Is there life out there, somewhere in the universe? NASA thinks so. In 1977, NASA launched two probes as a part of their Voyager Program: Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. In each of the two probes, they have put a 12-inch gold-plated copper record and sent them outside of the solar system in hopes that any intelligent life will find it and discover that they are not alone, maybe even contacting us. These records are now referred to as the Voyager Golden Records.
The two identical records not only play sound, but also contain images that can be extracted from the audio waves. The records contain 115 photographs, greetings in 55 languages, 12 minutes of sounds from Earth, and 90 minutes of music. Each sound and image was selected by a committee led by Carl Sagan, an astronomer and planetary scientist who is famous for his research about possible extraterrestrial life.
The Voyager probes were initially made for the purpose of observing Jupiter, Saturn and Saturn’s moons when they were aligned with Earth. In 2004, the probes became interstellar and left our solar system. As of 2024, the probes are 15 billion miles away from Earth.
In 2023, both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 lost contact with NASA, but Voyager 2 re-established connection and remains in contact as of 2024. Although the odds may be against them ever finding intelligent life, the records are designed to be playable for up to 1 billion years.
By the time the records are unplayable and reach the other side of the Milky Way, the sun will evaporate our oceans and end the carbon cycle and tectonic plate movement. NASA may not be around to celebrate the milestone, but even when the Earth dies, the records will keep an imprint of humanity’s existence floating in deep space forever.
On the backside of the record, there is a diagram of how to play the record and what speed to rotate the record, how to extract images, and where our sun is in relation to 14 other stars. A cartridge and needle is also included in the probe so extraterrestrials have everything they need to learn about us and find us. (Photo/NASA Caltech Jet Propulsion Lab)
