What is the HUMANS project?
The HUMANS project, short for Humanity United with MIT Art and Nanotechnology in Space, is a global venture led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It invites people from more than 80 countries and speaking over 65 languages to share what it means to be human. The goal is simple yet profound: to tell a story about life on Earth that can travel beyond our planet.
Two students from Epping Public School, Saanvi Singh and Rishabh Dilip Nair, participated in this mission of reflection. Saanvi spoke of human evolution, from single cells that couldn’t see or feel to a species capable of harnessing Earth’s resources — and perhaps, someday, of reaching into space. Rishabh emphasized that humans are social, expressive beings capable of love and laughter. Their voices are part of a chorus that spans thousands of people worldwide.
The project, run by MIT, will distill the collected musings into a deep-space broadcast and encode them on a nanoscale eight-inch wafer slated for launch in 2027. This effort nods to humanity’s long-standing curiosity about our place in the cosmos and to the desire to share our story with whatever might be listening beyond the solar system.
From Voyager to today: a legacy in listening
The HUMANS project explicitly pays homage to NASA’s Voyager mission, which launched in 1977 carrying the Golden Record — a time capsule of Earth’s sounds, greetings in many languages, and music spanning Beethoven to Chuck Berry. Dr. Maya Nasr, a science engineer at Harvard and a project co-founder, frames HUMANS as a more introspective counterpoint: while Voyager showed what we think the universe should hear about us, HUMANS aims to reveal who we are to ourselves and to the cosmos.
According to Dr. Nasr, the new effort uses a different technology. The audio from thousands of voices will be etched as spirals onto an eight-inch wafer using nanotechnology, creating a modern “record” for deep space that embraces the precision and miniaturization of contemporary science.
Earlier explorations of the concept included sending a draft of participant voices to the International Space Station, followed by a smaller replica to the Moon under the IM-2 mission. The Moon landing this year, however, ended with the spacecraft tipping on its side during descent — a reminder that space exploration remains a frontier of both promise and learning.
Australia’s role and local momentum
In Australia, the HUMANS project has woven itself into public science outreach. Thousands are anticipated to record messages during sessions at audio booths hosted by the Powerhouse museum in Sydney and Parramatta. Powerhouse Parramatta’s upcoming space-focused exhibition will feature the HUMANS wafer as a centerpiece, underscoring Australia’s ongoing engagement with space history and exploration. Powerhouse CEO Lisa Havilah notes the value of bringing global conversations into local contexts, connecting communities with broader scientific narratives.
For young participants like Saanvi and Rishabh, the project offers a chance to contribute to something larger than a school assignment: a living record of human life, culture, and emotion that could endure far beyond Earth’s horizon. The messages chosen for the eight-inch wafer will be part a broadcast of human experience — a mosaic of our collective curiosity, empathy, and resilience.
What the message to space can tell us about ourselves
The HUMANS endeavor frames space as a canvas for reflection as well as exploration. By collecting voices that speak to life, love, and curiosity, the project invites everyday people to participate in a historical moment of interstellar communication. It also tests new technologies in how we archive human experience, marrying art with nanoscience to create something both intimate and enduring.
Looking ahead to 2027
As the 2027 launch approaches, the HUMANS project remains focused on capturing a diverse, deeply personal portrait of humanity. The effort underscores a simple but powerful idea: even as we extend our reach into deep space, we remain bound to each other by the shared stories we tell about our world and our hopes for the future.
