The Golden Record
The Golden Record, source: NASA
The literal embodiment of hope, and travel mate the Voyagers carried along: The Golden Record. This is one of the most gorgeous things humans have ever thought of doing. Before I explain why, I’ll explain what - Voyagers 1 and 2 (yes I’ve mentioned them before) are two space probes that embarked on a mission in 1977 to explore our solar system’s outer planets, as well as Interstellar space, so that it or they would be found by aliens. It’s not a crazy idea- I know my opinion on this is biased but hear me out- the universe is one immensely vast, mysterious place.
On The Golden Record
I first heard about it on one of my space binging streaks during the first quarantine, and it brought me to tears. The fact that we even sent these machines out there in the hope of finding something or something finding us, was so incredible and so human. It was the single act of holding on to hope, despite the facts that there was no evidence extraterrestrials existed, and that with the technology of the 1970s, spacecrafts didn’t last long enough to cover such distances.
The Golden Record is attached to each probe; it is one that will act as Earth’s ambassador if or when the Voyagers are found by intelligent life. In it, are sounds and images of the Earth, ranging from music, to greetings in 50+ languages, to animals and nature, to us and our everyday lives. Link left below to view these on NASA’s JPL Voyager page.
All that information was curated in just six weeks! The story of Earth, its neighborhood, its inhabitants, in symbolic data (made specifically for them to decipher). The plan was for this to be ample enough to efficiently communicate ourselves to a life beyond earth, on a disk that would likely outlive our planet due to it being made of materials like Uranium-238 that lasts for about 5 billion years. Ironically, this project to represent Earth as a whole was implemented during the Cold War.
The Golden Record, source: NASA
I could go on and on about other specificities of the disk, but that’s not the point I’m trying to make today. In case you haven’t already guessed it, my point is hope. To explain this, I shall quote from the About page:
“There’s nothing more poetic than hope. It is the one muse that keeps us going and helps us see the magnificence of the little things in life. We often overlook these things because we deem them too small, too insignificant...”
There is something about the thinking behind that quote. I recently found myself needing to remember why I thought this. There’s no use in not believing, you know? I mean faith, hope - those are things that keep us alive, because there’s always something we’re going to look forward to. It’s a new year, to some people, that’s the start of a new era- or that symbolism started right from the Great Conjunction - but then again, that was towards the end of the year, so same difference? If there’s anything I’ve perceived from the uncertainties and surprises no one wished for that 2020 brought along, it’s that hope is still lying in the atmosphere, no matter its density. People are still praying, people are still believing and cheering themselves on for one thing or another, and that is so inspiring to me.
Voyager 1, Source: NASA
To me, The Golden Record is a lot more than the proof of our existence, it embodies the dreams of all those scientists and other believers who believe there is something out there waiting to be found. I can only imagine the emotions evoked in the people behind the Voyagers when they first headed for space, and when they transmitted their mind-blowing first and last photos, especially the Pale Blue Dot— !
Fast forward 43 years, Voyagers 1 and 2, are still out there, moving through interstellar space, getting the most breathtaking and probably most bizarre views one would ever wish to see. Right now, Voyager 1 is currently 14,155,959,365 miles away from Earth, and Voyager 2 is currently 11,786,355,382 miles away from Earth. I’ll leave the link to the Mission Status below the article, so you know where the Voyagers are when you’re reading this!
The mission has brought results that superseded what the engineers expected. These machines have forever marked history as the first man made objects to make their way through interstellar space, set to orbit our Milky Way Galaxy every 250+ million years. Whether or not anyone or anything finds them (fingers crossed they will!), I think Voyagers’ achievements and possibilities are and will continue to be phenomenal. For now, The Golden Record remains with the legacy of the Earth attached to it, as a symbol of humanity and a symbol of hope.
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