And  It  Is Not  About  Aliens.

When Voyager 1 was launched in 1977, few could imagine how far it would travel. Decades later, it has become the farthest human-made object from Earth, continuing its silent journey into interstellar space. It carries a remarkable artifact: the Golden Record—a message in a bottle cast not into the ocean, but into the endless cosmic sea. 

And what amazed me most was that the Golden record,  unlike a real bottle adrift in the water,  was never meant to be retrieved. Technically, it is almost impossible for any extraterrestrial civilization to intercept and play it. And yet, the symbolism matters: it is humanity’s greeting to the Universe, a hopeful capsule of who we imagined ourselves to be. But we as humans have a powerful tool – our imagination. It allows me to imagine the scene easily: the aliens are trying to understand the message from planet Earth. What could they feel and what impression could they have about our planet and its inhabitants?

A Dream of Earth

The Golden Record presents Earth as we dream it: a world without wars and conflict and a united civilization reaching for the stars. It contains sounds of rain and birdsong, greetings in dozens of languages, music by Bach and Chuck Berry, images of life and culture, and words of hope from world leaders. In it, humanity is portrayed as one family, caring for its children and future.

But the reality is far from that nice advertising. Just as Voyager has traveled billions of kilometers from Earth, humanity seems to have drifted farther from the ideals etched into that golden disc. While our planet moves through the galaxy at dizzying speeds—circling the Sun and orbiting the center of the Milky Way—our progress toward unity has been microscopic, almost stagnant.

The Distance Between the Dream and Reality

Since the launch of Voyager 1, we have covered a considerable distance in the Universe—about 350 billion km (about 220 billion miles)—without even noticing it. Time is a tireless witness to this nonstop motion in space. But how far have we moved in the sense of unity of all the nations inhabiting our blue planet?

Instead of moving closer to the dream of one people under one sky, nations are more divided than ever. Conflicts rage, leaders boast of weapons of mass destruction, and national pride is measured not by achievements of art or science, but by the ability to threaten annihilation. At the same time, humanity continues to ravage its only home—climate change is accelerating, ecosystems are collapsing, and short-term interests drown out the warnings of scientists.

It seems that Voyager is not the only one leaving Earth behind. We, too, are drifting away from the dream of peace, unity, and stewardship of our planet that the Golden Record so tenderly encapsulated.

A Message for the Stars

Still, Voyager endures. It may survive millions of years, carrying its fragile, idealized vision of humanity through the stars. It may be intercepted one day, whether by chance or miracle. We like to imagine aliens placing the record on a turntable, listening to the sounds of rain and laughter, the gallop of horses, and greetings in dozens of languages. They would encounter a civilization that seemed wise, peaceful, united, and devoted to the happiness of its children.

Of course, it is a fantasy. Today, it seems easier to believe in magic or the supernatural than in the optimistic predictions voiced on the Golden Record by the U.N. Secretary-General or the U.S. President. The dream of a planet without wars, without conflicts, where presidents dedicate themselves to the well-being of all people—that feels more distant than Voyager itself.

Yet dreams matter. The true greatness of the Golden Record lies not only in what it contains but also in what it represents: the human capacity to imagine something better. We imagined ourselves as a united civilization advancing not through destruction but through creativity, art, science, and care for one another. That dream is still worth striving for.

A Fading Signal, A Lasting Hope

Voyager continues to send faint signals back to Earth—a fragile whisper across the dark. Like those signals, hope remains: weak, fading at times, but still alive.

As John Lennon once sang: Imagine. You may say it’s just a dream. But every dream, like the Golden Record, begins as a fragile vision. And sometimes, visions last longer than empires, longer than wars, perhaps even longer than humanity itself.

Meanwhile, ( maybe millions of years from now), somewhere in the constellation Ophiuchus…

Chuck Berry is number one on all musical charts this season with his hit Jonny B. Goode.