Murmurs of Earth reveals the story behind the Voyager Golden Record, an interstellar time capsule designed to represent Earth’s life and culture. Written by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and others, the book explores humanity’s desire to communicate with extraterrestrial civilizations.
When we gaze up at the night sky, filled with countless stars, it’s easy to feel small and wonder what, if anything, might be out there. For Carl Sagan and the team of scientists, artists, and engineers who worked on the Voyager Golden Record, this curiosity became a guiding principle in creating a message from humanity to the cosmos—a time capsule meant to last for millennia. Murmurs of Earth is their account of how that message came together.
First published in 1978, Murmurs of Earth: The Voyager Interstellar Record is co-authored by Carl Sagan, Frank Drake, Ann Druyan, Timothy Ferris, Jon Lomberg, and Linda Salzman Sagan. This book offers a firsthand look into one of the most ambitious and thought-provoking space exploration projects of the 20th century. It recounts the creation of the Golden Record, a phonograph disc launched aboard the twin Voyager spacecraft in 1977 with the mission of introducing Earth to extraterrestrial life.
The Golden Record itself is a 12-inch gold-plated copper disc, containing sounds, images, and music selected to represent the diversity of life and culture on Earth. In Murmurs of Earth, the authors provide a detailed exploration of the project’s philosophical foundations, the technical challenges of creating a durable record for space travel, and the careful selection process behind the material that would represent humanity to the unknown.
The authors’ goal was nothing short of monumental: to summarize the essence of Earth in a way that might be understood by alien civilizations millions or even billions of years into the future. Murmurs of Earth offers readers an intimate look at the design process and the motivations behind this cosmic message, sharing the behind-the-scenes stories of the individuals who made the Golden Record possible.
What makes Murmurs of Earth so compelling is its ability to blend deep scientific inquiry with philosophical reflection. While the book offers plenty of technical details about the Voyager mission and the engineering feats behind the Golden Record, it’s also filled with moments of wonder and contemplation.
Carl Sagan, a master science communicator, sets the tone of the book by asking fundamental questions: What is the purpose of humanity? How do we wish to represent ourselves to beings who may not share our biology or senses? These questions are echoed throughout the work, giving it a timeless quality. The book feels just as relevant today as it did when it was first published, as it grapples with our place in the universe and the potential for contact with other forms of intelligence.
Each of the co-authors contributes their expertise, enriching the narrative with a mix of perspectives. Frank Drake’s insights on extraterrestrial life and the Drake Equation ground the project in scientific speculation about the probability of intelligent life. Ann Druyan’s role in selecting music and sounds introduces an artistic layer, while Timothy Ferris and Jon Lomberg add to the discussions about visual representation and storytelling through imagery. Linda Salzman Sagan’s contributions on greetings in 55 languages add the cultural dimension, making the record a holistic representation of Earth.
One of the most fascinating parts of the book is the breakdown of what exactly was included on the Golden Record. The team had to select 116 images, music from various cultures, greetings in multiple languages, and sounds from nature. The images cover a range of human experiences, from scientific achievements to everyday life. The music, which spans genres from classical compositions like Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto to traditional pieces like a Peruvian panpipe song, reflects the diversity of human culture.
The sounds of Earth include everything from the roar of thunder to the songs of birds and whales. This sonic portrait of our planet was carefully curated to give an alien listener—or even a future human civilization—a sense of what life on Earth is like.
What’s remarkable about the selection is how inclusive it strives to be. Although limited by the technology of the time, the creators of the Golden Record aimed to represent humanity not just as it existed in 1977, but as a collective of cultures and histories, stretching far into the past and projecting into the future. This ambition is evident in the stories the authors tell of painstaking deliberations over what to include, knowing that this record might be the only artifact of our civilization to survive.
One of the central themes of Murmurs of Earth is the concept of timelessness. The Golden Record was designed to last for over a billion years—far longer than any human civilization. In reading this book, it’s hard not to reflect on the impermanence of our daily lives, contrasted with the permanence of this message, hurtling through space at 17 kilometers per second.
This sense of perspective is something we hope to capture with the Golden Record App. Much like the original project, our app is designed to help families preserve their memories, but in a way that feels timeless. Whether you’re recording your voice or capturing important moments, the app serves as a digital time capsule, one that could be shared with future generations. The ethos behind both the app and the original Golden Record is remarkably similar: preserving the essence of who we are for others to discover, whether that’s a family member 50 years from now or an extraterrestrial civilization far beyond our lifetimes.
Another key theme in Murmurs of Earth is the challenge of representation. How can you reduce the vast complexity of human life into a few images and sounds? The authors openly discuss the limitations they faced, including technical constraints and cultural biases. For example, the choice of music had to balance Western classical traditions with non-Western music, all while being constrained by space on the record.
This part of the book is especially relevant today, as we think about how to represent our own lives in the digital world. In an era of social media, where we constantly curate our online presence, Murmurs of Earth offers a moment of pause to consider what we would choose to say if we only had one chance to represent ourselves to the future. This is something we think about often as we develop new features for the Golden Record App—what are the memories and moments that truly matter?
At its core, Murmurs of Earth is a book about legacy. The Voyager spacecraft, now billions of miles from Earth, carry the Golden Record as a testament to human curiosity, creativity, and desire for connection. The book ends on a hopeful note, reflecting on the possibility that, one day, another form of intelligence might find the record and learn something about us.
For those of us working on the Golden Record App, this book serves as a source of inspiration. It reminds us that preserving memories isn’t just about keeping them safe—it’s about sharing them with others, across both space and time. Whether you’re documenting your family’s history or creating something new for future generations, the lessons of Murmurs of Earth are a reminder of just how precious those moments are.
Murmurs of Earth is a deeply engaging and thought-provoking book, offering readers a unique glimpse into one of humanity’s most ambitious projects. It’s a must-read for anyone interested in space exploration, the search for extraterrestrial life, or the philosophy of how we represent ourselves to the cosmos.
Whether you’re a space enthusiast or simply curious about what it means to leave a mark on the universe, Murmurs of Earth will challenge you to think about how you would tell the story of our world. And as we continue to build and grow the Golden Record App, we hope to capture just a small part of that same spirit—of preserving life’s most important stories and sharing them with the future.
