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ET to receive a 'crowd-sourced' message?

Message for ET NASA's New Horizons spacecraft could depart our solar system carrying messages for extra terrestrials sourced from ordinary earthlings.

Astronomical artist Jon Lomberg is heading up a new grassroots 'New Horizons Message Initiative' that hopes to persuade NASA to upload the earthly messages once the spacecraft has completed its primary mission.

New Horizons is currently about five billion kilometres from Earth on a mission to explore Pluto and its moons. Like Pioneer 10 and 11 and Voyager 1 and 2 before it, it is assumed New Horizons will eventually depart our solar system. Last week NASA confirmed the Voyager 1 probe had done just that, making it the first man-made object to enter interstellar space.

Unlike these four preceding spacecraft, which all contain messages for a hypothetical audience of ETs, New Horizons has none. But according to Lomberg it is not too late to zap one up using radio transmission.

"It will be just like sending information on a cell phone, except a lot farther," said Lomberg in an exclusive interview for ABC Science.

Voyager Record 2.0

The Hawaii-based artist describes himself as "possibly Earth's most experienced creator of space message artifacts". Alongside American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist and author Carl Sagan, Lomberg was part of the small team selected by NASA in 1977 to create the Voyager Interstellar Record. The two identical 12-inch gold-plated records were affixed to Voyager 1 and 2, encoded with data including photographs, sounds (surf, thunder, whales and engines), music and greetings in many languages.

Now, Lomberg is planning what he calls "Voyager Record 2.0".

This Sunday(September 22 at 9 am AEST) Lomberg formally launches the New Horizons Message Initiative (NHMI). Its goal is to persuade NASA to transmit an updated "portrait of Planet Earth" to the spacecraft's computer memory after its active mission of Pluto is complete.

"There is no room on the computer memory for our message until all the data from the Pluto encounter have been downloaded," said Lomberg.

He has the support of an international advisory board of more than 60 scientists, engineers, journalists, artists and ordinary people. Signatories include Jill Tarter, best known for her work with Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and former Young Australian of the Year, astrophysicist Bryan Gaensler.

"I feel cheated that the great stories and exploration of space happened before my time," said Gaensler. "If I'd been a prominent astronomer in the '70s I would love to have participated in what Voyager and Pioneer carry with them outwards. This is my generation's chance … to take our message outwards too."

Crowd-sourcing

While the NHMI board is full of illustrious intellects such as Gaensler, Lomberg does not want the New Horizons message to be crafted by a small, elite team as the Voyager records were, and the Pioneer plaques before them.

He plans to democratise the process and involve any interested earthlings by holding a worldwide search for materials. Finalists will be selected through online voting, thus 'crowd-sourcing' the message.

"It is already the most diverse group of people ever assembled to attempt to design a sophisticated interstellar message," says Lomberg.

"If we can make a strong showing, I think NASA will approve. There is no down-side for them. The Voyager Records have given uniformly positive press to NASA. I also wonder if any other country, besides the USA, would, in making such a message, strive for the inclusiveness we have? I think would be very positive for NASA worldwide."

If the NHMI is supported by the public and by NASA and continues in its quest, the contest will begin a year before New Horizons flies by Pluto in July 2015.