Cover of the Golden Record
Music from “The Golden Record,” Wednesday 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
In the year 1977 NASA launched two unmanned spacecraft, space probes programmed to survey the solar system, timed to take advantage of a rare alignment of the planets. Knowing the probes would continue their trajectories indefinitely, NASA scientists elected to place time capsules within the probes should either be intercepted by intelligent life; it’s what they call the Interstellar Mission. Astronomer Carl Sagan was charged with selecting items to represent humanity.
Montage of Voyagers 1 and 2 in the solar system
“The spacecraft will be encountered and the record played only if there are advanced space-faring civilizations in interstellar space. But the launching of this ‘bottle’ into the cosmic ‘ocean’ says something very hopeful about life on this planet.”
—Carl Sagan
On Wednesday between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM, Suzanne Nance will present music contained on “The Golden Record,” a 12-inch gold-plated copper disc containing Sagan’s choices, which includes Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Chuck Berry, Louis Armstrong, and Stravinsky.
Voyager launch
View images contained within Carl Sagan’s time capsule:
photo of home building
photo of space walk
