Golden Record Received

Have you ever wondered what might happen if the Voyager spacecraft, launched in 1977 to reach out to extra-terrestrial civilisations (among other things!) was discovered by an alien species?  This animated short by Katarina Hughes answers the question.  Although this “ground” has been covered by a number of TV shows and movies (most notably in Star Trek: The Motion Picture), I think Hughes has come up with something… much more likely… here.

In case you don’t know, , the Golden Record is a 12-inch gold-plated copper disc Launched in 1977 aboard NASA’s Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft, designed to communicate the story of life on Earth to any intelligent beings who might one day find it. Curated by a team led by astronomer Carl Sagan, the record contains sounds and images chosen to portray the diversity of life and culture on our planet - from greetings in 55 languages and natural sounds like thunder and birdsong, to music ranging from Bach and Beethoven to traditional songs from around the world. It also includes 116 photographs encoded as analogue data, depicting everything from human anatomy to everyday life. Housed in a protective aluminium cover and accompanied by a stylus and symbolic instructions, the record is a time capsule of humanity’s hope, curiosity, and desire to reach beyond our solar system - a message in a bottle from our “pale blue dot” cast into the cosmic ocean.

So here’s what might happen. Watch Golden Record Received below.