But the sturdy plate — inscribed with far more than the poignant words of Limón — also has a twin that sits on our planet. The replica is at the Brand Library & Art Center in Glendale, California, and the simple fact that it exists invites us to ponder the peculiar gap between art and science, or lack thereof.

While the SETI Institute is investigating interstellar space for extraterrestrial life, we may find it in our own cosmic backyard. It is unlikely to be anything other than microbial life, but even that would be a seismic, perception-altering discovery.

Soon the spacecraft will reach Mars to get a push in its journey to the unknown. NASA says Clipper will make its closest approach to the red planet in four months for a gravity assist. According to the timeline, it will come within 500 to 1000 km from the Martian surface.

Managed by JPL scientists and technicians, it will take Europa Clipper 5 1/2 years to reach Jupiter, where it will slip into orbit around the giant gas planet.

A NASA spacecraft has set sail for Jupiter and its moon Europa, one of the best bets for finding life beyond Earth.

NASA just launched a spacecraft the size of a basketball court towards Jupiter's moon Europa. Here's what will happen over the next 10 years.

It won't land, but the robotic spacecraft will fly as close as 16 miles to the moon's frozen surface to probe oceans of liquid water beneath.

The spacecraft will be NASA's first dedicated to studying a distant ice-covered moon in our solar system to determine whether it could be habitable for life.