Pioneer plaque facts for kids

The Pioneer plaques are special gold-anodized aluminum plates. They were launched into deep space on the Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 spacecraft. Both plaques have the exact same image etched onto them. This image is like a message in a bottle, meant for any intelligent life forms that might find the spacecraft far in the future.

The image on the plaques is made up of several important parts. Each part is designed to give information about humanity and our place in the universe.

What's on the Pioneer Plaques?

The plaques show a lot of information about Earth and humans. They are designed to be understood by any intelligent life, even if they don't know our languages.

Drawings of Humans

The plaques include drawings of a human female and a human male. These figures are shown to give an idea of what humans look like. They are drawn to scale, meaning their height can be figured out using other parts of the plaque.

The Hydrogen Atom Diagram

One part of the plaque shows a simple diagram of a hydrogen atom. This diagram is very important. It shows how the electron in a hydrogen atom can change its spin. This change gives off a specific amount of energy and has a specific wavelength. Scientists used this as a "universal unit" of length and time. This way, any advanced civilization could understand the measurements used on the rest of the plaque, no matter their own units.

Our Solar System Map

There is also a simple map of our Solar System. It shows the Sun and its nine planets (Pluto was still considered a planet when the plaques were made). The map highlights Earth as the third planet from the Sun. It also shows the path of the Pioneer spacecraft leaving Earth. Some people have wondered if an arrow, which shows the spacecraft's path, would be understood by aliens. They might not use arrows to show direction like we do.

The Star Map

A very important part of the plaque is a pattern of lines that looks like a starburst. This is actually a map of our location in the galaxy. There are 15 lines coming from the center. Fourteen of these lines point to special stars called pulsars. Pulsars are like cosmic lighthouses that spin and send out radio waves. Each line has a long binary number next to it. These numbers tell the distance from our Sun to each pulsar. The distances are measured using the universal unit of distance from the hydrogen atom diagram. The 15th line points to the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way. This star map helps any finders know exactly where the message came from in the vastness of space.

Why Were They Sent?

The Pioneer plaques were sent as a message from Earth. They are like a "time capsule" for the future. The idea was to let any intelligent beings know that humanity exists and where we are located. The Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft were the first human-made objects to travel beyond our solar system. The plaques are a symbol of humanity's curiosity and our hope to connect with life beyond Earth.

Where Are They Now?

Both Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 are still traveling through space. They are moving away from our solar system at very high speeds. It will take tens of thousands of years for them to reach the nearest stars. The plaques are designed to last for billions of years. This means they could potentially be found by another civilization far, far into the future.

See also

In Spanish: Placa de la Pioneer para niños