“It will be the oldest artifact of mankind. Because a billion years from now, mountain building and erosion will have destroyed everything on the earth, but this plaque will remain intact.”
Carl Sagan
In 1972, Pioneer 10︎︎︎︎︎ was launched to explore Jupiter and beyond. Bolted to its antenna support was quite possibly the most ambitious piece of visual communication ever-conceived. The plaque designed by Frank Drake︎︎︎︎︎ and Carl Sagan︎︎︎︎︎ with artwork prepared by Linda Salzman Sagan︎︎︎︎︎ serves as a cosmic greeting card communicating where, when, and who we are to scientifically educated extraterrestrials should they encounter it. As Sagan once wrote, “the greater significance of the Pioneer 10 plaque is not as a message to out there; it is as a message to back here.” Gold-anodized optimism, Pioneer is an expression of the vision and adventurous spirit that defines humanity at its best.
