In 1977, NASAs Voyager 1 space probe became the first human made object to enter interstellar
space - the space between stars.
On the off chance that aliens ever did pick up the probe in the distant future, 116 images
were put onto a golden disc on board so that they might know who and where we are.
These are 10 of the most important.
Do you want to see what the aliens will see?
Join me then - Im Danny Burke and this is the Top 10 Images Nasa Sent To Aliens
Starting off at number 10 now we have The Beginning.
When it comes to explaining to aliens everything about humans, the start is, well, a good place
to start.
This image shows conception - a sperm cell fusing with an egg cell which will eventually
divide and become a fetus and then a human like you and me.
When I first saw this, I worried that the aliens might not understand the scale.
What if they think that sperm cell is the size of a truck and the egg cell is the size
of a football stadium - they may think were giants.
But no, luckily, scientists are a lot smarter than me.
On the previous slide, they explained the sizes of egg and sperm cells, to show the
aliens that they are very very small!
Coming in at number 9 we have The Location.
This image explains to any resonably intelligent aliens, where exactly our solar system is.
Theyve also included a picture of our nearest neighbour, the Andromeda galaxy.
Its hoped that the information on this slide will be enough for the aliens to figure out
where we are.
Of course, this is pretty cool but also a bit worrying for some people.
Many feel that we shouldnt be so open about broadcasting our location to advanced life
in the universe.
If human history is anything to go by, technologically advanced groups rarely visit others just to
say hi.
Do you think people are just being paranoid?
Or should we keep our voices down in this big universe of ours.
Moving on to number 8 now we have The Taj Mahal.
This is one of the most iconic buildings ever created.
Located in India, it was built as a mausoleum for the Mughal Emperor in the 1600s.
So, why does NASA think the aliens should want to see it?
Well, they actually included a number of iconic buildings such a the Great Wall of China and
the Syndey Opera House.
Perhaps they are trying to show that buildings are important to us.
After all, theyre quite a unique thing.
No other animals build buildings like we build buildings.
We love it.
They become important to us - especially if they are grand, old or have some historic
importance to them.
Will the aliens understand this or will they find our love of buildings a strange or even
primitive quality?
At number 7 now we have The Womb.
This is quite an interesting one.
It shows the outline of a male and female couple and the female is pregnant.
This is obviously an attempt to show the aliens how we reproduce.
This might seem obvious to us but you have to remember, extraterrestrial life may have
a completely different way of reproducing.
They might be horrified that humans grow in a womb for 9 months.
Probably not, but you get the idea.
This slide is just one of many that attempt to show the aliens how we procreate, how we
are born and how we grow.
Moving on to number 6 we have The Animals.
NASA included a number of pictures of animals on the disc, this is one of my favourites,
showing wildebeest and zebras drinking alongside each other in Africa.
You may think its strange to include pictures of other animals when this is about us and
aliens contacting each other.
However, NASA felt that it wouldnt be a true representation of Earth if they didnt include
other animals too.
After all, we may dominate this planet but were not the only ones who call it home.
The pictures of animals show that we are not alone on this planet and that perhaps we speak
on their behalf if it ever comes to a point of contact with an alien civilization.
Next up at number 5 we have Home.
Thats the name of this picture - taken by NASA in the 1970s.
At the bottom you can see theyve included the diameter of Earth as 12756km.
This is the only full picture of Earth that was included.
What will the aliens make of it?
Some other slides explain what our atmosphere is made of, Im sure they can figure out that
the white bits are clouds and the blue is our ocean.
Do you think so?
Also, this brings me back to our previous point - I know some of you are a bit paranoid
about alien invasions - if so, do you think its a good idea to include pictures of our
planet and what exactly its made of?
Could that be used against us?
I personally don't think we have to worry but its an interesting idea!
Moving on to number 4 we have Eating.
Here is a man enjoying a bunch of grapes.
It may look like nothing to you, but it might help aliens understand a lot about us.
The universe is a big place.
Aliens may be so different to us that we cant even imagine what they would be like.
However, its safe to assume that they, like us, need energy.
To live is to consume energy in some form or another.
Aliens might have their own unique way of getting their energy but for us - its food.
This picture helps explain that humans, and many other creatures on Earth, consume food
for energy so that we can survive.
Hopefully they don't think we only eat grapes though … that would get boring pretty quickly.
Next up at number 3 we have Tectonic.
In this iamge we can see 3 different Earths.
The top and bottom might look unfamiliar to you.
The top one is what earth looked like when it was 1.5 billion years old, all of the continents
were mushed together.
Tectonic activity in the Earths crust sent them apart from each other, drifting and crashing
into each other until they resembled the middle picture.
Thats what Earth looks like for us today - and theres a human hand there to show that this
is the era of Earth we humans live in.
The bottom one shows what Earth will look like in a further 10 million years.
This is based on scientific predictions.
You may think this is a bit redundant but wait - Voyager 1 could be travelling in space
for millions of years.
Maybe aliens wont find it for another 10 million years.
Will humans even still be around by then?
Perhaps.
Either way, our map of what the Earth will look like by then may be far more accurate
than what it looks like now!
Moving on to number 2 now we have Sport.
This is a picture of sprinters in a race at the 1976 held in Montreal.
So, why did NASA want aliens to see this?
Well, sport and competition have always been a huge part of the human story.
It was competition that made us spread across the planet - and now its sport that brings
us together to compete in various events.
Its a common bond that all human cultures share in one way or another.
This is also a contrast to the images of war and trouble we often see on the news.
This is NASA trying to show aliens that despite our differences, we are more similar than
not.
Call it the olympic spirit or even the human spirit - its a good picture to include if
they can understand whats going on …
And finally at number 1 we have The Cars.
This picture was taken from a busy road in India.
There are a few others like it that show humans and cars.
It seems like NASA wanted to show the Aliens that we build things to do better jobs than
we ever could.
If they recognise that we constructed the cars, they may see in us a desire to reach
beyond the physical limitations of our human bodies.
Perhaps this is something they will recognise in themselves too.
Any aliens that find Voyager 1 will have to have plucked it from space.
If that happens, theres a very good chance they will have to use machinery just like
our cars or space rockets.
After all, we don't know of any living thing that can survive space by itself forever.
Perhaps they do though, perhaps they see our obsession with machines as nothing more than
filling a hole in the human condition!
Talk about space all day