Time Capsule to Space
As NASA prepares to launch Lucy, a spacecraft that will explore the asteroids that circle Jupiter, engineers put a crucial finishing touch: a time capsule for modern humanity’s grandchildren. According to Gizmodo, the mission will launch on October 16 and will go to Jupiter to explore the Trojan asteroids, which NASA believes contain insights about the solar system’s early days and how its planets evolved.
Left in Space to be Discovered
Because the space agency has no intentions to return Lucy to Earth, it will also carry a message for whatever civilization might discover the ship in the far future, similar to the Pioneer and Voyager probes, which each carried messages declaring our existence to any hypothetical aliens.
Words from Activists and Singers
According to Gizmodo, it’s unclear whether whichever civilization discovers Lucy’s Time Capsule letter will be able to understand our language. But, just in case, the whole list of messages includes words from iconic singers such as The Beatles, as well as civil rights activists, Nobel Prize recipients, and others.
Some of the messages include:
“There are no curses – only mirrors held up to the souls of gods and mortals,” by Rita Dove, the first African American Poet Laureate.
“Who Wants to live Forever? – if love must die,” by singer-songwriter and astrophysicist Brian May.
Location of Launch
A representation of the solar system, as it will appear on Lucy’s planned launch date, will also be included on the plaque. Any Astro-archeologists, as NASA dubbed future space explorers in a press release, will be able to pinpoint exactly where we were when our message was launched.