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What Is on Voyager’s Golden Record?

From a whale song to a kiss, the time capsule sent into space in 1977 had some interesting contents

Megan Gambino

Senior Editor

“I thought it was a brilliant idea from the beginning,” says Timothy Ferris. Produce a phonograph record containing the sounds and images of humankind and fling it out into the solar system.

By the 1970s, astronomers Carl Sagan and Frank Drake already had some experience with sending messages out into space. They had created two gold-anodized aluminum plaques that were affixed to the Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 spacecraft. Linda Salzman Sagan, an artist and Carl’s wife, etched an illustration onto them of a nude man and woman with an indication of the time and location of our civilization.

The “Golden Record” would be an upgrade to Pioneer’s plaques. Mounted on Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, twin probes launched in 1977, the two copies of the record would serve as time capsules and transmit much more information about life on Earth should extraterrestrials find it.

NASA approved the idea. So then it became a question of what should be on the record. What are humanity’s greatest hits? Curating the record’s contents was a gargantuan task, and one that fell to a team including the Sagans, Drake, author Ann Druyan, artist Jon Lomberg and Ferris, an esteemed science writer who was a friend of Sagan’s and a contributing editor to Rolling Stone .

The exercise, says Ferris, involved a considerable number of presuppositions about what aliens want to know about us and how they might interpret our selections. “I found myself increasingly playing the role of extraterrestrial,” recounts Lomberg in Murmurs of Earth , a 1978 book on the making of the record. When considering photographs to include, the panel was careful to try to eliminate those that could be misconstrued. Though war is a reality of human existence, images of it might send an aggressive message when the record was intended as a friendly gesture. The team veered from politics and religion in its efforts to be as inclusive as possible given a limited amount of space.

Over the course of ten months, a solid outline emerged. The Golden Record consists of 115 analog-encoded photographs, greetings in 55 languages, a 12-minute montage of sounds on Earth and 90 minutes of music. As producer of the record, Ferris was involved in each of its sections in some way. But his largest role was in selecting the musical tracks. “There are a thousand worthy pieces of music in the world for every one that is on the record,” says Ferris. I imagine the same could be said for the photographs and snippets of sounds.

The following is a selection of items on the record:

Silhouette of a Male and a Pregnant Female

The team felt it was important to convey information about human anatomy and culled diagrams from the 1978 edition of The World Book Encyclopedia. To explain reproduction, NASA approved a drawing of the human sex organs and images chronicling conception to birth. Photographer Wayne F. Miller’s famous photograph of his son’s birth, featured in Edward Steichen’s 1955 “Family of Man” exhibition, was used to depict childbirth. But as Lomberg notes in Murmurs of Earth , NASA vetoed a nude photograph of “a man and a pregnant woman quite unerotically holding hands.” The Golden Record experts and NASA struck a compromise that was less compromising— silhouettes of the two figures and the fetus positioned within the woman’s womb.

DNA Structure

At the risk of providing extraterrestrials, whose genetic material might well also be stored in DNA, with information they already knew, the experts mapped out DNA’s complex structure in a series of illustrations.

Demonstration of Eating, Licking and Drinking

When producers had trouble locating a specific image in picture libraries maintained by the National Geographic Society, the United Nations, NASA and Sports Illustrated , they composed their own. To show a mouth’s functions, for instance, they staged an odd but informative photograph of a woman licking an ice-cream cone, a man taking a bite out of a sandwich and a man drinking water cascading from a jug.

Olympic Sprinters

Images were selected for the record based not on aesthetics but on the amount of information they conveyed and the clarity with which they did so. It might seem strange, given the constraints on space, that a photograph of Olympic sprinters racing on a track made the cut. But the photograph shows various races of humans, the musculature of the human leg and a form of both competition and entertainment.

Photographs of huts, houses and cityscapes give an overview of the types of buildings seen on Earth. The Taj Mahal was chosen as an example of the more impressive architecture. The majestic mausoleum prevailed over cathedrals, Mayan pyramids and other structures in part because Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan built it in honor of his late wife, Mumtaz Mahal, and not a god.

Golden Gate Bridge

Three-quarters of the record was devoted to music, so visual art was less of a priority. A couple of photographs by the legendary landscape photographer Ansel Adams were selected, however, for the details captured within their frames. One, of the Golden Gate Bridge from nearby Baker Beach, was thought to clearly show how a suspension bridge connected two pieces of land separated by water. The hum of an automobile was included in the record’s sound montage, but the producers were not able to overlay the sounds and images.

A Page from a Book

An excerpt from a book would give extraterrestrials a glimpse of our written language, but deciding on a book and then a single page within that book was a massive task. For inspiration, Lomberg perused rare books, including a first-folio Shakespeare, an elaborate edition of Chaucer from the Renaissance and a centuries-old copy of Euclid’s  Elements  (on geometry), at the Cornell University Library. Ultimately, he took MIT astrophysicist Philip Morrison’s suggestion: a  page  from Sir Isaac Newton’s  System of the World , where the means of launching an object into orbit is described for the very first time.

Greeting from Nick Sagan

To keep with the spirit of the project, says Ferris, the wordings of the 55 greetings were left up to the speakers of the languages. In  Burmese , the message was a simple, “Are you well?” In  Indonesian , it was, “Good night ladies and gentlemen. Goodbye and see you next time.” A woman speaking the Chinese dialect of  Amoy  uttered a welcoming, “Friends of space, how are you all? Have you eaten yet? Come visit us if you have time.” It is interesting to note that the final greeting, in  English , came from then-6-year-old Nick Sagan, son of Carl and Linda Salzman Sagan. He said, “Hello from the children of planet Earth.”

Whale Greeting

Biologist Roger Payne provided a whale song (“the most beautiful whale greeting,” he said, and “the one that should last forever”) captured with hydrophones off the coast of Bermuda in 1970. Thinking that perhaps the whale song might make more sense to aliens than to humans, Ferris wanted to include more than a slice and so mixed some of the song behind the greetings in different languages. “That strikes some people as hilarious, but from a bandwidth standpoint, it worked quite well,” says Ferris. “It doesn’t interfere with the greetings, and if you are interested in the whale song, you can extract it.”

Reportedly, the trickiest sound to record was a  kiss . Some were too quiet, others too loud, and at least one was too disingenuous for the team’s liking. Music producer Jimmy Iovine kissed his arm. In the end, the kiss that landed on the record was actually one that Ferris planted on Ann Druyan’s cheek.

