Jean-Marc Philippe
EN

Space art

Messages from Humankind to the Universe

1986 – 1987

Carried out between 6 June 1986 and 26 January 1987, Messages from Humankind to the Universe is the only one of Jean-Marc Philippe's space projects to have been brought to completion. From 6 June 1986, everyone was offered the opportunity to enter, via Minitel, a message of no more than two pages addressed to possible extraterrestrial intelligences. The 10,500 messages thus collected were encoded and then sent by the Nançay radio telescope on 26 January 1987 towards the heart of our galaxy.

The transmission of the messages by the Nançay radio telescope was supervised by François Biraud, an astrophysicist at the CNRS in Meudon. Many figures from the scientific community contributed to the project by writing their own message, among them the astrophysicists Jean Audouze, Michel Cassé, Jean-Claude Pecker and Hubert Reeves.

The media echoed the project, which was the subject of numerous articles and radio and television programmes.

Messages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc Philippe

The Nançay radio telescope.

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A selection of messages written as part of the Messages from Humankind to the Universe project.

Messages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc PhilippeMessages from Humankind to the Universe (1986 – 1987), Jean-Marc Philippe

Minitel screens from the Messages from Humankind to the Universe project. Photographs: Jean-Marc Philippe, 1986

The book

Messages from Humankind to the Universe, mock-up of the book

Messages from Humankind to the Universe — mock-up of the book (2016, 286 pages): 239 messages selected and arranged by theme by Jean-Marc Philippe from among the 10,500 messages collected in 1986, found in his archives in 2009. Introduction taken from his text published in Phréatique (1989).

Read the mock-up (PDF, 1.7 MB)

Listen

  • 7 June 1986 — Poussière d'étoiles, by Marie-Odile Monchicourt, France Inter
    Launch of Messages from Humankind to the Universe

  • 15 June 1986 — L'Oreille en coin, France Inter
    Messages from Humankind to the Universe

  • 19 June 1986 — Musicomania, by Françoise Malettra, France Culture
    Messages from Humankind to the Universe

  • 16 July 1986 — Adrénaline, by Jacques Pradel, France Inter
    Messages from Humankind to the Universe

  • 4 February 1987 — Magazine programme, France Culture
    The transmission of the messages towards the galaxy (26 January 1987)

  • 1987 — Poussière d'étoiles, by Marie-Odile Monchicourt, France Inter
    Messages from Humankind to the Universe

Recordings © Radio France / INA and Radio suisse romande, made available for documentary purposes.

Writings

By Jean-Marc Philippe

References and links

Books, catalogues and journals

  • Annick Bureaud (co-author), All Aliens. Cabaret de curiosités, Subjectile / Le Phénix / Les Solitaires intempestifs, 2014, p. 61.
  • Annick Bureaud, “Art télématique. Cartographie pour un média mort”, MCD – Magazine des cultures digitales, no. 75, September-November 2014.
  • Françoise Armengaud, Titres, Paris, Klincksieck, 1988, chapter “Jean-Marc Philippe”, pp. 213-222.

Radio

  • Marie-Odile Monchicourt, Poussière d'étoiles, France Inter, 7 February 1987.
  • Jacques Pradel, Adrénaline, France Inter, 16 July 1986.
  • Françoise Malettra, Musicomania, France Culture, 19 July 1986.