Messenger to the Cosmos

Voice of Humanity in Space

Designing Humanity’s First Interstellar Messages

Helped create the Pioneer Plaque and Voyager Golden Record, artifacts intended to introduce Earth to any extraterrestrial life.

Capturing Earth’s Diversity

Included music, images, and greetings in multiple languages to represent the richness of human culture and the variety of life on our planet.

Promoting Cosmic Connection

Saw these messages as symbols of hope and goodwill, expressing humanity’s desire to connect across the vast distances of space.

Recommended memberships

Sagan believed that exploration should also be an act of communication. He played a central role in designing the Pioneer Plaque and the Voyager Golden Record, humanity’s first physical messages sent beyond our solar system. These artifacts carry music, images, and greetings in multiple languages, representing the diversity of life and culture on Earth. To Sagan, these were more than scientific curiosities—they were symbols of hope, goodwill, and the belief that even in the vastness of space, we might one day find connection.

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Planetary Protection and Global Responsibility