to reach its destination.
As it orbits Jupiter and makes several flybys of Europa, an array of science instruments will collect data about the moon’s subsurface ocean, ice crust, and atmosphere.
The main objective of the Europa Clipper mission is to discover places beneath the surface of Europa that could support life.
It will also seek to understand the nature of the icy crust and the oceans beneath it, as well as learn more about the formation and geology of the Moon.
“Detailed exploration of the Europa mission will help scientists understand the astrobiological potential of habitable worlds beyond our planet,” NASA said.
