On board Intuitive Machines’ Athena spacecraft, which achieved a lunar landing on March 6, were state-of-the-art MIT payloads: a depth-mapping camera and a mini-rover referred to as “AstroAnt.” Accompanying that vessel were the words and sounds of individuals from various corners of the globe, delivered in numerous languages. These messages were inscribed on a 2-inch silicon wafer computationally crafted by Professor Craig Carter of the MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering and attached to the mission’s Lunar Outpost MAPP Rover.
Known as the Humanity United with MIT Art and Nanotechnology in Space (HUMANS), this endeavor merges art and science, uniting specialists from various MIT departments — encompassing technical proficiency from Aeronautics and Astronautics, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; nano-etching and testing from MIT.nano; audio processing from the MIT Media Lab’s Opera of the Future and the Music and Theater Arts Section; alongside lunar mission assistance from the Media Lab’s Space Exploration Initiative.
Although a 6-inch HUMANS wafer traveled on the Axiom-2 mission to the International Space Station in 2023, the 2-inch wafer was part of the IM-2 mission aimed at the lunar south pole, affiliated with the MIT Media Lab’s To the Moon to Stay initiative, which reimagines humanity’s return to the moon. IM-2 concluded preemptively after the Athena spacecraft tipped onto its side shortly after touchdown in March, but the HUMANS wafer accomplished its objective by successfully landing on the lunar surface.
“If you were to ask someone on the street: ‘What does MIT do?’ that individual might respond they’re a bunch of STEM enthusiasts who engineer devices and develop applications. However, that does not encapsulate the whole of MIT. It’s far more complex than that,” Carter remarks. “This project embodies that. It conveys, ‘We’re not merely one-dimensional.’”
A message inscribed in silicon
The HUMANS initiative, initially envisioned by MIT students, found inspiration in the Golden Record, a pair of gold-coated phonograph records launched in 1977 aboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft, featuring human voices, music, and visuals. Intended to explore the outer solar system, the Voyagers have since proceeded into interstellar space, beyond the reach of the sun’s heliosphere. Yet, while the original project aimed to introduce humanity to an extraterrestrial audience, the HUMANS message targets fellow humans — reminding us that space is a shared domain.
Maya Nasr PhD ’23, now a researcher at Harvard University, has spearheaded the project since 2020, when she was a graduate student in the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. She co-founded it with Lihui Zhang SM ’21, from the MIT Technology and Policy Program. The team encouraged individuals to express what space signifies to them, in either written or audio form, to create a “symbol of unity that fosters global representation in space.”
When Nasr and Zhang searched for an expert to materialize their concept into a tangible object, they approached Carter, who had previously authored designs and algorithms for various art initiatives and, most recently, for One.MIT, a collection of mosaics crafted from the names of MIT faculty, students, and staff. Carter promptly agreed.
“I enjoy discovering methods to convert equations into code, transforming them into artifacts,” Carter states. “Determining whether they qualify as art is a complex consideration. They are undeniably artful. They are certainly artisanal.”
Carter played an essential role in the computational design and production of the silicon wafer now residing on the lunar surface. He began by converting the submitted phrases, in 64 languages, into numerical formats that could be transformed into fonts. He also reverse-engineered a typesetting language to “kern” the text — modifying the spacing between letters for better visual coherence.
“Kerning is crucial for the aesthetics of written text. You’d want a Y not to be too close to an adjacent T, but to be distanced more from a W,” Carter explained. “All of the phrases were arranged like sequences of characters such as D-O-G, and it’s not as straightforward as placing a D, placing an O, and placing a G. It’s placing a D, determining the positioning of the O, placing the O, ascertaining the positioning of the G, and then placing the G.”
Once the text placement was refined, Carter devised an algorithm that geometrically altered both the text and the audio messages’ digital waveforms — graphical representations of sound — into spirals on the wafer. This design pays tribute to the Golden Records from the Voyagers, which featured spiral grooves, much akin to a vinyl record.
In the center of the disc sits an image of a globe, or map projection — Carter sourced publicly available geospatial coordinates and incorporated them into the design.
“I took those coordinates and then generated something resembling an image from them. It needed to be geometrical, not pixelated,” he remarks.
After implementing the spirals and globe imagery, Carter transferred the design data to MIT.nano, which possesses specialized equipment for high-precision etching and fabrication.
Human voices, lunar terrain
“I hope individuals on Earth experience a profound sense of connection and belonging — recognizing that their voices, narratives, and aspirations now partake in this new chapter of lunar exploration,” Nasr expresses. “When we gaze at the moon, we can feel an even deeper bond, understanding that our words — in their rich diversity — are now part of its surface, carrying forth the spirit of humanity.”
For Carter, this endeavor represents the human capacity for awe and a collective understanding of what is achievable. “In many instances, looking outward compels you to reflect inward simultaneously, placing the wonder in a personal context,” Carter notes. “If this project somehow communicates that we are collectively pondering this magnificent universe in all our languages, I would deem that a success.”
The project’s connection to the Golden Record — an artifact launched nearly half a century ago and now journeying outside the solar system — resonates deeply with Carter.
“It’s unimaginably distant, and thus the idea that we can link to something across time and space, something that exists out there, I find it just a marvelous connection.”