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Continuing the Tradition of a Message from Earth Continuing the tradition of a message from Earth http://oneearthmessage.org/ Jon Lomberg Design Director, Voyager Golden Record Project Director, One Earth Message [email protected] oneearthmessage.org The urge to leave our footprints in the plaque carrying etched inscriptions showing sands of time is as grand as the pyramids and two humans, the spacecraft, the solar system, as humble as a set of initials carved on a tree. and our galactic location. The two Voyag- Humanity has made many time capsules, ers each carried the famous Golden Record, describing ourselves for future audiences. a metallic LP containing audio and pictori- Some of them have even been included on al information about Earth, including music spacecraft landing on other worlds, from the from many cultures around the world and simplicity of the plaque on Apollo 11 to the over two millennia. complexity of the Planetary Society’s Visions In the 40 years since the Voyagers were of Mars DVD. launched, no other spacecraft was set aloft But only four physical messages have left with a trajectory to leave the solar system the bounds of the solar system to roam forever until 2006, the New Horizons Mission to among the stars. The twin Pioneer and Voyager Pluto. I watched this launch wondering if spacecraft each carried a message artifact on the mission would have included an updated their eternal journey. In fact, after all their Golden Record, perhaps one reflecting the power is gone, carrying these artifacts becomes changes in technology since 1977— some kind the primary mission of the spacecraft. of a quantum-nano-superconducting Golden The voyager golden record The two Pioneers bore the now iconic Record! 24 Planetarian Vol 46 No 3 - September 2017 But the mission included no message at all, except for some coins (U.S. state quarters) and other tokens. It also, in a noble gesture, carries some of the ashes of Pluto’s discoverer Clyde Tombaugh. But there is no coherent message designed to be understood by ET. An opportunity lost? It seemed a lost opportunity, until I had the Jill Tarter Bob McDonald Gail Glasper Albert Yu-Min Lin idea of making a message on Earth and upload- ing it to the spacecraft. In 2012 I was designing a logo for the company Made in Space, which was field-testing 3D printers on the Interna- tional Space Station. Break a wrench in orbit and print out your own replacement wrench from a file sent up from Earth. If we could build a wrench in space, why not a message? Daniela DePaulis Carolyn Barnett Derrick Pitts Kaoru Kimura Made in Space gave the International Space Station a unit to test in orbit, bearing my logo on its side. This led me to the idea: Why not make a Our Advisory Board of Voyager Record 2.0 and upload it to the space- over 80 people repre- sents many ages, disci- craft’s onboard computer? plines, backgrounds. The most exciting thing about this possi- Planetarians may bility was that this time the process could be recognize the face of opened up to the entire world. Newly devel- Derrick Pitts of the Fels oped crowd-sourcing techniques using the Planetarium in Phila- delphia; Kaoru Kimura, internet would permit a true self-portrait of IPS affiliate represen- Earth, made and judged by those Earthlings tative for Japan; SETI who cared enough to participate. scientists Jill Tarter; In the Golden Record, a few of us had to and the host of the Canadian Broadcast- choose which picture of a mother and child Continuing the tradition of a message from Earth ing Corporations should be sent. Now the whole world could Quirks and Quarks submit their own pictures of mother and radio program, Bob child, and let everyone decide which is the McDonald. All images best. In fact, the whole world can help decides. provided by author. Hence the project’s name: One Earth Message. Anyone will be able to submit photos in any category and everyone else can express their preferences. A constantly changing mosaic of leading Literally everyone can submit images, available online, will document the evolution of the content. Everyone will be able to submit a few read it? Can ET be helped to recognize it’s mere pictures contest into an adaptive process pictures to our submission website at no a message in the first place? that modifies the selection structure to reflect charge—nobody will be excluded because After many long discussions with engi- what people actually want to say, rather than they cannot pay. People wishing to submit neers, computer scientists, and other experts, what we think they should say. For example, additional photos—or music—will pay a small I believe we can address and solve all of these categories may merge or subdivide, as we see fee. These fees will be used to support the problems, beginning with the task of build- what people really want to tell ETs about. maintenance and operation of the website ing the submission website. We are working In 2012 I first approached the New Horizons during the 18 month selection process. NASA with iScience at the University of Konstanz mission with the idea, and with their support is being asked for no money to support this in Germany, a leading project. We must support it ourselves. institution in the new The devil is in the details, however. field of crowd-sourced • How do you filter out objectionable science. material? New crowd-sourc- • Who decides what is objectionable? ing techniques have • Who determines if the message is accurate made important (for example, is the biosphere presented discoveries in fields to include worms and microbes as well as ranging from untan- puppies and kittens)? gling protein struc- • How long can you maximize the lifetime ture to discovering of the digital message to make it last for the tomb of Genghis an interstellar journey? Khan. Such techniques • And, most difficult of all, how do you will transform the One code the contents so an ET, who doesn’t Earth Message selec- know our software conventions, can tion process from a Vol 46 No 3 - September 2017 Planetarian 25 presented it to NASA. The initial response In fact, we are already in discussions about of course, they will have the final say in what from both the mission and NASA was infor- sending a modified test version of One Earth is sent. mally encouraging, but there has been as yet Message to the moon aboard a competitor The idea of a crowd-sourced global message no formal approval for the project. for the Google Lunar X Prize. This would be is a bit vague because nothing like it has been Perhaps the main reason was that the earli- a proof-of-concept that would demonstrate done before. Once we can show NASA the est a message could be uploaded would be in to NASA that we can actually devise such kind of message that results, and the level of 2020, after New Horizons had completed its methods by the new processes we describe. support the project generates, we believe it science mission, visiting a Kuiper Belt Object (Stay tuned for details.) will be easier for them to give us an official (KBO) in 2019. Carl Sagan was my mentor and friend for approval to upload the message at a time of Until then, there would be no room in the many years, and among his many other gifts, their choosing. spacecraft’s small 4 Gb memory, all of which he was a good politician and understood how It’s been 5 years since I came up with this would be devoted to recording data from the to work such an unusual project through the idea, and people ask me if I have become KBO encounter. Only after all the data are NASA system. His leadership has provided a discouraged that NASA has not agreed to returned to Earth can the One Earth Message model for how to proceed in our project. carry our message yet. be uploaded. One of the first things Carl told me when he I remind them of the Visions of Mars DVD. With no pressing need to approve the Lou Friedman from The project, NASA has not yet decided whether Planetary Society asked to include a digital message on the New Hori- me to lead that project zons. It’s up to us to persuade them. in 1992, preparing a CD-ROM for launch Why make the message? on the Russian Mars 94 I can think of six good reasons to make the lander. One Earth Message: My team worked • All four previous interstellar spacecraft on that for two years sent out from Earth have carried some in preparation for the sort of greeting to the cosmos, a greet- launch, only to have ing intended to be understood by ETs. Do it postponed until we really want to break the chain? What 1996. It was eventual- kind of message does that send about us? ly launched—only to • This message may involve many millions explode and fall into of people worldwide in an activity that the Atlantic Ocean. All will bring increased awareness of the our work was gone in New Horizons mission in particular and a flash. When a launch planetary exploration in general. fails, there was no Plan • Any international, collaborative activi- B. No second spacecraft. ty that encourages people to think of us But Lou was not as one planet and one species is good in deterred. He lobbied itself. NASA for years to take • The Golden Record is a time capsule of the artifact to Mars, Earth in 1977.
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