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.
“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.
View images contained within Carl Sagan’s time capsule: