For many people, having the opportunity to travel to space would be the dream of a lifetime. However, only a select few achieve something so extraordinary. Until recently, the only way to travel in space was through a complex and demanding career path that would lead to becoming a professional astronaut.
Today, there are up to half a dozen companies dedicated to organizing space tourism trips, so that dream could come true in exchange for large sums of money. Whether through suborbital flights (from 230,000 euros per person) or traveling to the International Space Station (up to 50 million euros per passenger), there is no doubt that the figures are far from an average pocket.
However, although the vast majority of mortals see these proposals as far away, NASA makes available to anyone the possibility of sending their name into space within a little less than a year and a half. And it is that in October 2024, a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the Europa Clipper interplanetary probe into space.
The mission, which will study one of Jupiter's moons, called Europa, aims to determine if there are places under the surface of this satellite that could harbor life. This is the first human mission to be sent so far with such a defined goal. For its purpose, the probe will circle this icy satellite tens of times.
In doing so, it will try to take samples of gases and dust on the surface of the celestial body. A series of radars, magnetometers and sensors located on the deck will try to obtain the maximum possible information about the place. The moon Europa is more than 600 million kilometers from Earth. To get an idea of that distance, it should be noted that the Europa Clipper probe is expected to reach Jupiter in 2030.
That is to say, it will be about six years of travel and then try to discover one of the mysteries that this satellite hides about the possibility of harboring life. And keep in mind that, in this space mission, NASA has created the campaign "Message in a Bottle" (Message in a Bottle) on its website to involve all people who are interested in this space journey.
The centerpiece of the idea is a poem written by American poet laureate Ada Limón. Entitled "Praise of the mystery: a poem for Europe", it is a poem that is not intended as a message for possible extraterrestrials that may be in Europe, but as a praise of the curious nature of our humanity.
NASA allows, free of charge, anyone who wishes to add their name to the poem. All this information will be recorded on a microchip that will travel in the Europa Clipper probe. This campaign will be open until December 31 of this year, so anyone who wants to send their name into space can take advantage of this opportunity.
After joining the campaign, each person will receive an illustration where their name appears in a message inside a bottle with an image of the surface of the moon Europa and Jupiter in the background. If you are interested in learning about the work "In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europe" that will be included in the microchip, you can enjoy it in the video that accompanies this article.
