space
Table of Contents Cosmic Communication
Words and Illustrations by Rachel Middleton
Martian Identity
Words and Illustrations by Margarita Louka Cover and Endpapers: Rachel Middleton Editor: Anna Stone
Illustration By: Rachel Middleton
Cosmic Communication
By Rachel Middleton
Language and communication is a vital tool for humans to interact and comprehend what mysteries may befall our thinking. Our way of connecting with others on our planet has revealed the plethora of knowledge and culture that we know and learn of today. But what if our diversity can be shared beyond our spinning rock, and into the vast expanse of the galaxies before us? How do we communicate with the chance of other intelligent life forms in the void of unknown that we share? The Golden Record was launched into space on the Voyager 1 in 1977 with the purpose of an ambassador for humanity to the stars. Designed to keep it’s data intact for a billion years, this 12-inch gold-plated copper disk contains sounds and images selected to show the diversity of life and culture on Earth. It was made with the intention of being found by any intelligent extraterrestrial life form who may find it, and designed by Carl Sagan and his associates to be deciphered to help the receivers to understand our existance, biology, history and scientific perspectives. To reach out to such distances and present ourselves with such depth might seem like a big risk to those who might fear what or who is out there, but the fact that this disc will probably outlive humanity gives it a value that far outweighs the vulnerability that we have shown. Sending our legacy into the universe with the rich cultures and creativity that humans have established. This golden enigma not only contains the explanation of our biology and the structure of the solar system we call home. It also holds music from all over the earth,
such as Bach, Peruvian panpipes, Georgian choirs, even “Johnny B Goode” by Chuck Berry. Natural sounds, like rain, heartbeats, volcanoes, including images of our world, and audio clip greetings in a multitude of languages, all fit on to this robust little flat circle. Making it an invaluable artifact, a unique key to understand and decipher the densely diverse planet that we live on. Imagine having your voice or heartbeat as one of the first sounds of the human race being heard by another intelligent life form lightyears away! So where is The Golden Record now? Travelling on Voyager 1, it passed the orbit of Pluto in 1990, and left our Solar System in November 2004. The disc is now known to be in the Kuiper belt in the outer Solar System. It has been 42 years since it left our planet, and it is continuing its journey to the stars and beyond. As humans, we can’t help but feel sentimental about its departure, but with the possibilities it may bring, there is no end to our curiosity.
By: Margarita Louka
Martian Identity
In terms of space travel and exploration, it is remarkable to think of how far science has come in the last century; we sent the first human to space in 1961! Just 70 years later, by 2031, we will be launching our first set of astronauts to create a permanent human settlement on Mars. I am of course referring to the ambitious Mars One Mission, where chosen individuals will be trained and sent to Mars to live permanently. Each crew of astronauts is made up of four people, and a new group will land on Mars every 26 months, steadily increasing the size of the settlement. The flight will last seven to eight months. Anyone can apply to become a Mars One astronaut, but the training will be vigorous. One member of the crew will train in exobiology, and will attempt to find out if life ever existed or currently exists in Mars. Even though there have been instances where it could be argued that alien life exists and has tried to make contact with us, it has unfortunately not been equivocally proven or accepted that extra-terrestrial life exists yet. According to an article on Space.com, experts in the 2019 International Astronautical Congress had different predictions about when we will find concrete proof of alien life, ranging from 2024 to twenty years. Mars One is a very exciting endeavour for humanity, as it opens up the possibility to really examine whether there is alien life, whilst simultaneously being on an alien planet. While it is fascinating to think about the details of the astronaut’s mission, what truly got my mind and my imagination to run away with me was how this settlement
will look like in 10, 30 or 50 years. It is fascinating to think about the kind of society it could become. The astronauts will also be given training in political systems and are free to form their own political structure on Mars. Perhaps we will see a new form of governing, or perhaps it will become a messy situation full of conflict. What also sparked my interest was how those astronauts will define themselves after a lifetime on Mars. We live in a world where we are very attached to our culture and identity, and our countries are very important to us. What kind of culture will develop at the settlement in Mars, where the astronauts will be from all over the world and speak a plethora of different languages (albeit the official language of the mission is English)? Going further, perhaps verging on the edge of science fiction, what if those astronauts have kids whilst living in Mars? What kind of identity will humans raised on Mars develop? Perhaps soon it will no longer be enough to look to our country and culture to give us a sense of identity. Perhaps we will need to broaden our sense of identity to encompass the future of space travel.
Illustration By: Margarita Louka
Illustration By: Rachel Sawyer
Copyright Š 2020 by Rachel Middleton, Margarita Louka, Rachel Sawyer, and Anna Stone. All rights reserved. This publication or any portion thereof may not be reproduced, copied, reprinted, reworked, redistributed, or used in any manner whatsoever without the explicit written permission of the copyright holders.