Someday, beings from another planet may find these adventurers and realize that extraterrestrials do exist - and they called themselves 'Earthlings'.
There were two main aspects of the Voyager missions. First, the scientific mission exploring the outer planets and second, the attachment of the "Golden Record" on each spacecraft.
This latter achievement is the most compelling to me.
Murmurs of Earth
Voyager Instellar Records
Spacecraft Facts/Favorite places
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The Spacecraft - times two
The various equipment on both Voyager spacecrafts.
Voyager
The Voyager Spacecraft - Two Missions
Voyager II - Launched on August 20th, 1977
Voyager I - Launched on September 5th, 1977
The primary mission of Voyager 1 was to explore Jupiter, Saturn, and Saturn's largest moon, Titan. After these objectives were met, Voyager 1 continued on toward deep space assisted by Saturn's gravity.
Voyager 2 successfully fulfilled its primary mission of visiting the Jovian system in 1979, the Saturnian system in 1981, Uranian system in 1986, and the Neptunian system in 1989
Both spacecraft are now in the 'interstellar medium' and as of June 2024, are still communicating with Earth!On Aug. 25, 2012, Voyager 1 flew beyond the heliopause and entered interstellar space, making it the first human-made object to explore this new territory. At the time, it was at a distance of about 122 AU, or about 11 billion miles (18 billion kilometers) from the sun. This kind of interstellar exploration is the ultimate goal of the Voyager Interstellar Mission. Voyager 2, which is traveling in a different direction from Voyager 1, crossed the heliopause into interstellar space on November 5, 2018.
It was confirmed on December 13, 2010 that Voyager 1 had passed the reach of the radial outward flow of the solar wind, as measured by the Low Energy Charged Particle device. It is suspected that solar wind at this distance turns sideways because of interstellar wind pushing against the heliosphere. Since June 2010, detection of solar wind had been consistently at zero, providing conclusive evidence of the event. On this date, the spacecraft was approximately 116 AU or 10.8 billion miles (17.3 billion kilometers) from the Sun.
Voyager 1's extended mission is expected to continue until about 2025 when its radioisotope thermoelectric generators will no longer supply enough electric power to operate any of its scientific instruments.
The Voyagers are destined—perhaps eternally—to wander the Milky Way. Planet Earth's ultimate time capsule to the Universe.
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The Voyager Interstellar Records
Above is the cover plate which protects the record on each craft.
The Voyager Interstellar Record is actually two separate discs attached to each of the Voyager spacecrafts. Both spacecraft lifted off from earth in
1977, and before leaving the solar system, sent back incredible images and fascinating discoveries about our own little corner of the universe.
This cover will protect the record as the ship hurtles through space for millions, even billions of years . The images on the cover are a visual aid -
if aliens do find the ship, this will help them understand how to operate the record player aboard each of the vessels.
The Voyager spacecrafts discovered many new things about the physical nature of our solar system, but it is these records that hold my
interest and imagination. They are, without a doubt, the most fabulous time capsules ever conceived. They are billions of miles away
careening towards the emptiness of deep space. Long after humans have evolved beyond recognition, or have destroyed themselves,
these records will be there for us,
indicating a species striving for knowledge and immortality.
Included on each record are greetings of peace, respect and awe to extraterrestrials in 55 earth languages and over 115 images, from nudes
to a barn raising scene. Also included are the sounds of earth, from bubbling mud potsto Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring". What an amazing
discovery for an
unsuspecting extraterrestrial!
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Deep Space Network
