About this phrase
“Per Aspera Ad Astra” — through hardship to the stars — is one of the most tattooed and engraved Latin phrases of the modern era. Hidden in morse it becomes a personal code for the journey through difficulty toward greatness.
Cultural context
The phrase has ancient origins — a version appears in Seneca's Hercules Furens — but its modern form was popularized after it became the motto of the Royal Air Force ('Per ardua ad astra') in 1913 and then the motto of NASA's Kansas city mission following the Apollo 1 fire in 1967. It was also adopted by the state of Kansas as its state motto. The phrase resonates because it doesn't promise an easy path — it acknowledges the difficulty as the price of the destination. In contemporary culture it appears on tattoos, graduation speeches, and memorial pieces for anyone who died pursuing something great.
When to gift this phrase
Powerful for survivorship milestones (cancer, addiction recovery, bankruptcy recovery), for NASA enthusiasts, and as a graduation gift for anyone who achieved their goal through visible struggle.
When this phrase is the wrong fit
The difficulty-acknowledgment is central to the phrase — avoid for recipients whose path has been relatively smooth, where it might read as hyperbolic.
Variations you might prefer
- through hardship to the stars
- reach the stars
- ad astra
How the morse encodes
'PER ASPERA AD ASTRA' is sixteen letters across four words. The double appearance of ASTRA (the last word echoing the AD before it) creates an audible repetition: A (dit-dah), S (dit-dit-dit), T (dah), R (dit-dah-dit), A (dit-dah) — ASTRA's five characters form a satisfying rhythmic loop.
Most common use cases
- Cancer survivor or recovery milestone piece
- NASA enthusiast gift
- Graduation after overcoming difficulty
- Motivational tattoo companion piece
Letter-by-letter breakdown
Here is “Per Aspera Ad Astra” spelled out one character at a time, so you can copy it by hand, check a tattoo stencil, or space the beads on a bracelet correctly:
| Letter | Morse |
|---|---|
| P | .--. |
| E | . |
| R | .-. |
| ␣ | / |
| A | .- |
| S | ... |
| P | .--. |
| E | . |
| R | .-. |
| A | .- |
| ␣ | / |
| A | .- |
| D | -.. |
| ␣ | / |
| A | .- |
| S | ... |
| T | - |
| R | .-. |
| A | .- |
A single space between letters and a slash (/) between words keeps the pattern readable — the most common mistake in engraved and tattooed morse is running the letters together with no gaps.
Five A's carry the whole line
One letter dominates this phrase: A, dit-dah, appears five times across the four words, more than any other. R follows with three. That heavy repetition of a single short letter gives the code a recurring dit-dah pulse that keeps resurfacing as you key, a kind of built-in rhythm section beneath the longer words. For a designer it is a useful anchor — those five identical A shapes are the landmarks that let a reader keep their place along a thirty-nine-mark engraving. Spaced evenly on a long bracelet, the repeated A’s break the line into countable segments, which matters on a phrase this long, where losing your place is otherwise easy to do.
ASTRA can shed a V and a C
The final word is the trickiest to space. S is three taps and T one stroke; slur them and those four marks make a V. A step later, T ahead of R keys as -.-., a C. So a crowded ASTRA can quietly surface a V at one seam and a C at the next, scrambling the word that matters most in the phrase. Both hazards sit in the middle of the word, where letters press together. Giving S, T and R clear separation is what keeps ASTRA from dissolving into stray letters — the one word here where tight spacing does real damage to the meaning.
The same F-trap appears in two words
PER and ASPERA share a hidden flaw. Both hold E followed by R, and E, one lone dot, ahead of R’s dit-dah-dit keys as dit-dit-dah-dit, the code for F. So the E-R seam can drop an F into the message twice over, once in each word that carries it. It is an unusual case of the same collapse repeating within a single phrase, which turns E-R spacing into a steady thing to watch rather than a one-off. A designer only learns the rule once and applies it in both spots: keep the dot of E well clear of the dit-dah-dit of R, and neither word leaks an F.
Buy "Per Aspera Ad Astra" in morse
Custom-phrase morse jewelry and prints from independent sellers. Send them this page and they'll match the layout above.
Turn it into something physical
This phrase fits a range of keepsake formats:
- Bracelet mockup — if the phrase is short enough (39 morse symbols here).
- Necklace mockup — best for longer phrases.
- Ring design — only works if the phrase is under about 10 morse symbols.
- Tattoo designer — exports an SVG in three layouts and three weights.
Related phrases
- Hope — .... --- .--. .
- Faith — ..-. .- .. - ....
- Always — .- .-.. .-- .- -.-- ...
- Ad Astra — .- -.. / .- ... - .-. .-
- In Omnia Paratus — .. -. / --- -- -. .. .- / .--. .- .-. .-…
- Amor Vincit Omnia — .- -- --- .-. / ...- .. -. -.-. .. - / -…
Frequently asked questions
What is "Per Aspera Ad Astra" in morse code?
"Per Aspera Ad Astra" in international morse code is .--. . .-. / .- ... .--. . .-. .- / .- -.. / .- ... - .-. .-.
How long does this phrase take to send?
At 15 WPM this phrase takes about 4.8 seconds to transmit. You can hear it at any speed between 5 and 40 WPM by pressing Play above.
Can I put "Per Aspera Ad Astra" on a bracelet or necklace?
Yes — use our bracelet or necklace mockup tool to preview how it will look as beads, then screenshot and send to a jeweler or an Etsy seller specializing in morse pieces.
Which letter repeats most in PER ASPERA AD ASTRA?
A, which appears five times, more than any other letter in the phrase. Its dit-dah shape recurs like a pulse through all four words and, spaced evenly, gives a reader landmarks along a long engraving.
Where is PER ASPERA AD ASTRA most likely to be misread?
In ASTRA. S beside T can read as V and T beside R as C if the letters crowd, so the closing word needs the clearest spacing. The repeated E-into-R seams in PER and ASPERA can also each read as F.
How long a piece does PER ASPERA AD ASTRA need?
A generous one. At sixteen letters and thirty-nine marks it is among the longest phrases here, so it suits a wide cuff, a long bar, or a multi-line layout rather than a ring. Splitting it by word across lines keeps each part legible.