Organization for SETV Research

Human message plaques which have traveled beyond heliospheric boundary of solar system which were designed by artist Jon Lomberg and Dr. Carl Sagan (astrophysicist) of the Planetary Society.

Pioneer 10 and 11 NASA Solar System Spacecraft


Pioneer 10 NASA Solar System Spacecraft Plaque Designed by Jon Lomberg and Carl Sagan

Pioneer 10 and 11 Missions
Pioneer_10_Plaque.txt
P10PLAQ.GIF (PIONEER 10 PLAQUE)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The Pioneer 10 spacecraft, destined to be the first man-made object to escape our solar system, carries this plaque. It is designed to show scientifically educated inhabitants of some other star system-who might intercept it millions of years from now-when Pioneer was launched, from where, and by what kind of beings. The design is engraved into a gold-anodized aluminum plate, 152 by 229 millimeters (6 by 9 inches), attached to the spacecraft's antenna support struts in a position to help shield it from erosion by interstellar dust.

Note: The numerals 1 through 6 depicted in above graphic are not included in plaques on the Pioneer spacecraft, but are identifying note references for below text denoted in 'red'.

As it is inferred that ETI which would be viewing the plaque also have the Pioneer spacecraft on which the plaque is afixed and therefore know the size of the spacecraft, at the far right, the bracketing bars (1) show the height of the woman compared to the spacecraft. The figure indicated by (2) represents a reverse in the direction of spin of the electron in a hydrogen atom. This transition puts out a characteristic radio wave 21 cm (centimeters) long, so we are indicating that 21 cm is our base length. The horizontal and vertical ticks (3) are arepresentation of the number 8 in binary form. Therefore, the woman is 8 x 21 cm = 168 cm, or about 5 feet 5 inches tall. The human figures represent the type of creature that created Pioneer. The man's hand is raised in a gesture of good will.

The radial pattern (4) will help other scientists locate our solar system in the galaxy. The solid bars indicate distance, with the horizontal bar (5), denoting the distance from the Sun to the galactic center. The shorter solid bars represent directions and distances to various pulsars from our Sun, and the ticks following them are the periods of the pulsars in binary form. Pulsars are known to be slowing down and if the rate of slowing is constant, an other-world scientist should be able to roughly deduce the time Pioneer was launched. Thus, we have placed ourselves approximately in both space and time. The drawing at the bottom (6) indicates our solar system. The ticks accompanying each planet are the relative distance in binary form of that planet to the Sun. Pioneer's trajectory is shown as starting from the third planet, Earth.

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Voyager Spacecraft Carrying Message Plaques



Photo Caption
P-24653
10/18/83

Public Information Office
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
California Institute of Technology
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Pasadena, Ca, 91109, Telephone (818) 354-5011


Twin Voyager spacecraft, depicted here in a full-scale model, are now traveling through the outer solar system. Voyager 1, launched Sept. 5, 1977, has completed its mission to Jupiter and Saturn and is now outbound from the solar system, heading in the general direction of the constellation Ophiuchus. Voyager 2 followed its sister craft to Jupiter and Saturn and is on its way to the next planet, Uranus, for an encounter in January 1986. If all goes well, Voyager 2 will reach Neptune in late summer 1989 - - some 12 years after its Aug. 20, 1977, launch. Its current trajectory will take Voyager 2 in the direction of the constellation Canis Major.

In this view, the science boom, containing cameras and other instruments requiring maneuverability, is seen at right. The long boom at left carries two magnetic-field detectors and stretches 43 feet out from the spacecraft. The dominant feature at center, the 12-foot-diameter high-gain antenna, provides communication between the spacecraft and controllers on Earth. Just below is a shiny gold disk, a record called "Sounds of Earth," bearing messages and pictures from our planet. The Voyagers are managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.


Voyager Spacecraft Gold Record Message Cover Plaque





Voyager Spacecraft Gold Record Message Cover Encoding Description
Excellent Offsite Interstellar Record Message Encoding Description by CedMajic

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Voyager Spacecraft Gold Record Label

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• Part 3. - Other Earth Planetary Probes and a SETI Chronology

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