Druyan had the idea to record a person’s brain waves, so that should extraterrestrials millions of years into the future have the technology, they could decode the individual’s thoughts. She was the guinea pig. In an hour-long session hooked to an EEG at New York University Medical Center, Druyan meditated on a series of prepared thoughts. In  Murmurs of Earth , she admits that “a couple of irrepressible facts of my own life” slipped in. She and Carl Sagan had gotten engaged just days before, so a love story may very well be documented in her neurological signs. Compressed into a minute-long segment, the  brain waves  sound, writes Druyan, like a “string of exploding firecrackers.”

Georgian Chorus—“Tchakrulo”

The team discovered a beautiful recording of “Tchakrulo” by Radio Moscow and wanted to include it, particularly since Georgians are often credited with introducing polyphony, or music with two or more independent melodies, to the Western world. But before the team members signed off on the tune, they had the lyrics translated. “It was an old song, and for all we knew could have celebrated bear-baiting,” wrote Ferris in  Murmurs of Earth . Sandro Baratheli, a Georgian speaker from Queens, came to the rescue. The word “tchakrulo” can mean either “bound up” or “hard” and “tough,” and the song’s narrative is about a peasant protest against a landowner.

Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode”

According to Ferris, Carl Sagan had to warm up to the idea of including Chuck Berry’s 1958 hit “Johnny B. Goode” on the record, but once he did, he defended it against others’ objections. Folklorist Alan Lomax was against it, arguing that rock music was adolescent. “And Carl’s brilliant response was, ‘There are a lot of adolescents on the planet,’” recalls Ferris.

On April 22, 1978,  Saturday Night Live  spoofed the Golden Record in a  skit  called “Next Week in Review.” Host Steve Martin played a psychic named Cocuwa, who predicted that  Time  magazine would reveal, on the following week’s cover, a four-word message from aliens. He held up a mock cover, which read, “Send More Chuck Berry.”

More than four decades later, Ferris has no regrets about what the team did or did not include on the record. “It means a lot to have had your hand in something that is going to last a billion years,” he says. “I recommend it to everybody. It is a healthy way of looking at the world.”

According to the writer, NASA approached him about producing another record but he declined. “I think we did a good job once, and it is better to let someone else take a shot,” he says.

So, what would you put on a record if one were being sent into space today?

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Megan Gambino | | READ MORE

Megan Gambino is a senior web editor for Smithsonian magazine.

The Golden Record

Launched in 1977, both Voyager spacecraft carry a unique 'time capsule' along with them into interstellar space.

A Kind of Time Capsule

Pioneers 10 and 11, which preceded Voyager, both carried small metal plaques identifying their time and place of origin for the benefit of any other spacefarers that might find them in the distant future. With this example before them, NASA placed a more ambitious message aboard Voyager 1 and 2, a kind of time capsule, intended to communicate a story of our world to extraterrestrials. The Voyager message is carried by a phonograph record, a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth.

The Golden Record Cover

The record's protective cover includes with instructions for playing its contents, finding Earth in the cosmos, and dating how long it has been in space.

What's on the Record?

The record features images and a variety of natural sounds, such thunder, birds, musical selections from different cultures and eras, and spoken greetings in 55 languages.

History and Manufacturing

Many people were instrumental in the design, development and manufacturing of the golden record.

Discover More Topics From NASA

Our Solar System

• The Contents
• The Making of
• Where Are They Now
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Q & A with Ed Stone

golden record

Where are they now.

• frequently asked questions
• Q&A with Ed Stone

golden record  /  whats on the record

Images on the golden record.

The following is a listing of pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft. The contents of the record were selected for NASA by a committee chaired by Carl Sagan of Cornell University, et. al. Dr. Sagan and his associates assembled 115 images and a variety of natural sounds, such as those made by surf, wind and thunder, birds, whales, and other animals. To this they added musical selections from different cultures and eras, and spoken greetings from Earth-people in fifty-five languages, and printed messages from President Carter and U.N. Secretary General Waldheim. Each record is encased in a protective aluminum jacket, together with a cartridge and a needle. Instructions, in symbolic language, explain the origin of the spacecraft and indicate how the record is to be played. The 115 images are encoded in analog form. The remainder of the record is in audio, designed to be played at 16-2/3 revolutions per minute. It contains the spoken greetings, beginning with Akkadian, which was spoken in Sumer about six thousand years ago, and ending with Wu, a modern Chinese dialect. Following the section on the sounds of Earth, there is an eclectic 90-minute selection of music, including both Eastern and Western classics and a variety of ethnic music. Once the Voyager spacecraft leave the solar system, they will find themselves in empty space. It will be forty thousand years before they make a close approach to any other planetary system.

A list of images included on The Golden Record, but are not viewable, is listed at the bottom of this page .

Calibration circle

The calibration circle image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Credit: Jon Lomberg Please note that these images are copyright protected. Reproduction without permission of the copyright holder is prohibited.

Solar location map

The solar location map image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Credit: Frank Drake Please note that these images are copyright protected. Reproduction without permission of the copyright holder is prohibited.

Mathematical definitions

The mathematical definitions image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Physical unit definitions

The physical unit definitions image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Solar system parameters

The solar system parameters image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Solar spectrum

The solar spectrum image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Credit: National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, Cornell University (NAIC) Please note that these images are copyright protected. Reproduction without permission of the copyright holder is prohibited.

The Mercury image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Credit: NASA Please note that these images are copyright protected. Reproduction without permission of the copyright holder is prohibited.

The Mars image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

The Jupiter image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

The Earth image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Egypt, Red Sea, Sinal Peninsula and the Nile

The Egypt, Red Sea, Sinal Peninsula and the Nile image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Chemical definitions

The chemical definitions image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

DNA structure

The DNA structure image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

DNA structure magnified, light hit

The DNA structure magnified, light hit image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Diagram of conception

The diagram of conception image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Fetus diagram

The fetus diagram image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Diagram of male and female

Nursing mother.

The nursing mother image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Credit UN/DPI Photo Please note that these images are copyright protected. Reproduction without permission of the copyright holder is prohibited.

Diagram of family ages

The diagram of family ages image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Diagram of continental drift

The diagram of continental drift image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Structure of Earth

The structure of Earth image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Heron Island (Great Barrier Reef of Australia)

The Heron Island (Great Barrier Reef of Australia) image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Credit: Dr. Jay M. Pasachoff Please note that these images are copyright protected. Reproduction without permission of the copyright holder is prohibited.

Diagram of vertebrate evolution

The diagram of vertebrate evolution image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Sketch of bushmen

The sketch of bushmen image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Man from Guatemala

The man from Guatemala image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Credit: UN/DPI Photo Please note that these images are copyright protected. Reproduction without permission of the copyright holder is prohibited.

Sprinters (Valeri Borzov of the U.S.S.R. in lead)

The sprinters (Valeri Borzov of the U.S.S.R. in lead) image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Credit: History of the Olympics, Picturepoint, London Please note that these images are copyright protected. Reproduction without permission of the copyright holder is prohibited.

The schoolroom image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Children with globe

The children with globe image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Supermarket

The supermarket image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Credit: National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC) Please note that these images are copyright protected. Reproduction without permission of the copyright holder is prohibited.

Fishing boat with nets

The fishing boat with nets image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Demonstration of licking, eating and drinking

The demonstration of licking, eating and drinking image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

House construction (African)

The house construction (African) image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

House (Africa)

The house (Africa) image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Modern house (Cloudcroft, New Mexico)

The modern house (Cloudcroft, New Mexico) image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

UN Building Day

The UN building day image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

UN Building Night

The UN building night image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

X-ray of hand

The X-ray of hand image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Woman with microscope

The woman with microscope image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Street scene

The street scene image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Rush hour traffic (Thailand)

Modern highway.

The modern highway image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Airplane in flight

The airplane in flight image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Radio telescope (Arecibo)

The radio telescope (Arecibo) image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Page of book (Newton, System of the World)

The page of book (Newton, System of the World) image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Astronaut in space

The astronaut in space image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Titan Centaur launch

The Titan Centaur launch image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Violin with music score (Cavatina)

The violin with music score (Cavatina) image is one of the pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

• Due to copyright restrictions, only a subset of the images on the Golden Record are displayed above.
• All of these images are copyright protected. Reproduction without permission of the copyright holder is prohibited.

List of additional images, not featured in gallery, but exist on The Golden Record:

• The Sun, Hale observatories
• Cells and cell division, Turtox/Cambosco
• Anatomy 1, World Book
• Anatomy 2, World Book
• Anatomy 3, World Book
• Anatomy 4, World Book
• Anatomy 5, World Book
• Anatomy 6, World Book
• Anatomy 7, World Book
• Anatomy 8, World Book
• Human sex organs, Sinauer Associates, Inc.
• Conception , Albert Bonniers; Forlag, Stockholm
• Fertilized ovum, Albert Bonniers; Forlag, Stockholm
• Fetus, Dr. Frank Allan
• Birth, Wayne Miller
• Father and daughter (Malaysia), David Harvey
• Group of children, Ruby Mera, UNICEF
• Family portrait, Nina Leen, Time, Inc.
• Seashore, Dick Smith
• Snake River and Grand Tetons, Ansel Adams
• Sand dunes, George Mobley
• Monument Valley, Shostal Associates, Inc.
• Forest scene with mushrooms, Bruce Dale
• Leaf, Arthur Herrick
• Fallen leaves, Jodi Cobb
• Snowflake over Sequoia, Josef Muench, R. Sisson
• Tree with daffodils, Gardens Winterthur, Winterthur Museum
• Flying insect with flowers, Borne on the Wind, Stephen Dalton
• Seashell (Xancidae), Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
• Dolphins, Thomas Nebbia
• School of fish, David Doubilet
• Tree toad, Dave Wickstrom
• Crocodile, Peter Beard
• Eagle, Donona, Taplinger Publishing Co.
• Waterhole, South African Tourist Corp.
• Jane Goodall and chimps, Vanne Morris-Goodall
• Bushmen hunters, R. Farbman, Time, Inc.
• Dancer from Bali, donna Grosvenor
• Andean girls, Joseph Scherschel
• Thailand craftsman, Dean conger
• Elephant, Peter Kunstadter
• Old man with beard and glasses (Turkey), Jonathon Blair
• Old man with dog and flowers, Bruce Baumann
• Mountain climber, Gaston Rebuffat
• Gymnast, Philip Leonian, Sports Illustrated
• Cotton harvest, Howell Walker
• Grape picker, David Moore
• Underwater scene with diver and fish, Jerry Greenberg
• Cooking fish, Cooking of Spain and Portugal, Time-Life Books
• Chinese dinner party, Time-Life Books
• Great Wall of China, H. Edward Kim
• Construction scene (Amish country), William Albert Allard
• House (New England), Robert Sisson
• House interior with artist and fire, Jim Amos
• Taj Mahal, David Carroll
• English city (Oxford), C.S. Lewis, Images of His World, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
• Boston, Ted Spiegel
• Sydney Opera House, Mike Long
• Artisan with drill, Frank Hewlett
• Factory interior, Fred Ward
• Museum, David Cupp
• Golden Gate Bridge, Ansel Adams
• Train, Gordon Gahan
• Airport (Toronto), George Hunter
• Antarctic Expedition, Great Adventures with the National Geographic National Geographic
• Radio telescope (Westerbork, Netherlands), James Blair
• Sunset with birds, David Harvey
• String Quartet (Quartetto Italiano), Phillips Recordings

Screen Rant

The signal's golden record explained: the true story of the voyager's vinyl & message.

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10 Great Sci-Fi Shows Like Netflix's The Signal

The signal cast & character guide, 9 popular '80s & '90s kids books that have aged poorly.

• The Signal on Netflix includes the Voyager's golden record and its message to potential extraterrestrial beings.
• The end of the Signal briefly touches on the history of the Voyager probes and the effort to introduce Earth's culture to alien civilizations.
• Carl Sagan's son, Nick, voices the iconic "hello" message on the golden record, hoping for a future connection with extraterrestrial life.

The golden record aboard the Voyager, shown in Netflix's The Signal , includes a fascinating true story and meaning. In The Signal, Paula keeps hearing a message saying "hello," convincing herself that it was aliens trying to contact them and mimic their voices. However, the major twist at the end of The Signa l is that the aliens use the Voyager's golden record to send the "hello" message rather than mimicking the English language and inflection with their voices. Additionally, they send back the probe and message as a way to investigate the temperament of the human race before coming themselves.

While it might've seemed anticlimactic for the Voyager to land instead of an extraterrestrial ship, this narrative choice grounds The Signal in reality. Voyager 1 and 2 are real spacecrafts launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 1977. When creating the probes, scientists affixed a golden record to the outside of each probe in case extraterrestrials discovered the Voyagers. These elements make The Signal seem like a more plausible alien story than many alien invasion movies . Additionally, the narrative choice introduces viewers to a great piece of scientific history – the golden records – which the NASA Voyager website explains at length.

Netflix’s new German-language show The Signal has become a surprise hit all over the world. Fans of the sci-fi mystery show are wondering what’s next.

What’s On The Voyager's Golden Records In Real Life

When creating the phonographic records for the Voyager probes, a committee was formed to decide what exactly would be included. This committee was led by famous planetary astronomer Dr. Carl Sagan, who pushed the scientific community to search for extraterrestrial life. The idea behind the records was to introduce aliens to life and different cultures on Earth. To start with, the committee included 115 images in analog form from historical moments, landmarks, and science. This gives a visual understanding of the human race's development. However, the more famous parts of the golden record are the greetings, sounds, and music.

As shown in The Signal , the Golden Record includes salutations in different languages. While there were only a few played in the miniseries, 55 different languages were included on the record in real life . Due to time constraints, the team collected speakers from Cornell University's language departments and the nearby communities. Rather than giving the speakers a prompt, the scientists simply told speakers to say a brief greeting to potential aliens.

Additionally, these greetings aren't the only sounds included on the records. The golden records aboard the Voyager probes also include a large variety of sounds recorded around Earth, such as elephants, trains, heartbeats, and laughter . These are meant to represent the different facets of our world that may be unfamiliar to extraterrestrials. It also could serve as a time capsule of sorts for generations, thousands of years in the future.

The Voyager's Golden Record Playlist Explained

While the Golden Record in The Signal only included some of the greetings, the real vinyl also includes a carefully curated playlist that lasts 90 minutes. The songs come from all over the world, integrating as many cultures as possible. Some pieces like those written by Bach and Beethoven are classical, while others represent nations like the Navajo Nation and Senegal. Any extraterrestrials encountering this record would be able to see the various styles of music the world has to offer.

Controversially, the record also included modern hits like "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry and Dark Was The Night by Blind Willie Johnson. These additions, while different from the rest, are important because they represent the Black American community's music that is often appropriated. However, they're played by the original artists, granting them the recognition they deserve.

Carl Sagan’s Son Recorded The “Hello” Voice Heard In The Signal

While the world has failed to come together in the way they hoped when making the Voyager's Golden Record, there is still time to change that

The voice heard throughout The Signal saying hello really appears on the Voyager's Golden Record. When Voyager 1 entered the interstellar, Eos interviewed Nick Sagan, Carl Sagan's son, who voiced the message . He recounted that his father sat him in front of a microphone at six years old and asked what he would want to say to theoretical aliens if they existed. His message, "Hello from the children of the planet Earth," has become iconic and known all around the world.

When reflecting on his experience, he said that he feels giddy and thrilled that his voice represents the English language on the object that's gone the furthest into the universe. However, Sagan doesn't necessarily think that his voice will ever be heard by extraterrestrials. While he acknowledges the lack of concrete evidence for the existence of aliens, he hopes that extraterrestrials will one day hear the Voyager's record, reach out to us, and discuss the history of their own civilization.

Nick Sagan's hope is reflective of The Signal 's overall message . While the world has failed to come together in the way they hoped when making the Voyager's Golden Record, there is still time to change that. Society can become a representation of the beauty and diversity on the Golden Record. Then, if aliens do come to see us, they can find a thriving world full of peace and joy instead of war and separation.

Netflix's German-language science fiction show The Signal features an international cast including intriguing stars from Germany, India, and Iran.

How The Golden Records Were Made In Real Life

According to NASA, the creation of the Golden Record was a group project that required the most skilled people from various fields. In addition to the team that curated the contents of the record, the Pyral S.A. of Creteil France provided the blank records which were then sent to Boulder, Colorado. There, JVC Cutting Center created the masters, which then went to Gardena, California. There, the copper records were cut and plated. In total, eight to ten records were created. Two were placed on the Voyager probes. The others were sent to the following institutions and people according to a Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) expert (via Business Insider ):

• NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Johnson Space Center
• Kennedy Space Center
• Glenn Research Center
• Langley Research Center
• Goddard Space Flight Center
• The Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum
• The Library of Congress
• President Carter
• The United Nations

The Voyager's Golden Record Has A Bigger Mystery That The Signal Doesn't Tell You

While the main mystery of The Signal is who is saying "hello," there's a much bigger real-life mystery surrounding the Golden Records. Of the ten records on Earth, only eight are accounted for. According to the JPL expert, the copies sent to The President and Langley Research Center cannot be located . This raises questions as to where the Golden Records are. To make matters more complicated, the original materials are for sale, meaning identical replicas could soon be on the market. This real-life mystery could make for a great true crime Netflix documentary .

Source: NASA Voyager website , Eos , and Business Insider

The Signal (2024)

The 116 photos NASA picked to explain our world to aliens

by Joss Fong

If any intelligent life in our galaxy intercepts the Voyager spacecraft, if they evolved the sense of vision, and if they can decode the instructions provided, these 116 images are all they will know about our species and our planet, which by then could be long gone:

When Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 launched into space in 1977, their mission was to explore the outer solar system, and over the following decade, they did so admirably.

With an 8-track tape memory system and onboard computers that are thousands of times weaker than the phone in your pocket, the two spacecraft sent back an immense amount of imagery and information about the four gas giants, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

But NASA knew that after the planetary tour was complete, the Voyagers would remain on a trajectory toward interstellar space, having gained enough velocity from Jupiter's gravity to eventually escape the grasp of the sun. Since they will orbit the Milky Way for the foreseeable future, the Voyagers should carry a message from their maker, NASA scientists decided.

The Voyager team tapped famous astronomer and science popularizer Carl Sagan to compose that message. Sagan's committee chose a copper phonograph LP as their medium, and over the course of six weeks they produced the "Golden Record": a collection of sounds and images that will probably outlast all human artifacts on Earth.

How would aliens know what to do with the Golden Record?

The records are mounted on the outside of Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 and protected by an aluminum case. Etched on the cover of that case are symbols explaining how to decode the record. Put yourself in an extraterrestrial's shoes and try to guess what the etchings seek to communicate. Stumped? Hover over or click on the yellow circles for the intended meaning of these interstellar brain teasers:

What else is on the Golden Record?

Any aliens who come across the Golden Record are in for a treat. It contains:

• 116 images encoded in analog form depicting scientific knowledge, human anatomy, human endeavors, and the terrestrial environment. (These images appear in color in the video above, but on the record, all but 20 are black and white.)
• Spoken greetings in more than 50 languages.
• A compilation of sounds from Earth.
• Nearly 90 minutes of music from around the world. Notably missing are the Beatles, who reportedly wanted to contribute "Here Comes the Sun" but couldn't secure permission from their record company. For the video above, I chose to include "Dark Was the Night" by Blind Willie Johnson, a 1927 track Sagan described as "haunting and expressive of a kind of cosmic loneliness."

The committee also made space for a message from the president of the United States:

Where are they now?

Incredibly, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are still communicating with Earth — they aren't expected to lose power until the 2020s. That's how NASA knew that Voyager 1 became the first ever spacecraft to enter interstellar space in 2012: The probe detected high-density plasma characteristic of the space beyond the heliosphere (the bubble of solar wind created by the sun).

Voyager 2 is currently traveling through the outer layers of the heliosphere. It's moving southward relative to Earth's orbit, while Voyager 1 is moving northward. In more than 40,000 years, they will each pass closer to another star than they are to our sun. (Or, more accurately, stars will pass by them).

There are three other spacecraft headed toward interstellar space; two of them, Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11, are shown in this somewhat dated illustration:

NASA launched Pioneer 10 and 11 in 1972 and 1973, and has since lost communication with both. They aren't traveling as fast as the Voyagers, but they will eventually enter interstellar space as well.

They too, carry a message for extraterrestrial life, in the form of a 6-by-9-inch gold-anodized aluminum plaque, designed by Sagan and other members of the team that would go on to create the Voyager Golden Record five years later.

Like the Golden Record, the plaque features the pulsar map, uses hydrogen to define the binary units, and depicts humankind. NASA faced a backlash for the nudity of the human figures.

Another interstellar message

The fifth probe that will exit our solar system is New Horizons , the spacecraft that flew by Pluto in 2015. It is headed in a broadly similar direction as Voyager 2, but having launched in 2006, it's many years behind. It may not reach interstellar space for another 30 years.

New Horizons was sent into space without any message like the Golden Record, but it's not too late to add one. A group led by Jon Lomberg , a member of Sagan's Golden Record team, is trying to convince NASA to upload a crowdsourced message to the probe for any intelligent life that might come across it.

The spacecraft's memory system is similar to a flash drive, and it wouldn't be as durable as the copper records on Voyager. "The most conservative estimates are a lifetime of a few decades. Other physicists and engineers believe the message might remain for centuries or even millennia," says the website of the message initiative, adding, more hopefully, "Another unknown is the advanced technology possessed by any ETs who find the spacecraft. They might have ways of reading the faded memory we cannot yet imagine."

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What Voyager's golden record tells ET about Earth

18 April 2009

Douglas Vakoch of the SETI Institute says any future messages sent to ET should reflect the human race as it really – warts and all . Click through this gallery to see what an alien civilisation might learn about earthlings from images on a golden record placed on each of the twin Voyager probes. Since launching in 1977, the spacecraft have travelled to the edge of the solar system.

Read more: “ Where am I? Voyager on the solar system’s frontier “

NASA’s Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft, which launched in 1972 and 1973, carried this design , which was etched on a 15×23-cm gold-anodised aluminium plate. The plaque was intended to inform any extraterrestrials who might come upon it when and where the spacecraft launched (using 14 pulsars as a reference point). “There’s also an image of a man and woman – perhaps the most cryptic for an extraterrestrial to understand,” says Vakoch. “The response NASA got [to that image] was quite surprising to them. Some were concerned that NASA was sending pornography into space.” (Illustration: NASA)

NASA placed a more ambitious message aboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft, which launched in 1977. Sounds and images intended to portray the diversity of life and cultures on Earth were encoded on a phonograph record made of gold-plated copper. A committee chaired by Carl Sagan assembled its contents: 115 images, a variety of natural sounds, music from different cultures and eras, and spoken greetings in 55 languages. Each record is encased in a protective aluminium jacket, together with a cartridge and a needle. Instructions, in symbolic language, explain the origin of the spacecraft and how to play the record. “The spacecraft will be encountered and the record played only if there are advanced spacefaring civilisations in interstellar space,” said Sagan. “But the launching of this bottle into the cosmic ocean says something very hopeful about life on this planet.” (Image: NASA)

“Like other messages that have been created for extraterrestrial audiences, the starting point of the Voyager recording was something we would expect extraterrestrials to have in common with us – and that’s basic math and science,” says Vakoch. (Illustration: Frank Drake)

This image defines basic units of mass, length and time. (Illustration: Frank Drake)

Included on the Voyager record are images of (clockwise from upper left) Mercury, Earth, Jupiter and Mars. (Image: NASA)

Overlaid on this satellite image of Egypt are some of the some of the most important gases in Earth’s atmosphere and their concentrations. The chemical formulas used here also appear in other Voyager slides, where there are diagrams of various atoms. (Illustration: NASA)

This illustration of DNA (top left) shows how “the chemistry of Earth is tied into our genetic material”, says Vakoch. Human reproduction is also the focus of multiple Voyager images, from the fertilisation of an egg by a sperm to a developing foetus to a silhouette of a man and a pregnant woman. “There’s an emphasis on reproduction in the Voyager recording, but also considerable caution in depicting nude human beings,” says Vakoch. “The image [of the man and woman] nicely portrays our ambivalence about sexuality.” (Illustrations: Jon Lomberg)

This image illustrates “licking, eating and drinking” (Image: National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center)

There are some Voyager images that relate to health and the human body, including this X-ray of a hand, says Vakoch – “but nothing that explicitly says, ‘Our bodies are frail.'” “The Voyager recordings intentionally minimise negative aspects of [human culture],” says Vakoch. “There was an intentional decision not to include a picture of a nuclear mushroom cloud [or] poverty and disease.” But long-lived alien civilisations are the ones most likely to be around to intercept our messages. “If they’re older, perhaps they’re also much more advanced than we are,” says Vakoch. “What would we have to say that would be of interest to them?” “I think the greatest thing we have to offer is to be honest about our current level of development, to highlight that we’re not sure that we’re even going to survive the next century . . . but that we have enough faith that we will continue to exist that we are making an effort to reach out to other civilisations.” (Image: National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center)

This illustration of vertebrate evolution shows representatives of the major vertebrate groupings, including amphibians, birds and mammals. The image of the man and woman at top right is quite similar to the drawing that was on the Pioneer plaque , with one difference – in the Pioneer image of the early 1970s, the man is raising a hand in greeting, but in this image from a few years later, the woman is waving hello. “Just in the span of a few short years, we saw a responsiveness in NASA to [include] a more adequate representation of women by showing a woman not as passively standing next to a man but as being a member of a couple that was actively sending greetings to other worlds,” says Vakoch. (Illustration: Jon Lomberg)

NASA really made an effort with Voyager to include images and sounds from around the world. “What’s unique about the Voyager recording is there’s really an emphasis on describing the breadth of human experience,” says Vakoch. “Really it’s the best portrayal of human diversity of any messages that have been sent out in space.” Still, the diversity it displays is limited – there are no images representing homosexuality, for example. “I think any interstellar message is in part a reflection of its times,” he says. “It may well be that if NASA sends out another image in the future, it may include a picture of two men or two women holding hands.” (Images: United Nations)

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Humanity’s message to the stars contains a very personal communication between the makers in the form of brainwaves of new love.

