Have you ever wanted to send your name into deep space? Well now is your chance! NASA is offering the opportunity for members of the public to add their names to a microchip that will travel aboard the Europa Clipper spacecraft as it journeys to Jupiter’s moon Europa. The spacecraft will be exploring the icy moon, which is believed to have an ocean hidden beneath its frozen outer shell.
The “Message in a Bottle” campaign, which allows people to add their names to the microchip, has already received about 700,000 submissions. But there’s still time to join in – the deadline for submissions is just six weeks away, on December 31, 2023.
Once all the names are gathered, technicians at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California will use an electron beam to stencil them onto a dime-size silicon microchip. The microchip will then be attached to a metal plate engraved with an original poem by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, celebrating the mission.
The Europa Clipper mission’s main goal is to determine whether there are places below Europa’s icy surface that could support life. The spacecraft will gather data on Europa’s subsurface ocean, icy crust, and atmosphere during its orbits. This information will help scientists better understand the potential for habitable worlds beyond Earth.
In addition to adding your name to the microchip, participants can also watch a video showing how the names will be stenciled onto the microchip, read the poem by Ada Limón, and even create a customizable souvenir to commemorate the experience.
So, if you’ve ever dreamed of sending your name to outer space, now is your chance to be a part of NASA’s Europa Clipper mission!