The Golden Record: Earth’s message to the Cosmos

The Golden Record, carried aboard Voyagers 1 and 2, is a time capsule crafted to communicate the essence of humanity to extraterrestrial life. These phonograph records, attached to each spacecraft, serve as a message from us to the cosmos.

A visionary team led by Carl Sagan, the renowned astrophysicist, along with his colleagues Frank Drake, Ann Druyan, and others, came up with the idea of including a message on the Voyager spacecraft.

The Golden Record is a remarkable feat of engineering. Wrapped in aluminium and coated with Uranium-238 to shield it from cosmic radiation, it is built to endure more than a billion years. The disc comes with a cartridge and needle, plus engraved instructions on the cover that guide you on playing it.

If an advanced civilisation was to find the Voyager and interpret its record, their initial experience would be an audiovisual greeting. The guide would direct the seeker to match the grooves of the disc with the needle to reveal the hidden treasure inside.

The Golden Records contain diverse sounds, images, and information that aim to reflect the essence of life on our planet. Take a look at what these celestial treasures hold:

Melodies of our world: A harmonious blend of the elements and humanity, featuring the rumble of storms, the song of crickets, and the joyful giggles of children. These come with greetings in 55 different languages, sharing a common message of peace.

Music: The records showcase diverse music that reflects various cultures and time periods. The selection features Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No 2, traditional Javanese gamelan music, Chuck Berry's iconic rock-and-roll hit Johnny B Goode and the classical sounds of Kesarbai Kerkar from India. 

Images: Encoded in analog format, the records contain 116 images showcasing life on Earth, from DNA structure to everyday life scenes. These images incorporate mathematical and scientific ideas to offer insights into our comprehension of the universe.

Message: The cover of the record features symbolic instructions for how to play it, along with a map that shows Earth's position in relation to 14 pulsars, serving as a kind of celestial GPS for anyone who discovers it.

The Golden Records are not really practical efforts for communication; they are more like hopeful chances at best. The chances of the Voyagers encountering intelligent life are incredibly slim. 

And how can you encapsulate the vastness of existence and culture within a 12-inch disc? How can we connect with entities that might not perceive the world in the same way we do or grasp our concepts of time and space?

As Carl Sagan eloquently put it, "The launching of this 'bottle' into the cosmic 'ocean' says something very hopeful about life on this planet."