Stephen Luntz

Freelance Writer

Stephen has a science degree with a major in physics, an arts degree with majors in English Literature and History and Philosophy of Science and a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication.

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Laura Simmons

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Laura is an editor and staff writer at IFLScience. She obtained her Master's in Experimental Neuroscience from Imperial College London.

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Among all the sounds on the Golden Records are the brainwaves of Ann Druyan, thinking about being in love with Carl Sagan, the records' other creator.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The golden records carried by the Voyager missions have become famous as an effort for humanity to explain ourselves to any aliens who might find them. As well as being our introduction to the universe, they were also a sort of love letter to Earth, a reminder to humanity of what is precious about ourselves and our home. So it’s appropriate that tucked away among the more familiar sounds is a testament to the records’ two leading creators’ relationship.

Space is so big that the chances the Voyager missions will ever be found by aliens is tiny, no matter how long they last. Already the spacecrafts’ power supplies are running low. By the time they drift into the vicinity of any other star system, there will be radio blips to detect them by, so the question of whether aliens would be able to work out how to operate a phonograph is largely moot.

Everyone involved in the project knew this. The message was mostly for humanity, to encourage us to see each ourselves as part of a common species, rather than members of sometimes warring nations, and to remind us what we love about Earth. But in the end, room was found for something much more personal: the brainwaves of one creator thinking about another.

Officially known as the Murmurs of Earth: The Voyager Interstellar Message Project , the Golden Records were an Initiative of Carl Sagan, an advance on the more basic Pioneer plaque he had championed.

“The spacecraft will be encountered and the record played only if there are advanced spacefaring civilizations in interstellar space,” Sagan said .  “But the launching of this bottle into the cosmic ocean says something very hopeful about life on this planet.”

Ann Druyan was hired as the creative director, tasked with finding the images and music to include, and to try to have at least some of them make sense to minds very different from our own. While Druyan was putting together the possibilities, decisions on the records’ contents were made by a committee chaired by Sagan.

Druyan worked closely with the committee members, including Frank Drake , but particularly with Sagan, and found herself falling in love with him.

Among the sounds of machines operating, wind and rain, the greetings of various animals, and the music of humans and whales alike, the record contains an hour’s worth of recordings of Druyan’s brainwaves, squeezed down to a minute. The capacity to track brainwaves and turn them into sound was a new technology at the time, and Druyan and Sagan wondered if they might someday be resurrected to reveal her thoughts.

Druyan has said that her thoughts during the time covered roamed widely, on the theme of the things we might like aliens to understand about ourselves. 

This included the history and challenges of human civilizations, but also what it was like to fall in love. Druyan told Radiolab that her brainwaves were recorded just two days after she and Sagan had declared their love for each other. Consequently, the thoughts on love were more than theoretical, and specifically about Sagan himself.

Sagan and Druyan married and were together until his death. Their collaborations included the documentary series Cosmos , still regarded as a landmark in science communication. Druyan also contributed to Sagan’s book Pale Blue Dot , which includes his famous reflections on Voyager 1’s photograph of Earth , returning to the theme of our common humanity and our dependence on the “only home we’ve ever known.”

Interstellar space is large and lonely, but also safe compared to the vicinity of stars. The Voyagers’ instruments will fail soon , but the structure of the craft, and the records on board, are expected to survive a billion years, give or take. Whatever becomes of humanity and the Earth in that time the record, including Ann’s thoughts of Carl, will live on.

The complete sounds of the golden record can now be found online , and the records have been reissued for those who prefer the original.

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What Would a Modern “Golden Record” Include?

Now that several decades have passed since the launch of Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 in 1977, we look back on that time with a hazy sense of history and what the event meant for humanity’s ongoing odyssey. While the Voyager spacecraft were sober scientific missions, they also carried with them a hint of the deeper yearnings that lie inside humanity’s heart: the Golden Records .

The Voyager Golden Records were a message in a bottle to any other intelligent species out there that may stumble on them. While the odds are strongly stacked against that ever happening, the Records still served a purpose. They showed that we’re driven not only to understand the Universe but that we’re open to understanding other intelligences and that we desperately want to be understood ourselves. They also showed that we want to be unified with one another. The Golden Records are a verse of poetry among all the science.

Carl Sagan was instrumental in selecting material for the Golden Records, and he probably said it best: “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.”

The Golden Records contain both sounds and images that encapsulate aspects of life on Earth. It’s a time capsule containing natural sounds of Earth’s weather and wildlife, humans speaking in 55 different languages, and printed messages from political leaders of the time. It also contains a large assortment of images, from a magnified look at the structure of DNA to an Ansel Adams photograph of the Snake River and the Grand Tetons.

Both Voyager spacecraft have left the Solar System behind now and are in interstellar space. The records are with them, and it’s almost certain we’ll never know what happens to the spacecraft or the records. But that doesn’t mean the effort was wasted. In fact, some people are already thinking of what we can put on the next message in a bottle (MIAB) we send out into the vast Universe.

In a research article published in AGU Earth and Space Science, a team of researchers investigated what our next MIAB should look like. The article is titled “ Message in a Bottle—An Update to the Golden Record: 1. Objectives and Key Content of the Message. ” The lead author is Jonathan Jiang, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

“These records not only offer a snapshot of Earth and human civilization but also represent our desire to establish contact with advanced alien civilizations,” the authors write. “Our goal is to share our collective knowledge, emotions, innovations, and aspirations in a way that provides a universal, yet contextually relevant, understanding of human society, the evolution of life on Earth, and our hopes and concerns for the future.”

Thoughtful people will intuitively understand this. But here’s the difficult part that evades intuition: we can’t know who we’re sending it to and what symbolism and semiotics might make some sort of sense to them. We have to reach some sort of workable conclusion to that.

To do that, we need to imagine our audience as best we can. There are so many vexing questions in this that we’re forced to assume they’re similar to us in at least some respects. “It is entirely possible that concepts such as “civilization” may not apply in a meaningful way to an alien intelligence, but in order to proceed, it is necessary to assume an alien intelligence that will be in some way like us and can make sense out of our attempts at communication.” There’s no other way to proceed.

The article lays out some of the rationale for sending more MIABs into space and what types of fates await them, from interception by a highly advanced ETI to an eternity drifting through empty space. Then the authors drill down on the central question: What should we put into the time capsule?

