10 Aug A Hope of Cosmic Proportions
“This is a present from a small, distant world…” -President Jimmy Carter
When the two Voyager spacecraft launched into the unknown in 1977 with a mission to study the outer Solar System and interstellar space, each contained an identical phonograph record known as The Golden Record.
Just in case there is something or someone out there in the universe curious about us, the record contains bits about who and what we are—the essence of our species and civilization—pieces of humanity mirrored back to itself:
To portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, there are recordings of natural sounds such as raindrops falling, thunder rumbling, crickets chirping, and frogs croaking.
Still images show glimpses of life on Earth: a group of children playing, autumn-fallen leaves, rush-hour traffic, and a schoolroom in Japan.
There are arrangements of human sounds, including a baby’s laughter, the echoing sound of footsteps, and a heart rhythmically beating.
Diverse spoken greetings and well-wishes are offered in 54 ancient and modern languages, and one from humpback whales. One, in the Amoy dialect, says, “Friends from space, how are you all? Have you eaten yet? Come visit us if you have time.”
Musical selections from different cultures that convey different emotions are included, such as works by J.S. Bach and Mozart, Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” and a traditional Peruvian wedding song.
I think about these spaceships traveling in the vastness of the cosmos and carrying humanity’s message on a record. In the most beautiful and poetic way, we sent off the simplest things we could find to reveal ourselves and let others know who we are.
Perhaps this is the life-long voyage we all pursue: a hope of cosmic proportions. We know the universe will always be much richer than our ability to understand it. And we know that we, in our uniqueness, will always remain somewhat unknown to each other.
Yet, we continue to reveal bits of who we are and ask others to understand the tiny subset of the universe that is ourselves. Whether these pieces are shared among the stars or right here on this pale blue dot we call home, we do what we can to bring ourselves closer to one another.
We want someone out there to see us. We want someone out there to know who we are.