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The Day We Sent a Message to Aliens
In 1977, NASA sent a message about our world to the stars.
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Imagine that extraterrestrials were living on some faraway planet. And you had a chance to send them a message.
What would you tell the aliens about Earth? What would you want them to know about humans?
In the late 1970s, a group of scientists at NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) propelled a message into space. They hoped that one day, life-forms somewhere in the galaxy might find it.
Floating Forever
The idea began with two NASA spacecraft, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. NASA built them to collect information about the solar system and send it back to Earth.
The Voyagers were launched in 1977. Since then, they’ve traveled far. They’ve taken photos of Uranus and Neptune. They’ve observed Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.
But one day, they’ll run out of power. Then they’ll just float through space.
NASA knew this would happen. And that gave NASA scientist Carl Sagan an idea: If the Voyagers were going to stay in deep space forever, maybe another life-form would find them one day. Could the Voyagers be our chance to connect with aliens?
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Recording Our World
A Golden Record (left) was attached to each Voyager spacecraft. Each contains sounds and images from Earth.
Making the Golden Record
Sagan wanted to attach a message about Earth to each spacecraft. He proposed the idea to NASA. NASA agreed. A team of scientists, artists, and other experts worked on the project. Their job was to decide what the message should say.
NASA put the message on what became known as the Golden Record. (That might sound like an extravagant item. But it’s just a copper disc covered in a thin layer of gold!) It contains sounds and images from Earth. Two copies were made, one for each Voyager.
The images on the discs include an airplane and a tropical island. The sounds include thunder, a crying baby, and music from around the world.
The Future
It’s been almost 50 years since the Voyagers were launched. The spacecraft are now billions of miles from Earth.
One day, what Sagan hoped for might happen. Life-forms from a distant planet might find one of the Golden Records. If they do, what will this extraordinary item tell them about us?
