The Golden Record and the Voyager Spacecraft

Voyager spacecraft are now in an area known as the heliosheath at the outer limits of our sun’s influence, carrying 11 scientific instruments with them for planet observations such as cameras and spectrometers.

These travelers have already explored many of the outer planets, leaving behind Golden Records with each one to send a message from humanity to any alien life forms who find it.

The Voyager Mission

The two Voyager probes embarked on an incredible voyage through space to explore outer planets with their distinct rings, magnetic fields, and active volcanoes – revolutionizing textbooks while collecting an incredible treasure trove of images.

These pioneering mission were the first ever to make contact with Jupiter and Saturn and deliver greetings and symbols from humanity as well as recording voices, music and even Earth sounds to share with anything that might be listening.

Radioisotope thermoelectric generators on board each craft convert heat from natural radioactive decay of plutonium into electricity for powering their instruments and other systems, such as transmitting data back home. As they move further from Earth and into interstellar space, individual scientific instruments will eventually stop sending information and the last will cease transmitting in 2025 – and Voyager 1 and 2 have now entered interstellar space, an area filled with material ejected by dying stars.

Voyager 1

Voyager 1 still operates as intended despite its advanced age; though some instruments have stopped functioning over time. Those still in working condition are utilized for research on outer planets and their satellites.

The probes’ cameras have provided scientists with an abundance of knowledge regarding Jupiter, its rings and weather conditions; Saturn’s F ring – made up of frozen particles encircling it; as well as volcanic activity on Io, one of Saturn’s moons. Scientists have gained tremendous insight into these planets as well as how their rings and moons interact.

Voyager 1 may best be remembered for its golden record, containing sounds and images intended for “future times and other beings” as described by Carl Sagan in a 1980 interview. Carl called this record his “gift across the cosmic ocean,” providing a snapshot of humanity and culture, along with an encouraging message of peace for future generations to discover.

Voyager 2

Voyager 2 then continued its voyage below the ecliptic plane into interstellar space. Engineers turned off nonessential instruments to conserve power; however, Voyager should continue gathering information about its surroundings until around 2025.

The Voyager missions far exceeded expectations with their five-year lifespans, and both crafts have traveled further from Earth than Pluto is now. Their journey has allowed them to study Jupiter and Saturn; including all their rings, magnetospheres and moons; as well as Uranus and Neptune with their unique systems of rings, magnetic fields and rings that orbit each planet.

The Voyager Golden Record contains a message from humanity to any alien life who might stumble across it. Carl Sagan, an renowned astrophysicist who led the project of attaching messages to probes, designed this record with hopes of portraying an idealized part of human culture without references to war or conflict, in addition to inspiring people with its “exciting and hopeful message about our place in the universe”.

The Voyager Golden Record

Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 carry time capsules called the Golden Record that hold songs, sounds, and images representing humanity’s collective history. Should any intelligent life discover either of the spacecrafts one day, they will be able to listen to and view recordings stored thereon as well as view 115 photographs taken of Earth from Voyagers 1 and 2.

NASA was provided with this selection by a committee led by Carl Sagan from Cornell University. This playlist of 116 tracks includes natural sounds (surf, wind and thunder, birds and whales), musical selections from various cultures and eras, spoken greetings in 55 different languages as well as messages from President Carter and U.N. Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim.

It was like listening to a mixtape from an eccentric friend with an exhaustive knowledge of world music: smoothly leaping across continents and centuries, from Chuck Berry and mariachi bands to Gregorian/Navajo chants next to Japanese flute pieces or Peruvian pipes. A few tracks even feature science and astronomy–such as an audio version of Voyager 1’s famous pale blue dot photo; billions of years from now our sun may well have evolved into red giant, leaving only Voyager probes traveling interstellar space carrying our silent message of hope – perhaps.