klaes@mtwain.dec.com (CUP/ML, MLO5-2/G1 8A, 223-3283) (09/29/88)
The famous plaque on the U.S. space probes PIONEER 10 and 11 is designed for anyone who encounters the probes on their journey through interstellar space to hopefully receive some idea of what the crafts are and who built them. The chances of these satellites being found in the incredible vastness of the Milky Way Galaxy are very small, but since the chance was there, it was taken. The plaque was designed late in PIONEER's construction by Carl Sagan and his second wife, Linda, when they realized that the probes would be leaving the Sol system after flying by the planets Jupiter and Saturn. It is six by nine inches in diameter, and placed between struts on the side of the probes, where it should be shielded from most space debris and last as long as the spaceships are estimated to, roughly one billion years. In that time, the probes will come within a few light years of several star systems, though whether any of them have intelligent lifeforms which can travel to other stars and detect such small vessels is unknown. A lot of the PIONEERs' chances to be found are based on many factors and just pure luck. The plaque's design is relatively simple, and assumes that the beings who find the probes have a scientific way of thinking similar to humans. Of the etchings on it, there is the atomic symbol for hydrogen, the most common natural element in the Universe. There is also an etching of fourteen lines radiating from a single point of the left side of the plaque. This indicates the location of fourteen pulsars (rapidly rotating neutron stars) in relation to Sol, to serve not only as a guide to locate our star system, but to give the recipients of the PIONEERS an idea of when the probes were launched, as stars change positions as they move through the galaxy, and if the beings can plot star courses over time, they may know when the vessels were launched. Near the center of the plaque are drawings of two human beings, male and female. They are nude and have facial features representing the various races of humanity. The male is also raising his right arm and extending his hand palm flat in a gesture of what is hoped to be interpreted as a friendly greeting. The female is slightly shorter than the male, and next to her is a binary code telling how tall the average human is. Behind them is an outline sketch of the PIONEER probe, to give the beings who find the vehicle yet another idea just how big we are. This drawing caused the biggest stir of all for the plaque and NASA, as some wrongly accused NASA of sending "smut" into space, as the man and woman were without clothing (I personally think it would have been ridiculous to show them *with* any type of clothing, as it was assumed the aliens would have enough trouble trying to figure the plaque out, and they might interpret clothing as a biological part of our bodies; plus what clothes could they wear which would represent *all* styles of dress everywhere? The situation would get ridiculous very fast). Feminists complained that the woman was not only shorter than the man, but just seemed to stand there doing nothing. Keep in mind that Linda Sagan is the one who drew the man and woman representatives of the human race, so I doubt she would have drawn them the way she did if she had felt any sexism about the characters. At the bottom of the plaque is a representation of our solar system, with Sol at the left and extending to Pluto on the right. Saturn is shown with a line through its center to represent its rings (Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune were not known to have rings in 1972). The small circle representing Earth is filled in, and PIONEER is shown flying between Jupiter and Saturn with an arrowed line from Earth to the probe. There is also a binary code next to each planet and Sol, indicating the size of each world. Sagan wanted to make another, more detailed plaque for the VOYAGER probes - which are also heading into interstellar space - in 1977, but it was decided instead to make a gold record for each probe, one which is designed to reproduce over one hundred carefully picked photos of our solar system and human activity, along with various selections of music, Earth sounds, and people talking in fifty-five human languages. I highly recommend Sagan's 1978 book on the project, MURMURS OF EARTH, from Random House. It goes into great detail on the record as well as the PIONEER plaque, where you will find a picture of it. I must admit I am surprised the original poster said he could not find any pictures of the plaque, as I've seen it in at least one dozen space exploration and astronomy books over the years. As I said earlier, the chances of any of the four spacecraft being found before they decay are incredibly slim, but not entirely impossible. I think the beings most likely to find them will be our space-faring descendants as they spread out to explore and colonize the stars, as they will know the probes are out there, what direction they headed, and how far they have gotten in their journeys. PIONEER and VOYAGER will probably best serve as time capsules for our distant children. It would be an interesting yet sad thought to think that the plaques and records these probes carry could end up up being the only records left of the human race on Earth if we carelessly destroy ourselves. Larry Klaes
tim@attdso.ATT.COM (Tim J Ihde) (09/30/88)
In article <8809281753.AA11817@decwrl.dec.com> klaes@mtwain.dec.com (CUP/ML, MLO5-2/G1 8A, 223-3283) writes:
The famous plaque on the U.S. space probes PIONEER 10 and 11 . . .
Near the center of the plaque are drawings of two human beings,
male and female. They are nude and have facial features representing
the various races of humanity. . .
. . . some wrongly accused NASA of sending "smut" into space,
as the man and woman were without clothing . . .
I seem to recall reading a humorous response to this by Sagan, who's wife
(as the poster pointed out) designed the plaque. He asked the objectors if
they would be satisfied if they drew little fig leaves over the characters -
and then placed next to them a stork bearing a bundle. Sagan went on to
suggest that the true level of our society could be expressed by the
inclusion of a likeness of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny as well.
--
Tim J Ihde att!attdso!tim
(201) 898-6687 tim@attdso.att.com
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