Listen…
The Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft, launched from Earth in 1970s entered interstellar space in 2012. A recording imprinted on a gold plated disc was mounted on the spacecraft with instructions to extraterrestrials for decoding. Renown astrophysicist Carl Sagan and his team curated the recording. It included natural sounds such as surf, wind and thunder, birds, whales, and other animals. To this they added musical selections from different cultures and eras, including works from Louis Armstrong, Mozart, Bach and Chuck Berry. The golden record also contained spoken greetings from Earthlings in fifty-five languages.
In Earth Year 2091, the Voyageur 1 spacecraft was intercepted by an extraterrestrial exploration vessel originating from Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy, some 25,000 light years from Earth. The golden record was finally used for its intended purpose. The information on Earth’s coordinates was used to organize the first of many extraterrestrial missions to our blue planet.
August 2, 2092 was the historic day of first contact. In stark contrast to the typical sci-fi depictions of malevolent monsters, the real visitors to Earth were helpful, compassionate and eager to provide suggestions to improve our human condition. They welcomed Earthlings into the community of peaceful, enlightened space travellers, and changed the course of Human history, forever……
