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I like everything about private space exploration except this: when we sent the Voyager golden record to space, we consulted with the great minds about which we
by thanatropism 9y ago
I like everything about private space exploration except this: when we sent the Voyager golden record to space, we consulted with the great minds about which were the important landmarks of our civilisation.
In this model, it's all about idiosyncrasies: the Voyager record had the Vitruvian Man, this has an astronaut on a sports car and largely-irrelevant sci-fi stories.
Of course, private space probably means the whole timeline comes faster and private associations are soon launching Dostoyevski and Pollock too. Still, this payload is culturally cringeworthy, as much as the sheer engineer accomplishment must be lauded.
- JumpCrisscross 9y ago> the Voyager record had the Vitruvian Man, this has an astronaut on a sports car and largely-irrelevant sci-fi stories They were both done, principally, for fun. If practical value is constrained to the non-ET, I'll argue for the latter any day. It promotes an electric car; presents space as a fun--instead of austere--place; and gives everyone a laugh. Given the times, I think we need a laugh more than sober awe.
- losteric 9y agoVoyager went interstellar. The Tesla is still bound to the inner solar system.
- Paul-ish 9y agoSounds like a service SpaceX could offer wealthy space geeks. Pay us to send your own culturally significant artifacts out of our solar system, to follow the footsteps of the voyager probes and one day encounter alien life. Then of course Martin Shkreli (or someone like him) will send something outrageous into space.
- aeorgnoieang 9y agoI'll take real progress over whatever the modern day version of the Voyager golden record might be. But I think you might also be imagining how the golden record was created. It was spearheaded by Carl Sagan but there wasn't time to consult "with the great minds" [emphasis mine], whatever that might be. I'm sure Sagan worked with 'great minds', but it definitely wasn't some kind of Grand Committee of Earth.
- jnevelson 9y agoThose "largely-irrelevant sci-fi stories" are partially what helped inspire the people that accomplished this.
- jpindar 9y ago>Still, this payload is culturally cringeworthy, According to whose culture though? I suggest the culture of the people who built it is the most relevant one.
- dqpb 9y agoThe golden record is more cringworthy