In 1977, two spacecraft were launched almost simultaneously: Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. They were identical, each weighing about 800 kilograms. Their dimensions were roughly 0.5 x 2 x 2 meters. Each had a dish antenna nearly 4 meters in diameter. Their mission was to observe the outer planets of our solar system. After passing the last of them (Uranus and Neptune), it was decided to let them continue on their journey — out into interstellar space. To this day, both spacecraft are still operating and transmitting. They’re now traveling at about 20 kilometers per second.
You can find more information about the two Voyagers and where they are now on NASA’s official page:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/
Captain GG: Today I’m turning my ship into a spaceship so we can go follow the Voyagers!
Mom: But how could we possibly catch up with the Voyagers? They were launched about 40 years ago!
Adrianos: We now have very powerful rockets that can put satellites into orbits at very high speeds. I think we could easily surpass that 20 kilometers per second speed.
Daphne: Each Voyager carries a golden record!
This record contains sounds from Earth, like thunder.
Mr. A: The idea for the Voyager Golden Record originally came from the famous Carl Sagan. In the next photo, he’s holding the original design of the record. That design included two nude humans — a woman and a man. Unfortunately, NASA didn’t allow the depiction of these two humans in the nude!
[After NASA received criticism over the nudity on the Pioneer plaque (line drawings of a naked man and woman), the agency chose not to allow Sagan and his team to include George Hester’s photograph of a nude couple on the record. Instead, only a silhouette was included.]
[Source: Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contents_of_the_Voyager_Golden_Record]
Little A: Does it also include human laughter and footprints?
Daphne: It includes greetings in 55 languages!
Mr. A: Among those languages, Ancient Greek is also included. A professor from Cornell University reads the greeting in Ancient Greek:
“Οἵτινές ποτ᾿ ἔστε χαίρετε! Εἰρηνικῶς πρὸς φίλους ἐληλύθαμεν φίλοι.”
(Hoitines pot’ este, chairete! Eirēnikōs pros philous elēlythamen philoi.)
Little A: So… aliens are supposed to find that record?
Daphne: It even includes instructions on how to find us on Earth!
Little A: And that we come in peace!
Dad: The record also includes several pieces of classical music (Bach, Mozart) and more modern ones like “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry.
Mom: Let’s listen to some of the songs that are now traveling through interstellar space!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1EGlWvIvuc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABpDQMraEag&list=PLSHy0ISAb5ncbxRswk8WOG8QwTU8xdBRa
Originally, Sagan had requested permission to include the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDEzmaZHuS0
Even though the Beatles agreed, EMI didn’t allow it.
So the Beatles’ music isn’t traveling beyond the solar system into interstellar space. But “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry might just be the track that gets heard by alien civilizations — it made it onto the Golden Record.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6swgiM9vSEE
Captain GG: Now, which plane are we taking to get back to Earth?