Aboard the Athena intuitive spacecraft, which made a landing on the moon on March 6, were Useful loads put on peak: an in-depth mapping camera and a mini-rover called “astroing”. The words and voices of people around the world also spoke in dozens of languages. These have been engraved on a 2-inch silicon slice designed by calculation designed by Professor Craig Carter of the MIT Department of Sciences and Engineering of Materials and mounted on the Lunar Outpost map of the mission.
Nicknamed Humanity united with the art of put and nanotechnology in space (Humans), the project is a collaboration of art and science, bringing together experts from all the MIT – with technical expertise in the departments of aeronautics and astronautics, mechanical and electrical engineering and IT; nano-card and tests from Mit.nano; Audio treatment of the opera of the future of Mit Media Lab and the Arts section of music and theater; And the support of the lunar mission of the spatial exploration initiative of the media laboratory.
While a 6-inch human mud stolen on the Axiom-2 mission at the international space station in 2023, the 2-inch edge was part of the Mission IM-2 In the Lunar South polar region, linked to the MIT MIT Media Lab’s to the Moon to Stay, which reinvents the return of humanity to the moon. The IM-2 ended prematurely after the spacecraft Athena took a tour of its side shortly after landing in March, but Wafer humans fulfilled its mission by successfully reaching the lunar surface.
“If you ask a person on the street:” What did it do? ” Well, this person could say that it is a bunch of Stem Nerds that make devices and create applications. “This project embodies this. He says, “We are not only ponies in a turn. »»
A message engraved in silicon
The human project, initially Designed by MIT studentswas inspired by the Gold recordA pair of gold -plated phonograph discs launched in 1977 aboard the spatial vessels travel 1 and 2, with human voices, music and images. Designed to explore the outdoor solar system, travels have since traveled in the interstellar space, beyond the Heliosphere of the Sun. But while the previous project was intended to introduce humanity to an extraterrestrial audience, the human message is addressed to other human beings – reminding us that space belongs to everyone.
Maya Nasr Phd ’23, now a researcher at Harvard University, has led the project since 2020, when she was a graduate student in the MIT department of aeronautics and astronautics. She co -founded it with Lihi Zhang SM ’21, from the MIT Technology and Policy program. The team invited people to share what space means for them, in writing or audio, to create a “symbol of unit which promotes world representation in space”.
When Nasr and Zhang sought an expert to translate their vision into physical artifact, they turned to Carter, who had previously created the conceptions and algorithms for many artistic projects And, more recently, for A.A series of mosaics made up of the names of teachers, students and MIT staff. Carter quickly accepted.
“I love to understand how to transform equations into code, artifacts,” explains Carter. “Whether they are art or not, this is a difficult question. They are definitely clever. They are definitely artisanal.”
Carter played a central role in the design and manufacturing of calculating the silicon slice now on the surface of the moon. He first translated the sentences submitted, in 64 languages, into digital representations which could be transformed into fonts. He also retro -insufficient a language of composition for “Kern” the text – adjusting the spacing between the letters for visual clarity.
“Leilage is important for the aesthetics of the written text. You would like a will not be too crazy to a neighboring T, but further from a W,” said Carter. “All the sentences were sequences of words like a dog, and it is not as simple as, put a D, put an o, put a G. It is put a D, determine where the O should be, put the o, determine where the G should be, put the G.”
After refining the placement of text, Carter designed an algorithm which geometrically transformed the text and the digital waveforms of audio messages – the graphic representations of sound – spirals on the edge. The design pays tribute to the Golden Records of Voyages, which presented spiral grooves, much like a vinyl record.
In the center of the disc is an image of a globe, or projection of cards – Carter has found geospatial coordinates accessible to the public and has mapped them in the design.
“I took these coordinates, then I created something like an image of the coordinates. It had to be geometry, not pixels, ”he says.
Once the spirals and images of the globe in place, Carter has given the data of the design in Mit.nano, which has specialized instruments for high precision engraving and manufacturing.
Human voice, lunar surface
“I hope that people on earth feel a deep feeling of connection and belonging – that their voices, their stories and their dreams are now part of this new chapter of lunar exploration,” explains Nasr. “When we look at the moon, we can feel an even deeper connection, knowing that our words – in all their diversity – are now part of its surface, advancing the spirit of humanity.”
For Carter, the project transmits the human capacity of wonder and a shared meaning of what is possible. “In many cases, looking outwards obliges you to look inward at the same time to put the wonder in a kind of personal context,” explains Carter. “So, if this project somehow describes that we are all wondering about this wonderful universe together in all our languages, I would consider that it is a victory.”
The project link with the gold record – an artifact launched almost 50 years ago and now traveling beyond the solar system – strikes another agreement with Carter.
“It is unimaginably far away, and therefore the idea that we can connect to something in time and space, to something that exists, I think it’s just a wonderful connection.”