Nearly 46 years ago, NASA launched two small probes carrying a pair of gold-plated records. The probes, named Voyager 1 and 2, are currently drifting more than 19 billion kilometers from Earth. On July 27, an original copy of this pair of records will be auctioned for up to half a million dollars.
Two audio discs containing 27 songs and 22 minutes of sounds and voices from around the world. (Photo: Sotheby’s)
These gold-plated records are two double-sided audio tapes containing the master recordings of the Golden Record, sourced from the personal collection of renowned astronomer Carl Sagan and his wife, Ann Druyan, both of whom helped design and develop the record in 1977.
Like the gold records they created, the master tapes feature 27 tracks encapsulating the world’s musical heritage, including works by Beethoven, Chuck Berry, a Navajo hymn, and an Indian raga.
The tapes also include 22 minutes of natural sounds and human voices speaking in 59 languages, all designed as a kind of audio postcard for intelligent extraterrestrials, should they ever encounter these probes. (The probes also contain a sound player with visual instructions and a star map showing the location of Earth).
Only 8 copies were made, including the two gold-plated versions currently traveling through space aboard the Voyager probes. Bidding for the masters starts at $300,000, and Sotheby’s hopes they will sell for up to $600,000.
