In 1977, NASA launched two spacecraft, Voyager 1 and 2, on a grand tour of the solar system and into the mysteries of interstellar space. Attached to each of these probes is a beautiful golden record containing a message for any extraterrestrial intelligence that might encounter it, perhaps billions of years from now. This enchanting artifact,officially called the Voyager Interstellar Record, may be the last vestige of our civilization after we are gone forever.

The Golden Record tells a story of our planet expressed in sounds, images, and science: Earth’s greatest music from myriad peoples and eras, from Bach and Beethoven to Blind Willie Johnson and Chuck Berry, Benin percussion to Solomon Island panpipes. Natural sounds—birds, a train, a baby’s cry, a kiss—are collaged into a lovely audio poem called "Sounds of Earth." There are spoken greetings in dozens of human languages—and one whale language—and more than 100 images encoded in analog that depict who, and what, we are.

Astronomer and science educator Carl Sagan chaired the Voyager Interstellar Record Committee that created this object, which is both an inspired scientific effort and a compelling piece of conceptual art. Astronomer Frank Drake, father of the scientific Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), was the technical director, writer and novelist Ann Druyan was the creative director, science journalist and author Timothy Ferris produced the record, space artist Jon Lomberg was the designer, and artist Linda Salzman Sagan organized the greetings.