You Guys, There’s a Ford Mustang 24 Billion Km Away From Earth
So, you might have read the title of this story and wondered if you’ve missed a part of U.S. space exploration or doubted that Elon Musk was actually the first person to send a car into outer space. It’s also quite possible you figured the author was high on some stuff or this was nothing more than some sort of clickbait.
Well, it’s not.
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Many of us here at The Car Guide aren’t just car enthusiasts. We’re also interested in motorcycles, planes, rockets and other engine-powered devices. I’m personally one of them. And this story is a wonderful opportunity to talk a bit about the history of automobiles and the universe.
Voyager's Golden Record
Back in 1977, NASA launched the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft on a mission to approach Jupiter and Saturn for scientific purposes. But they didn’t stop there. In fact, both continued their journey beyond the solar system and are still drifting away into the cosmos.
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are currently located some 24 billion kilometres and 20 billion kilometres away from Earth, respectively. To give you some perspective, our planet is a mere 149 million kilometres away from the sun.
Before they left, NASA fitted the pair with a phonograph record—a 12-inch, gold-plated copper disk containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth—in the event some alien lifeform was to stumble on it and manage to understand the recording. The galvanized aluminum case has reading instructions to help our friends from deep space.
There’s over a hundred pictures and videos along with music and sounds of nature, plus information about our DNA and daily life on Earth. One image was taken in Bangkok in 1972 and shows a traffic jam. And right in the middle of it is a red Ford Mustang coupe viewed from behind.
Despite the low resolution, we can clearly recognize a 1965 or 1966 model with a black top.
I can’t help but smile every time I think about those two spacecraft lost in space with a golden record that contains a picture of a Mustang. Ford’s pony car has become a real legend out here, and wouldn’t it be cool if some other civilization happened to discover it and fall in love with it like we did?