The authors write that some of the original record’s content was so well thought out that it could be modified and used again if updated to reflect current technology and times. But some of the content and messaging contained imperfections and difficulties that need to be corrected. “In short, the content of the updated record will not only serve the purpose of more sophisticated redundancy but will bear the timeline of human civilization from the ancient past to the latest present and possible causes of our ascension (or extinction) into the future,” they explain.

The authors propose a two-part message: a scroll containing simple images that illustrate basic information about humanity and Earth and a small minicomputer that can contain vast amounts of digital information. The scroll is intended for less advanced recipients, and the minicomputer is intended for more advanced recipients.

If an ETI does receive one of our time capsules, two questions will likely occur to them fairly quickly. Where are we from, and when are we from?

For an advanced recipient, one of the main things is to tell them where we’re at in this vast galaxy and Universe. That can be done with an image of some of the brightest objects in the galaxy and where we are in relation to them. It can be based on things like Globular Clusters and Millisecond Pulsars (MSPs.)

The second question they might like an answer to is, when was the MIAB launched? Due to the changing nature of the Universe, our explanation of where we’re from is dependent on the recipient knowing when we launched it. “In general, due to the substructure evolution in the galaxy, it is critical to specify the design and launch time of the proposed location map,” the authors explain. “Otherwise, though future life may decode the map successfully, they would not necessarily realize the timeline of human existence and, as a consequence, will not be able to manifest the galactic scenario at a specific time in the past.”

The authors say that they can give the image of GCs and MSPs a timestamp by including the proper motion velocities of the GCs.

The panel on the left shows the distribution of 164 globular clusters’ proper motion velocity. The panel on the right shows the time resolution for the map of the GCs and MSPs. Image Credit:

This paper is the first in a series that will discuss what should go on the new Golden Records. They don’t name specifics at this stage but do point out some of the overarching concepts. Along with a map telling any recipients where and when the MIAB was launched, the authors flesh out some of the thinking that will guide specific inclusions.

“Audio will not only include sounds from our natural surroundings but also incorporate music and a myriad of others commonly encountered in our lives along with impressions of the modern and technologically advanced societal structure of which we are all a part,” they explain. “Considering a generally similar approach to that opted for in the content selection of the Voyager Golden Records, we shall as well suggest modifications while also including the most relevant content spanning the two generations which have elapsed.”

Three organizing ideas should shape the content. One is the origin of the record, and the GC and MSP map should explain that. The second idea is an answer to the question, “Who sent it?” The third guiding idea is probably the most important: a detailed overview of our nature. That one, perhaps, will generate the most discussion.

The authors think we should show any recipients the long history of life on Earth and how evolution built us and our civilization. We should show them some of the bleakness, like our terrible wars. But we should also show them our triumphs. “Encompassed within this description are our scientific achievements, such as splitting the atom and space exploration, along with examples of a wide array of cultures and knowledge which comprises the complex human tapestry,” they write.

The MIAB should also look to the future. They describe it as a testimonial from our world to any others out there. “To fulfill this role, an encapsulation of who we are in the present must also extend to visions of what we might become—in short, examples of human aspirations.”

But just as important as tailoring the contents to an eventual recipient is the effect it has on us, the senders, and what it means for us.

“Through this time and space travelling capsule, we also strive to inspire and unify current and future generations to celebrate and safeguard our shared human experience.” We’re at a point in our evolution where we can easily imagine our own extinction, either by nature’s hand or our own. This exercise of reaching for the future and reaching for other intelligences is part of what helps us face our own uncertain future.

Whether we embrace it or not, we’re all part of humanity’s journey. The future is always uncertain. But if we have any chance of guiding ourselves into the future, endeavours like this can be part of it.

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Updating the 'message in a bottle' to aliens: Do we need a new Golden Record?

A team of researchers thinks a 21st century upgrade is in order decades after nasa's twin voyager probes launched with a golden record to contact alien civilizations..

If an extraterrestrial species were ever to intercept the famed Golden Record blasted off decades ago into space, they'd be introduced to timeless elements of humanity and our existence on Earth: Sounds of rain drops and erupting volcanoes; powerful images of not only our planet, but others in our solar system; greetings recorded in 55 languages across the world.

Yet both copies of the Golden Record – each launched in 1977 aboard NASA's two Voyager spacecrafts – also contain some contents that are starting to show their age.

Jimmy Carter's time in the Oval Office has long since come to an end, despite the message from the former president in the capsule. Meanwhile, plenty of music has been released since Chuck Berry recorded Johnny B. Goode in 1958.

The original Golden Record may be an invaluable time capsule floating through the vast cosmos like a message in a bottle for aliens to find, serving as a symbol of both our own presence and also of our desire to know others.

But some scientists think a 21st century upgrade is in order.

A team of researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California recently set out to lay the groundwork for what a new edition of the Golden Record may look like. Envisioned as future cargo aboard an uncrewed interstellar spacecraft, the message could be intercepted by another advanced civilization, where it would showcase "the full richness and depth of human life and experience," the team wrote.

The academic article was published Dec. 4 in AGU Earth and Space Science.

"Our goal is to share our collective knowledge, emotions, innovations, and aspirations in a way that provides a universal, yet contextually relevant, understanding of human society, the evolution of life on Earth, and our hopes and concerns for the future," the team wrote in the paper.

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What is the mission of NASA's Voyager probes?

The twin Voyager probes were launched on separate dates in 1977 from Cape Canaveral, Florida and have since traveled billions of miles away from Earth.

In 2012, Voyager 1 became the first spacecraft to reach interstellar space, followed in 2018 by Voyager 2, according to NASA .

Voyager's main mission is to explore the far reaches of our solar system ‒ and beyond. To that end, the spacecrafts have investigated all the giant planets of our outer solar system ‒ Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune ‒ as well as the planets' magnetic fields and a combined 48 of their moons, NASA says .

But both Voyager 1 and 2 also carry a greeting to any form of life they may encounter called the Golden Record.

None other than famed American astronomer Carl Sagan chaired the committee tasked with selecting the contents of the message, contained on a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk. The phonograph records contain aspects that encapsulate life on Earth, such as samples of music from different cultures and eras, natural and man-made sounds from Earth , and electronic information encoded in analog form that an advanced civilization could convert into photographs .

"These records not only offer a snapshot of Earth and human civilization," the researchers wrote in the December paper, "but also represent our desire to establish contact with advanced alien civilizations.

What could be included in the new 'message in a bottle?'

Now, those researchers are wondering: What might a new edition of the Golden Record contain?

The team didn't endeavor to make any specific suggestions themselves this early on, but they did outline a broad vision in their self-described "message in a bottle" project. The authors wrote that some of the original record's contents wouldn't need an drastic overhaul – just a slight update to reflect our modern times.

