Stephen Hawking’s voice to be beamed into black hole
Satellite will broadcast “message of peace and hope” after Westminster Abbey memorial service
The voice of Stephen Hawking will be beamed into the depths of space following a memorial service at Westminster Abbey at noon today.
The physicist, famed for his research into black holes and relativity, died at the age of 76 on 14 March and was cremated at a private ceremony in Cambridge.
His ashes will be interred today at a ceremony attended by 1,000 people, from 100 different countries, who were selected from 25,000 applicants.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A message recorded by the physicist will then be beamed into a black hole thousands of lightyears outside of the solar system, says US-based news site Tech Times. Hawking’s words have set to an original score by composer Vangelis, famous for his Chariots of Fire film theme
Speaking to the BBC, the physicist’s daughter, Lucy Hawking, said the music is a “beautiful and symbolic gesture that creates a link between our father’s presence on this planet, his wish to go into space and his explorations of the universe in his mind.”
“It is a message of peace and hope, about unity and the need for us to live together in harmony on this planet”, she said.
A transcript of the message has not been released, but European Space Agency exploration chief Mark McCaughrean told CNN that it is “pretty sombre” and centres around humanity taking care of Earth.
Once the message has been transmitted into space, everyone invited to the ceremony will be given a CD of the recording. It will be made available to the wider public “at a later date”, the US news site adds.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The clown car cabinet
Opinion Even 'Little Marco' towers above his fellow nominees
By Mark Gimein Published
-
Ed Park's 6 favorite works about self reflection and human connection
Feature The Pulitzer Prize finalist recommends works by Jason Rekulak, Gillian Linden, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 fantastic homes in Columbus, Ohio
Feature Featuring a 1915 redbrick Victorian in German Village and a modern farmhouse in Woodland Park
By The Week Staff Published
-
Starliner: What went wrong?
Today's Big Question Boeing spacecraft has had a 'long, difficult road'
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Boeing, SpaceX successfully test key rockets
Speed Read Boeing’s Starliner docked at the ISS and SpaceX completed its fourth test launch of its Starship spacecraft
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Nasa reveals first findings from asteroid that could explain origins of life
Speed Read Sample from Bennu has been found to contain an abundance of water and carbon
By Jamie Timson, The Week UK Published
-
How worried we should be about space debris
feature As part of a rocket washes up in Australia scientists warn ‘critical mass’ of orbital junk could only be decades away
By The Week Staff Published
-
What is NASA's Artemis program?
Speed Read NASA's ambitious Artemis program will eventually create a base on the moon — and lay the foundations for manned missions to Mars
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
SpaceX launches 1st all-civilian crew into orbit
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Is SpaceX's Inspiration4 really an inspiration?
Talking Point
By Jeva Lange Published
-
Jeff Bezos' Promethean impulse
Talking Point
By Damon Linker Published