![]() A team led by astronomer Carl Sagan selected the contents, chosen to embody a message representative of all of humanity. The grooves of the records record both ordinary audio and 115 encoded images. Inscribed on the records’ covers are instructions for their use and a sort of “map” designed to describe the Earth’s location in the galaxy in a way that extraterrestrials might understand. Since they move too quickly and have too little propellant to stop themselves, both spacecraft are now on what NASA calls their Interstellar Mission, exploring the space between the stars as they head out into the galaxy.īoth craft carry Golden Records: 12-inch phonographic gold-plated copper records, along with needles and cartridges, all designed to last indefinitely in interstellar space. The twin spacecraft both visited Jupiter and Saturn from there Voyager I explored the hazy moon Titan, while Voyager II became the first (and, to date, only) probe to explore Uranus and Neptune. In five billion years, those memories will still be silently whispering, as the Voyagers continue their lonely journey through the emptiness of interstellar space.The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research.įorty years ago, NASA launched Voyager I and II to explore the outer solar system. As they continue through space, these spacecraft carry with them a part of us. The Earth will have died, but those two Voyagers will continue to carry the memory of that world. All that will remain of our civilization are those two spacecraft that were sent out so long ago. Our world, the Earth, will no longer exist. In five billion years, all life will be extinct, the oceans gone, the continents unrecognizable, and the sun will have likely engulfed the Earth as it nears the end of its life.ĭespite these drastic changes, the two Voyagers will continue their journey through space, unknown to the events taking place on their home world. There may not even be an Earth in five billion years. The Voyagers could even be discovered by a civilization that has yet to evolve. Five billion years ago there was no Earth. The chances are of course nearly zero, but five billion years is a long time. Scientists sent the golden records in the hopes that, maybe within five billion years, some alien species may come across it. That is of course a very long time, even longer than our solar system has been around for. ![]() In space, there is virtually nothing to erode the Voyagers away, and so they will continue to drift through space for an estimated five billion years or so. These records contain the memory of our world and who we are. Science, math, technology, even recordings of multiple human languages and a whale language were included on the record. The record contained images of human society, as well as music from throughout history and across the globe, as well many other aspects of our society. ![]() Both spacecraft were equipped with golden, phonographic records, as well as a gold encasing with hieroglyphics on it. Travelling to the outer planets was of course the first, primary objective of the Voyager mission, but it wasn’t the only objective. The designs o the cover show directions to the solar system, NASA Memories Of The Earth The Voyager Golden Record. Voyager 2 gave scientists their first up close view of these outer gas giants, and even to this day, decades later, new discoveries are still being made from photos taken by Voyager 2. Voyager 2 continued on to Uranus and Neptune, and to this day, it is the only spacecraft to have completed flybys of these two worlds. Voyager 1 did not continue onto any other planets, and instead left for the emptiness of space. Voyager 1 and 2 launched in 1977, and their journey brought them both to Jupiter and Saturn. ![]() ![]() Voyager 1 became the first human-made object to leave our solar system, and Voyager 2 became the second. Rather, they would simply drift through empty space, eventually even leaving the solar system, which both spacecraft have achieved in the last decade. As the Voyagers ventured out into space, there was obviously no way they could ever come back. This, however, was not the only goal of the Voyagers. The primary objective of the Voyager spacecrafts was to visit each of the outer gas giants. Scientists and engineers built the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecrafts. This alignment was a scientific opportunity that had to be taken. In the 1970s, a rare phenomenon occurred: the outer planets of the solar system aligned together. ![]()
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