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Murmurs of Earth: The Voyager Intersteller Record
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Murmurs of Earth: The Voyager Intersteller Record Customer Reviews
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Through the darkness...
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With recently announced initiatives directing us to space exploration once again, with the space shuttle again in orbit, and with the recent announcement of a tenth planet discovered, it is worthwhile to look back at a piece of history in the first great era of planetary exploration, whose heyday is arguably the journeys of Voyager I and Voyager II, the last great interplanetary probes to make a grand tour of several (in fact, most) of the planets in our solar system. Considering the difference in technology in our daily lives from the 1970s to the present, it is remarkable indeed that people were able to get such results and spectacular findings from spacecraft that by today's technical standards would be considered substandard and behind-the-times. Yet the Voyager spacecraft had more than just a tour of the home worlds in mind -- unlike most craft humankind has sent into space, these were not planned to return to earth, crash into an atmospher, or get locked into an everlasting orbit of the sun. These were intentionally sent out into interstellar space, beyond the confines of our solar system. One has to wonder, since it will be at least 40,000 years before these craft encounter even the next nearest star on their trajectories, and even if humanity is still around, the transmitters on the Voyager won't be functional -- why send them?
The answer is contained in the attachments to the spacecraft. Each of the two Voyagers was equipped with a record player of sorts (remember those?) and gold-plated copper disc of recordings, including greetings from earth. The recordings were quite remarkable at the time (again modern technology has far surpassed what is attached), including greetings in nearly 90% of current languages, extended greetings from the United Nations Secretary-General and the President of the United States, a collection of representative photographs from around the world, and a sampling of music from around the world. These crafts were emissaries from the whole of the earth, and their messages reflected this.
The early chapters of 'Murmurs of Earth' recount the thinking that went into selection and elimination of material -- with very limited space, the selection had to be very intentional. Politics were avoided; this was a celebration of human existence and achievement, much as the Voyager spacecrafts were in and of themselves, and intended to outlast even the most enduring of nations, cultures and even languages. The authors include proposed lists of items that didn't make the final cut, as well as interesting discussion about why what was included made it. Sometimes, things were included by accident rather than design -- the original intention of the message team did not include messages from the UN Secretary-General or the President of the United States, but after Waldheim recorded a salutory message, the team felt they could not but include it (and felt it inappropriate to include the UN message without offering the President the same opportunity; after all, who was bearing the cost of the craft?).
In all, there were 118 pictures, all of which are included in this text, some in photoplates, but most in black-and-white depictions. Some photographs are stunning, and others somewhat silly, but all convey information for a purpose (for example, the photograph showing eating and drinking was a constructed photo by the team; the difficulties of depicting these tasks became apparent as they had to reshoot due to difficulties understanding the images). Most of the recording, however, is music -- music from different cultures around the world is included, from Bach to Louis Armstrong, from Javanese folk music to Chinese music to Stravinsky, music from every continent is included; however, dominant Western music carries the greatest representation, including in addition to Bach and Stravinsky the works of Mozart, Beethoven, and even Gregorian chant.
The record itself is interesting -- attached to the outside of the spacecraft, it had to be secured and protected from space damage; the construction and protection is such that micrometeorite damage should be kept to a minimum. The record's first side (facing in to the spacecraft) should have a 'shelf-life' of a billion years; the outside may sustain more damage, but should be 98% intact for many tens of thousands of years.
Sagan and his collaborators conclude by looking at the mission itself, the parameters, trajectories, and plans. This book was written prior to the Voyagers encounters with the outer planets, which went fairly smoothly, even lasting to Uranus and Neptune as a bonus not always expected. Sagan talks about the interstellar trajectory and likely star system encounters in the distant future. We'll never know where the craft end up, or if the people who discover it will be able to play the phonograph record (there are people on earth now who are technologically advanced who have lost the ability to work well with phonograph records!).
This is a piece of history as well as a piece of the future. It is a symbol of hope and positive outlook, and a great testament to the exploring and communicating efforts of humankind over the past several thousand years.
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