About this time 40 years ago, two spacecraft were speeding away from Earth toward a rendezvous with the outer planets of the solar system. They carried with them, along with scientific instruments, a message from humanity to other beings in the universe, should these beings ever find it (and should they even exist). The message, contained in a gold-plated record, included sounds of the planet’s natural phenomena and wildlife, photos of its people, greetings in dozens of languages, and samplings of music.
It was a trailer for the feature-length film that was Earth, a brief collection of sounds and scenes that teased an entire world.
Now, the two copies of the Golden Record are billions of miles from home. Voyager 1 has carried its record out of the solar system altogether, while Voyager 2 is on its way there. The world today is vastly different than the one they left behind.
Maybe it’s time for a follow-up. Let’s say people got another shot at the Golden Record, a chance to give the cosmos an update. What might they send?
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