A local initiative to add the names of all 1,200 Iron Sword victims to NASA's Europa Clipper mission, scheduled to fly in October 2024 to search for signs of life on Jupiter's intriguing moon Europa. If implemented, the names of the fallen will be embedded on a special chip in the orbiter, travel 2.6 billion kilometers in space and reach the Jupiter system by the end of 2030.
"NASA initiated a poetry writing contest called 'Message in a Bottle,'" explains space engineer Meidad Pariente. "The poem chosen is a poem by an American poet named Ada Limon, titled 'Praise of Mysteries: A Song for Europe,' and this poem will be etched on a chip that will be shipped together with the Europa Clipper. Now NASA is inviting people to sign their names on the song. They are basically calling on everyone to add their name to the chip, and thus be sent to the stars. Registration closes at the end of the year, and all names added by December 31 will be etched on the chip along with the song – and will fly with the Clipper to Europe. When I saw this NASA campaign, I thought there was an opportunity here to commemorate the names of the murdered and fallen. Especially in the mission for justice, especially in a mission that seeks life."
Pariente is one of the best-known figures in the Israeli space industry. He was the chief engineer of the Amos ,Venus and Hoopoe satellites, he founded Effective Space – Today Astroscale – together with Arie Helzband, he founded Sky and Space Global and since 2010 has been promoting New Space in Israel – among other things through his Internet program, Space Cafe Israel, which exposes the civilian and commercial space industry in Israel to the world. In this context, he is active in Space 50, the space branch of the Israeli High-Tech Association.
Pariente found it difficult to implement the initiative, as unfortunately there are many names. "I realized it would take me days to fill out the NASA form—so I asked friends to find more volunteers. Finally, I turned to my friend Avishai Tsabari, a fintech and algorithms man, and together we developed a tool that automatically fills in the details of all the spaces on the NASA form. Later we realized that unfortunately from now until the launch on December 31st, additional fatalities will be added, and therefore we built an add-on that knows how to take additional casualties from official publications – and fill out the form for them on the NASA mission page as well."
Journey to the Ice Moon Europa
Europa is the second and smallest of Jupiter’s, and is about the size of Earth's moon. Europa is covered in ice, and its surface is the smoothest and most reflective in the entire solar system. The youthful appearance led to the hypothesis that at a depth of about 10 km below the ice sheet there is a global ocean of liquid water, estimated to be about 100 km deep (compared to Earth's oceans, whose average depth is only about four km), warming up as a result of the powerful tidal forces of the gaseous giant Jupiter. Jupiter warms and feeds the interior of Europa, which can allow life to exist beneath the icy surface – similar to the life we find on the dark, cold ocean floors here on Earth. Europa is considered one of the leading candidates for the existence of life in the solar system.
"Of course, we still can't guarantee that these names will fly. NASA needs to confirm this, and I really hope that the US space agency will understand that this is not a political statement, but a human gesture. We want to restore our hope, our faith, in a better future. And we don't want to forget them. We want to lift up our heads and know that they are there. And if there is indeed life on Europa, these names deserve to be there first."