The Golden Record

NASA has been a huge advocate in seeking life in the universe, and in 1977 they launched a program entitled Voyager (currently the farthest man-made object in space) that contained a record plated in gold holding information on human life, history, and the Earth.

The record’s are of gold plated copper and were chosen because of gold’s properties and belief that it would be the longest lasting metal to outlive the journey. In the photos above, you can see the gold covers of the records, along with the etchings of how to play the record, and the location of Earth in our solar system. The record also contains audio in the form of a vast musical selection of human history’s most famous musical compositions. The location of the Golden record is now out far past our solar system and has entered empty space awaiting its arrival to their nearest star or planet. With the launches of Voyager and the Golden Record, gold is now not only the most important metal on our planet, but also the farthest metal we have ever placed in the vast universe.