The new message – sharing our biology, culture, knowledge and accomplishments – might also include newer forms of media and technology, including videos, games and even computer code, the researchers said.

The odds that an extraterrestrial race would find the message are slim, and the chances they'd be able to decipher its meaning? Even slimmer, the researchers admit.

To give Earthlings the best hopes of communicating with these theoretical alien beings, the researchers proposed creating a two-part message: For less-advanced civilizations, a scroll containing simple images illustrating humanity and Earth; and for a more-advanced species, a minicomputer containing a larger amount of digital information.

'Celebrate and safeguard our shared human experience'

The team hopes their proposal is a catalyst to raise public interest in their aims and solicit participation from people across the globe.

Despite the recent hoopla about UFOs and extraterrestrials , conclusive proof of otherworldly life remains frustratingly elusive . Whether aliens exist is one question, but whether they are aware of our presence ‒ or even care ‒ is entirely another.

While making first contact with an advanced extraterrestrial species is a worthwhile goal, the researchers also wrote that simply preserving a trace of human civilization for years and decades to come is just as important.

The team proposed that one version of the finalized message be sent into deep space, while another remain archived here on Earth for humans and other intelligent lifeforms to find in the distant future.

"Our intention extends beyond just establishing contact with distant civilizations," the team wrote. "We also strive to inspire and unify current and future generations to celebrate and safeguard our shared human experience."

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]

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Will Aliens Understand Voyager's Golden Record?

Could an alien observer truly understand the messages we have sent to the stars.

The Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft famously contain messages to anyone who might someday find them. Both Pioneers carry a plaque, while the Voyagers carry a phonograph record. An enormous amount of effort went into creating these objects, but could an alien observer truly understand the messages we have sent to the stars?

While we cannot take anything for granted when it comes to how these messages might or might not be interpreted, let’s assume that the beings who might find the spacecraft can at least see or hear with eyes or ears similar to our own. Each message was designed with not only the information it was to carry in mind, but also the means to establish understanding through common denominators found throughout the universe.

The Pioneer Plaque

Pioneer 10 and 11 each carry a 6 x 9-inch (15 x 23 centimeters), gold-anodized aluminum plaque. The plaque is affixed to support struts close to the spacecraft’s bus (main body). Carl Sagan and Frank Drake played key roles in designing the plaque and Linda Salzman Sagan, Sagan’s wife at the time, was the artist who actually drew the images engraved on the plaque.

The most striking feature of the plaque are the figures of the man and the woman overlying the silhouette of the Pioneer spacecraft itself. While this does clearly convey our physical size and shape, as well as that sexual dimorphism is present in humans, the facial features of the couple have little detail and the sort of sensory organs are being depicted (the couple’s ears are barely shown at all) might be unclear. The man and woman both have their mouths closed, and viewers might not understand that these are even mouths at all. Given how the image is drawn, an observer could also be forgiven for not understanding that both the male and female have hair on their heads.

The couple both have a bland expression (which may have been an attempt to avoid anything that could be interpreted as hostile) and the man is seen raising his right hand with the palm facing the viewer. While this gesture clearly conveys a greeting when viewed by another human, an extraterrestrial may have no way of interpreting this gesture. (Could you interpret a gesture made by an antelope … or a praying mantis?) It does show, however, that humans have opposable thumbs, as well as the general range of motion of the upper limbs.

With regards to the scientific data presented, the top left of the plaque shows the hyperfine transition of neutral hydrogen as a means of conveying to the reader baseline units of time (0.7 nanoseconds, the frequency of the transition) and distance (21 cm, the wavelength of the light released by the transition). If one is able to deduce that the image is that of hydrogen, the time and distance should be understandable.

The plaque also contains a map of our sun relative to 14 pulsars as well as the center of our galaxy, conveying both the distances to the pulsars and their frequency in binary notation. As this image conveys copious objective data, a spacefaring species might well be able to easily interpret it.

Finally, the plaque contains a map of the solar system. The solar system map is likely among the more easily interpreted parts of the plaque, with Pioneer shown to have originated from the third planet. The plaque was created at a time when Pluto was still considered the ninth planet (before the discovery of other trans-Neptunian dwarf planets such as Eris and Sedna, among others), but it would still direct the reader’s attention to Earth if they were able to figure out that our solar system was the one depicted.

Voyager’s Golden Record

The Voyager record asks more of whoever finds it but gives more information in return. These phonographs, attached to the spacecraft bus, feature a cover illustration and over 90 minutes of audio on the reverse side. The cover illustration features the same image of hydrogen and the same pulsar map as found on the Pioneer plaque. Of critical importance, the Voyager records convey instructions on how to play them, such as how to affix the attached stylus, at what rate of rotation the record must be spun, and the proper waveform of signals generated by the record. It also explicitly tells the reader how to know if they are viewing the images properly via an engraving of what the first image (a circle) should look like. While this may seem very daunting, the challenge is primarily technical and might well be easily overcome by an advanced spacefaring species.

An alien species might well find more difficulty in interpreting the audio samples, music, and images contained on the record. There are over 50 greeting messages in different languages. While the specifics of the messages are likely to be uninterpretable, they would at least convey to the listener the diversity of the creatures who created the Voyagers.

Similarly, the musical selections chosen demonstrate a wide range of human musical styles (ranging from works of Beethoven and Stravinsky to those of Chuck Berry, among others). While the lyrics of “Johnny B. Goode” are probably gibberish to an extraterrestrial, the beat and rhythm of the song would convey a tremendous amount to an alien listener.

Of perhaps the greatest importance are the 115 images encoded on the record. The first six images, if decoded properly, provide immense technical data for the reader regarding mathematical definitions, scales and sizes, as well as additional information regarding our location and how to find us. Images of the sun and its spectrum, as well as some of the planets in our solar system, could help the discoverer of the Voyagers to find us should they decide to pay the Earth a visit. There are also approximately 20 medical and scientific diagrams including the structure of DNA and detailed images of human anatomy. These images could likely be interpreted correctly given their concrete nature.

The Voyager record also contains a plethora of images of humans engaged in a variety of activities (including eating, looking through a microscope, and even going on a spacewalk). While many of these images would be hard to interpret (e.g., a picture of a woman licking an ice cream cone or a photo of a string quartet) the images would at least convey that humans have created a complex civilization with some degree of advanced technology.

The Big Picture

As Marshall McLuhan famously said, “The medium is the message.” While the recipients of the Pioneer plaque or the Voyager record might never understand everything we are trying to convey, the fact that these messages were placed on interstellar spacecraft carry (both for them and for us) a deeper message — that humans created these spacecraft and that we want to tell the universe who we are.

• extraterrestrial life
• space exploration

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