So my first history thread is going to be on the 𝗩𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 ! Even though many people already know a lot about it, I thought it was good subject to revisit. I’ll talk about its purpose, how it was manufactured, and what was on them.

These were phonograph records launched on the Voyager missions, two spacecraft to study the solar system. Inspired by the Pioneer mission plaque, NASA hoped that in the case of extraterrestrial life discovering them, the record would be able to tell a story about humans on Earth.

The record itself is 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter, and made out of aluminum coated with Uranium-238. Careful consideration was put into the design of the cover, so extraterrestrials could understand what exactly the record was and how to use it.

Astrophysicist Carl Sagan was the chair for the committee working on the Golden Record. Regarding it, he stated. “Its real function, therefore, is to appeal to and expand the human spirit, and to make contact with extraterrestrial intelligence a welcome expectation of mankind.”

The record itself includes 115 images, different kinds of natural sounds from Earth, like the sound of wind, thunder, and animals, 90 minutes of various musical selections from across the world, and also spoken greetings in 55 different languages. The soundtrack is down below!

Below are some of the types of pictures included on the record, encoded in analog form. There are scientific diagrams, photos of humanity, which include pictures of day-to-day life, food, architecture, and more. Images also include animals, plants, insects, and landscapes.

The record even includes an hour long recording of brainwaves (pictured below) from Ann Druyan, Creative Director of the mission. Topics that Druyan thought of include the history of Earth, the problems that civilizations face, and also the feeling of falling in love.

So where are the Golden Records now? The Voyager 1 mission is currently over 13.5 million miles away from Earth, and Voyager 2 over 11 million. They are travelling through interstellar space, waiting to be found. If they are, it will be one real leap (and surprise!) for humanity.

Well that's everything I have for this topic! All information and the majority of the pictures are thanks to NASA! I’ll be making a poll for what I should do for next week soon, so be sure to watch out for that!!