Vinyl featuring music from Earth has travelled almost one light-day away, NASA says
After almost 50 years, a spacecraft carrying the record is due to reach 16 billion miles from Earth next week
A spacecraft carrying a vinyl record featuring music and sounds from Earth has travelled almost one light-day away from our planet, NASA has said.
Launched in 1977, the Voyager 1 spacecraft, which holds a ‘Golden Record’ featuring “sounds from Earth”, has travelled farther than any other human-made object.
In an Instagram post shared on Tuesday, November 10, NASA confirmed that the record is expected to reach 16 billion miles from Earth on November 17.
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“On September 5, 1977, our Voyager 1 spacecraft lifted off with the Golden Record – which contains sounds, pictures, and music from Earth,” they wrote.
A second spacecraft, Voyager 2, was also sent into space in 1977. It carries an identical record curated by astronomer and planetary scientist Carl Sagan, featuring both music and everyday sounds such as train recordings, wind and rain, a dog barking, and laughter.
Music featured on the record comes from all over the world, and includes compositions from Bach, Beethoven and Mozart, as well as Aboriginal songs from Australia, percussion from Peru and Senegal, and blues songs from US singers Louis Armstrong and Blind Willie Johnson.
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Both vinyl records also act as a time capsule, according to NASA, and feature small metal plaques “identifying their time and place of origin for the benefit of any other spacefarers that might find them in the distant future”.
“Next week, Voyager 1 will be exactly one light-day (16 billion miles) away from Earth, farther than any human-made object has ever gone,” NASA said, revealing that a celebratory event for the milestone will take place “after sunset” on November 17.
Listen to the music and sounds from the ‘Golden Records’ here, and find out more about the milestone event taking place on November 17 here.
Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor
