Voyager 2 was launched in 1977 to explore outer planets and carried on board a Golden record containing sounds from earth and several artists who were hand picked to represent earth. Below are the artists and the songs that were sent out into space 39 years ago.:
»Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F. First Movement, Munich Bach Orchestra, Karl Richter, conductor. 4:40
»Java, court gamelan, "Kinds of Flowers," recorded by Robert Brown. 4:43
»Senegal, percussion, recorded by Charles Duvelle. 2:08
»Zaire, Pygmy girls' initiation song, recorded by Colin Turnbull. 0:56
»Australia, Aborigine songs, "Morning Star" and "Devil Bird," recorded by Sandra LeBrun Holmes. 1:26
»Mexico, "El Cascabel," performed by Lorenzo Barcelata and the Mariachi México. 3:14
»"Johnny B. Goode," written and performed by Chuck Berry. 2:38
»New Guinea, men's house song, recorded by Robert MacLennan. 1:20
»Japan, shakuhachi, "Tsuru No Sugomori" ("Crane's Nest,") performed by Goro Yamaguchi. 4:51
»Bach, "Gavotte en rondeaux" from the Partita No. 3 in E major for Violin, performed by Arthur Grumiaux. 2:55
»Mozart, The Magic Flute, Queen of the Night aria, no. 14. Edda Moser, soprano. Bavarian State Opera, Munich, Wolfgang Sawallisch, conductor. 2:55
»Georgian S.S.R., chorus, "Tchakrulo," collected by Radio Moscow. 2:18
»Peru, panpipes and drum, collected by Casa de la Cultura, Lima. 0:52
»"Melancholy Blues," performed by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven. 3:05
»Azerbaijan S.S.R., bagpipes, recorded by Radio Moscow. 2:30
»Stravinsky, Rite of Spring, Sacrificial Dance, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Igor Stravinsky, conductor. 4:35
»Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue in C, No.1. Glenn Gould, piano. 4:48
»Beethoven, Fifth Symphony, First Movement, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer, conductor. 7:20
»Bulgaria, "Izlel je Delyo Hagdutin," sung by Valya Balkanska. 4:59
»Navajo Indians, Night Chant, recorded by Willard Rhodes. 0:57
»Holborne, Paueans, Galliards, Almains and Other Short Aeirs, "The Fairie Round," performed by David Munrow and the Early Music Consort of London. 1:17
»Solomon Islands, panpipes, collected by the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Service. 1:12
»Peru, wedding song, recorded by John Cohen. 0:38
»China, ch'in, "Flowing Streams," performed by Kuan P'ing-hu. 7:37
»India, raga, "Jaat Kahan Ho," sung by Surshri Kesar Bai Kerkar. 3:30
»"Dark Was the Night," written and performed by Blind Willie Johnson. 3:15
»Beethoven, String Quartet No. 13 in B flat, Opus 130, Cavatina, performed by Budapest String Quartet. 6:37
~~Source: http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/music.html
Here is a playlist of the songs listed above:
Below is an image of what the mission of Voyager 2 looks like. It is now in deep space traveling at over 38,000mph!
Voyager 2 has provided the only up close images of Uranus and Neptune that humans have ever seen. Voyager 2 was actually launched on August 20th 1977.
It was on this day in 1989 that Voyager passed over Neptune and was only 3000 miles from the top of the planet's atmosphere and during this time it spotted five new moons which it sent pictures back to and discovered 4 rings around the planet. To celebrate this momentous occasion, Nasa invited Chuck Berry to come to Nasa and play his song 'Johnny B. Goode' live on television. Chuck Berry's song was also one of the songs included on the Golden Disc attached to Voyager. The craft is now so far earth that it takes over 29 hours for the signal to reach earth and back to the craft.
This is the screen shot from the studio at Nasa to celebrate the Neptune images:
Nasa believes that Voyager 2 will lose total power and stop responding in 2025, almost 50 yrs after it's launch date! They think that the craft will continue on for the next 40,000 yrs. But who really knows.. none of us will be here in 40,000 yrs. =D