The following is a listing of pictures electronically placed on the phonograph records which are carried onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft. The contents of the record were selected for NASA by a committee chaired by Carl Sagan of Cornell University, et. al. Dr. Sagan and his associates assembled 115 images and a variety of natural sounds, such as those made by surf, wind and thunder, birds, whales, and other animals. To this they added musical selections from different cultures and eras, and spoken greetings from Earth-people in fifty-five languages, and printed messages from President Carter and U.N. Secretary General Waldheim. Each record is encased in a protective aluminum jacket, together with a cartridge and a needle. Instructions, in symbolic language, explain the origin of the spacecraft and indicate how the record is to be played. The 115 images are encoded in analog form. The remainder of the record is in audio, designed to be played at 16-2/3 revolutions per minute. It contains the spoken greetings, beginning with Akkadian, which was spoken in Sumer about six thousand years ago, and ending with Wu, a modern Chinese dialect. Following the section on the sounds of Earth, there is an eclectic 90-minute selection of music, including both Eastern and Western classics and a variety of ethnic music. Once the Voyager spacecraft leave the solar system, they will find themselves in empty space. It will be forty thousand years before they make a close approach to any other planetary system.

A list of images included on The Golden Record, but are not viewable, is listed at the bottom of this page.

Notes:

  • Due to copyright restrictions, only a subset of the images on the Golden Record are displayed above.
  • All of these images are copyright protected. Reproduction without permission of the copyright holder is prohibited.

Additional Images on the Golden Record

  • The Sun, Hale observatories
  • Cells and cell division, Turtox/Cambosco
  • Anatomy 1, World Book
  • Anatomy 2, World Book
  • Anatomy 3, World Book
  • Anatomy 4, World Book
  • Anatomy 5, World Book
  • Anatomy 6, World Book
  • Anatomy 7, World Book
  • Anatomy 8, World Book
  • Human sex organs, Sinauer Associates, Inc.
  • Conception , Albert Bonniers; Forlag, Stockholm
  • Fertilized ovum, Albert Bonniers; Forlag, Stockholm
  • Fetus, Dr. Frank Allan
  • Birth, Wayne Miller
  • Father and daughter (Malaysia), David Harvey
  • Group of children, Ruby Mera, UNICEF
  • Family portrait, Nina Leen, Time, Inc.
  • Seashore, Dick Smith
  • Snake River and Grand Tetons, Ansel Adams
  • Sand dunes, George Mobley
  • Monument Valley, Shostal Associates, Inc.
  • Forest scene with mushrooms, Bruce Dale
  • Leaf, Arthur Herrick
  • Fallen leaves, Jodi Cobb
  • Snowflake over Sequoia, Josef Muench, R. Sisson
  • Tree with daffodils, Gardens Winterthur, Winterthur Museum
  • Flying insect with flowers, Borne on the Wind, Stephen Dalton
  • Seashell (Xancidae), Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
  • Dolphins, Thomas Nebbia
  • School of fish, David Doubilet
  • Tree toad, Dave Wickstrom
  • Crocodile, Peter Beard
  • Eagle, Donona, Taplinger Publishing Co.
  • Waterhole, South African Tourist Corp.
  • Jane Goodall and chimps, Vanne Morris-Goodall
  • Bushmen hunters, R. Farbman, Time, Inc.
  • Dancer from Bali, donna Grosvenor
  • Andean girls, Joseph Scherschel
  • Thailand craftsman, Dean conger
  • Elephant, Peter Kunstadter
  • Old man with beard and glasses (Turkey), Jonathon Blair
  • Old man with dog and flowers, Bruce Baumann
  • Mountain climber, Gaston Rebuffat
  • Gymnast, Philip Leonian, Sports Illustrated
  • Cotton harvest, Howell Walker
  • Grape picker, David Moore
  • Underwater scene with diver and fish, Jerry Greenberg
  • Cooking fish, Cooking of Spain and Portugal, Time-Life Books
  • Chinese dinner party, Time-Life Books
  • Great Wall of China, H. Edward Kim
  • Construction scene (Amish country), William Albert Allard
  • House (New England), Robert Sisson
  • House interior with artist and fire, Jim Amos
  • Taj Mahal, David Carroll
  • English city (Oxford), C.S. Lewis, Images of His World, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
  • Boston, Ted Spiegel
  • Sydney Opera House, Mike Long
  • Artisan with drill, Frank Hewlett
  • Factory interior, Fred Ward
  • Museum, David Cupp
  • Golden Gate Bridge, Ansel Adams
  • Train, Gordon Gahan
  • Airport (Toronto), George Hunter
  • Antarctic Expedition, Great Adventures with the National Geographic National Geographic
  • Radio telescope (Westerbork, Netherlands), James Blair
  • Sunset with birds, David Harvey
  • String Quartet (Quartetto Italiano), Phillips Recordings
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