Hello, and welcome to the New Horizons Message Project Blog! If you are here, you probably already know something about our project and goal—to persuade NASA to send a message to the stars aboard the New Horizons spacecraft. If you’d like to learn more about the Project and the people behind it, check out our website at newhorizonsmessage.com.

We are pleased and gratified to announce that the Petition has now reached our goal of 10,000 signatures! Congratulations and thanks to Nicole Macias of the United States, who became signer #10,000! Those first 10,000 signatures will be sent to the stars as part of the Message. But more signatures are welcome; it’s still a great way to show your support for the project.

Since posting the petition in late September, we have received signatures from people in over 130 countries. Perhaps the greatest surprise has been the project’s popularity in the Pacific—about one-tenth of the signatures have come from small island nations and territories ranging from Tonga and Fiji to the tiny, semi-autonomous atoll of Niue. About 4 percent of Niue’s residents have already signed—the equivalent of about 12 million Americans! We have also had a late flood of signatures from Italy. We are not sure exactly why this is happening—just another Mystery of the Cosmos that we hope to unravel someday.

In the meantime, we will soon be launching an IndieGoGo campaign to gather some much-needed seed money to keep the Project rolling. Any contribution—large, small, or in-between – will be greatly appreciated, and will be a huge help as we move forward. For updates, please check this blog once or twice a week.

Ad Astra!