After more than 47 years and hundreds of millions of miles, Voyager 1 and 2 are still hurtling through interstellar space far beyond our solar system. Each spacecraft carries evidence of humanity into the depths of space, while recent equipment problems signal the imminent end of a historic mission. It is one of two golden records engraved with descriptions of the sights, sounds, and life on Earth. Sure, it may be unlikely that extraterrestrial intelligence will discover the time capsule, but if something unusual were to happen, what would the aliens find in the playable LP? And what would we do? Who chose this glimpse of their home planet to make the cut?
The Voyager Golden Record project was the product of an official NASA committee chaired by Carl Sagan, a famous astrophysicist who was then working at Cornell University. The team has rolling stone Editor Timothy Ferriss and Sagan’s wife at the time, artist and writer Linda Salzman, spent nearly a year considering a wide range of media to potentially include in the project.
“[It’s] It’s the most important work of art of my career, and it’s definitely the work I’ll be remembered for,” said John Sagan, Sagan’s longtime artistic collaborator and creative director of NASA’s Golden Record Project. Romberg says popular science.
For the record, the organizers ended up with 115 images (plus one used for proofreading), chemical composition diagrams, bird calls, humpback whale sounds, wind sounds, waves sounds, and thunder sounds. I settled on a 12-minute nature record such as . . The human voice selection included greetings in 55 modern and ancient languages and an audio message from then-United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim. Each recording also included audio of children’s laughter, footsteps, brainwave scans, Morse code, and a message from then-President Jimmy Carter.
As for the music, the Voyager committee sought to focus on 90 minutes of songs representing cultures from around the world. In addition to Western classical works by Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and Stravinsky, Chinese musician Guan Pinghu, Indian classical singer Kelsarbai Kelkar, and Azerbaijani folk music were included in the list.
However, the decision to include more contemporary music was met with some backlash. Committee member and folklorist Alan Lomax initially opposed the inclusion of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” arguing that rock ‘n’ roll was too “juvenile” to deserve a spot. Ta. Sagan reportedly responded to Lomax’s objections simply by saying, “There are a lot of young people on this planet.”
The criticism didn’t end there either. Voyager’s predecessors, Pioneer 10 and 11, included plates depicting anatomically accurate illustrations of human men and women, but NASA was unable to detect any alien life, whether terrestrial or extraterrestrial. I have decided not to commit any kind of disrespect again, be it physical. Mr. Sagan’s committee had originally wanted to include a photo of a naked man and woman, but was forced to settle for silhouettes of two bodies without genitals. In other words, human anatomical features are depicted in the diagram of vertebrate evolution.
But not all the hurdles were a matter of decorum, and at least one could be traced to legal red tape. According to some committee members, the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” was not released on record due to copyright issues with label EMI. rolling stone However, editor Timothy Ferris claimed in 2017 that the track was never seriously considered.
“This is not the Beatles’ strongest work, and the title’s witty production, while appealing in the short term, seems unlikely to remain interesting for a billion years,” he wrote. are. new yorker In 2017.
The Beatles influenced records in at least a few other ways. Ferris said project organizers hired a sound engineer (famous producer Jimmy Iovine) at the suggestion of John Lennon. And like Lennon, Ferris made sure to inscribe a small, personal message in the blank space at the end of each record: “To those who made music, in all the world, in all the time.” But as for the Golden Record itself, there was never a plan to manufacture solid gold discs to send into space.
“It’s actually copper in an aluminum box,” Romberg says, adding that the manufacturer anodized both the record and the case with “a very thin layer of gold” to prevent potential chemical erosion in space. It added that it had been oxidized.
Even if someday in the distant future they were discovered, any extraterrestrial intelligence interested in listening to the audio tracks of that record would play them (perhaps on an improvised turntable) at 16 2/3 rpm. All you need is Illustrated instructions also provide detailed instructions on how to construct an image from the recorded signal, allowing you to view the image archive at a glance. But for many people still involved in the Voyager mission, the spacecraft represents more than just the distance it travels, it represents the information it stores.
“It’s like a child who grows up and leaves us, but it will always remain in our hearts,” says flight engineer San Matsumoto. popular science. “The Voyage continues to travel long after we were able to call home, sending peaceful messages to those who want to hear them, year after year after we are gone. It’s very reassuring to know that it will be delivered.”
“For me, the Voyager Golden Record is a beautiful example of humanity and our commitment to world peace,” adds Propulsion Engineer Todd Barber. “This was not just a collection of American music and photographs, but an ambitious attempt to represent Earth in space.”
Regardless of when the Voyager spacecraft finally stops, the Golden Record will continue its orbit farther into deep space for the foreseeable future. Here on Earth, Romberg believes their legacy is “destined to live on in memory for as long as our space age is remembered,” and that they will continue to be “an important part of the space age.” I’m very proud of that,” he added.
This story is part of Popular Science Ask Me Anything SeriesHere, we answer some of the most outlandish and mind-blowing questions, from the mundane to the far-fetched. Is there something you’ve always wanted to know? Please contact us.
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