A Cosmic Endeavor: Crafting Humanity’s New Message to the Stars
Los Angeles, December 4, 2023 – In a bold leap beyond the Voyager Golden Records, a global team led by Dr. Jonathan H. Jiang, an astrophysicist from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), has unveiled “Message in a Bottle – An Update to the Golden Record.” This groundbreaking initiative, also supported by the Interstellar Foundation and its founder Nick Searra, aims to redefine our cosmic narrative.
Inspired by the legacy of the iconic 1977 Voyager missions, “Message in a Bottle” (MIAB) offers a new perspective on our planet and its inhabitants. The project’s inaugural paper, titled “Objectives and Key Content of the Message,” outlines an ambitious dual mission: initiating contact with potential extraterrestrial entities and fostering a sense of unity and common purpose among Earth’s diverse populace.
MIAB seeks to chronicle the epic of human civilization, crafting a message that encapsulates our scientific, artistic, and cultural achievements. This message, designed to resonate with various civilizations, reflects our innate desire to bridge the cosmic divide and connect with the wider universe.
A notable challenge highlighted by Dr. Jiang’s team is conceptualizing an audience vastly different from ourselves. The paper considers various scenarios, from encounters with advanced extraterrestrial civilizations to the possibility that we might be the only inhabitants of the observable universe.
Emphasizing global collaboration, MIAB invites contributions and perspectives from individuals worldwide, ensuring that the final message is a rich tapestry of human culture, symbolizing our interconnectedness.
In addition to its goal of establishing contact with extraterrestrial beings, MIAB is committed to creating a comprehensive, lasting record of humanity and our planet. This “cosmic time capsule,” designed for deep space exploration and archival preservation on Earth, aspires to be a testament to human existence.
Representing a significant evolution from the Voyager era, the MIAB project reflects the technological and societal advancements of the past fifty years, offering a more nuanced approach to interstellar communication.
As this significant project unfolds, it serves as a symbol of our relentless curiosity and hope. “Through MIAB, we aim to transmit a message across the stars, uniting and inspiring our species, reminding us of our shared home in the cosmos,” says Dr. Jiang.
Nick Searra, co-author of the paper, adds, “We are not just sending a message to the stars but also creating a dialogue among ourselves, exploring what it means to be alive in this vast universe.”
For more information or to participate in this inspiring journey, please visit the Earth and Space Science journal at: https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EA003042.
Disclaimer: The MIAB study led by Jonathan H. Jiang as part of his research at Caltech/JPL. The work does not represent plans by JPL or NASA to create a new Golden Record for a future mission.
