Voices Lifted to the Sky

The Europa Clipper Vault Plate is meant to highlight connections between human cultures, between the two water worlds of Earth and Europa, and between all forms of life as we know it.

On the opposite side of the plate, the design is a montage of several elements.

At the top of this side is the Drake Equation – a mathematical formula created by Frank Drake and used for calculating the possibility of finding advanced civilizations in the Milky Way. The engraving is derived from a photo of the equation in Drake’s own handwriting.

In astronomy, the term "water hole" refers to a range of radio wavelengths that are relatively quiet of background noise. They are also a scientific and mathematical way of expressing the word "water" — and are considered ideal by some researchers for interstellar communication.

The centerpiece of the vault plate design is a poem written by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón. It’s engraved on the vault plate in her own handwriting. The poem connects two water worlds: Earth, and Europa — a world with secrets yet to be explored.

Europa Clipper’s poetic cargo is unique. Where previous missions have invited the public to send their names to space, people around the world were invited to sign their names to the poem as part of NASA’s “Message in a Bottle” campaign.  Limón is shown here visiting JPL.

Over 2.6 million people submitted their names to be stenciled on a microchip to travel to Europa alongside the poem. The attached microchip is seen here at the top of the plate. The chip sits within a cosmic bottle, orbited by Europa and Jupiter’s other three large moons.

Although a spacecraft is indeed a machine, the vault plate design highlights the human touch. Every element laser engraved onto the Europa Clipper Vault Plate was either hand-written, hand drawn, or represents human voices and names.

That’s because, as technically complex as this robotic spacecraft is, every part of it was made by people. Every maneuver it will make in space, every picture it takes, every discovery it makes – it’s all because of people working together to create something profound.

Over the decades, some NASA spacecraft have carried specially crafted messages from Earth. Among the best known is the Golden Record. A copy of this record was placed aboard each of the two Voyager spacecraft, along with instructions for how to playback the sounds and images.

One of NASA's responsibilities is to share its activities with the widest possible audience. Adorning some of its spacecraft with inspiring messages, along with opportunities to send one's own name into space along with them, is one way of addressing this responsibility.

Each of these messages is unique, and while the Voyager Golden Record is a snapshot of Earth addressed to the cosmos, the Europa Clipper Vault Plate is meant as a poignant message to ourselves.