![]() ![]() ![]() You can keep track of these spacecraft at JPL’s Voyager Mission Status pa ge. But the launching of this bottle into the cosmic ocean says something very hopeful about life on this planet.” Outward Bound: Tracking Things Sent to Space As Carl Sagan noted, “The spacecraft will be encountered and the record played only if there are advanced spacefaring civilizations in interstellar space. “What if you pair the image of an open daffodil with the roar of a chainsaw?” asked Orchard.Įven if they are unable to understand the message, the fact that these records were included on these interstellar spacecraft is a message in itself: Humans are explorers, and we’ve done our best to tell the universe who we are. If extraterrestrials tried to match the sounds with objects in the images, human culture might appear to be very strange. For example, the records contain images and sounds that are not correlated. Rebecca Orchard and Sheri Wells-Jensen at Bowling Green State University in Ohio studied the content and considered how intelligent extraterrestrial beings might misinterpret it. There are those who argue that the Voyager golden record message of human cultural diversity will be confusing rather than explanatory. Even if they do gain access, will they have any understanding of what they have found? No matter how hard we try to put ourselves in alien shoes (do they wear shoes?), it’s difficult to think beyond our own human-centric viewpoint. Interpretation of the content is another matter entirely. #GOLDEN RECORDS ON VOYAGER HOW TO#If they do, what is the probability that they will find Voyager golden records? Will they figure out how to access the content? The symbolic instructions are mostly technical in nature, and an advanced spacefaring civilization might well be able to meet this challenge. We simply don’t know enough about our universe to determine if extraterrestrials exist. By the time NASA approved the idea, we had less than six months to put it together, so we had to move fast.” What Will Extraterrestrials Make of This? Soon, he and one of his colleagues at Cornell, Frank Drake, had decided on a record. As Ferris recalled, “We immediately agreed. He asked Ferris and Druyan to help him create something better for Voyager. Sagan was enthusiastic about the idea of communication with intelligent extraterrestrials and had helped design the plaques for the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft. According to the New Yorker, in 1976, Sagan was visiting with his friends, science writers Timothy Ferris and Ann Druyan. The initiative to create the Voyager golden records was led by astronomer Dr. President Jimmy Carter and Kurt Waldheim, United Nations Secretary-General from 1972 to 1981. Finally, the record includes printed messages from former U.S. Also included is a wide selection of music from different human eras and cultures and spoken greetings from people in 55 languages. Natural sounds are included, such as those made by wind, thunder and a variety of animals. Each Voyager golden record contains 115 images encoded in analog form as well as a variety of sounds designed to describe the life and culture of planet Earth to extraterrestrials. ![]() Each includes a phonograph cartridge and a needle, along with instructions in symbolic language on how to play the record. Each record is a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk, encased in a protective aluminum cover. The Voyager golden record was more ambitious, intended to encapsulate the essence of humanity as a kind of time capsule. ![]() To this end, Pioneers 10 and 11 carried small metal plaques basically describing their place of origin in the Milky Way galaxy. What if someday in the distant future, these re markable t hings sent to space were found by extraterrestrial spacefarers? Visionary team members of these deep space missions felt that it was important to communicate the story of humanity. Voyager 1 and 2, like Pioneer 10 and 11 before them, inspired hope for extraterrestrial communication. These spacecraft are still gathering and transmitting scientific information through the Deep Space Network, allowing scientists to learn more about this unexplored region. Both spacecraft carry an identical message from Earth for any extraterrestrial beings who happen to find them, the Voyager golden record. Voyager 2 entered interstellar space in November 2018. In 2012, Voyager 1 entered interstellar space and is now the most distant human-made object from the Earth. Launched in 1977, they are now well beyond Pluto’s orbit. The Voyager 1 and 2 probes have been on a journey through space for more than 40 years. ![]()
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