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The Ultimate Interstellar Valentine Mix Tape
Hugh Pickens writes "NPR reports that toward the end of the summer of 1977, NASA launched two Voyager spacecraft that each included a golden record containing, among other things, the sound of a kiss, a mother's first words to her newborn child, music from all over the world, and greetings in 59 different languages. The records on board were meant to survive for a billion years, in the hope that some day, against enormous odds, they might cross paths with an alien civilization. The record was a special project of Carl Sagan with the help of Ann Druyan, creative director of the project. For Druyan, though, the summer of 1977 and the Voyager project carry a deeply personal meaning because it was during the Voyager project that she and Sagan fell in love. Then Druyan had an idea for the record: They could measure the electrical impulses of a human brain and nervous system, turn it into sound, and put it on the record so that maybe, 1,000 million years from now, some alien civilization might be able to turn that data back into thoughts." (More, below.)
"Just a few days after she and Sagan declared their love for each other, Druyan went to Bellevue Hospital in New York City and meditated while the sounds of her brain and body were recorded. According to Druyan, part of what she was thinking during that meditation was about 'the wonder of love, of being in love.' And the gold records? They're still out there with their offer, to whomever might stumble across them, of a human body newly in love. 'Whenever I'm down, ' says Druyan, 'I'm thinking: And still they move, 35,000 miles an hour, leaving our solar system for the great open sea of interstellar space.'"
"Each record is encased in a protective aluminum jacket, together with a cartridge and a needle. Instructions, in symbolic language, explain the origin of the spacecraft and indicate how the record is to be played."
According to this article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_1 , it better happen before 2025 or the probes power will run out. (We never did get to six such probes).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V'ger
Take Nobody's Word For It.
Try buying a needle for your 60's record player now....
http://www.jr.com/category/audio/accessories/turntables/cartridges-and-stylii/
It might sound charming to talk about Ann Druyan and Sagan falling in love. This was Sagan's nth marriage for large n. The first one was with biologist Lynn Margulis. Then later to artist Linda Saltzman. He had serious problems in his personal life. And many people who knew Sagan speculated that the final marriage would have probably eventually broken up as well if not for the fact that Sagan died. Sagan was an amazing scientist and publicizer of science but his personal life was very dysfunctional. Not at all someone I would try to emphasize on Valentine's Day unless I was trying to make a point about the inherent ridiculousness of so many romantic claims. Anyone who wants to know more about this fascinating figure should read Keay Davidson's biography of Sagan.