Voyager is a spacecraft that was launched by NASA in 1977 with the goal of exploring the outer solar system. As part of its mission, Voyager carried a set of golden records, which were created to provide a snapshot of life on Earth to any extraterrestrial beings that might find the spacecraft.
The golden records are a collection of sounds, images, and messages from people and cultures around the world. They were carefully selected by a team of experts, who worked to create a diverse and representative sample of human life and culture. The records include a wide range of sounds, including natural sounds like thunder and birdsong, as well as music and spoken greetings in 55 different languages.
In addition to the audio recordings, the golden records also include a collection of images that provide a visual record of life on Earth. These images include landscapes, animals, and people from all over the world, as well as diagrams and maps that provide information about the solar system and the location of Earth within it.
The golden records are mounted on the side of Voyager and are encoded in a way that allows them to be played back using technology that is likely to be familiar to any intelligent extraterrestrial species that might find the spacecraft. The records are expected to last for at least a billion years, giving them a good chance of being found and played by extraterrestrial life in the distant future.
The creation of the golden records was a unique and ambitious project, and it serves as a reminder of the curiosity and desire for exploration that drive human beings. While it is unlikely that the records will ever be found and played by extraterrestrial beings, they remain a fascinating and enduring part of the Voyager mission.