It’s been 40 years since NASA sent Voyager I and II out into the cosmos, twin interstellar spacecraft bearing mankind’s message to the universe, announcing our existence to anything that could listen. And while that’s an insignificant period of time in Voyager’s almost endless journey, it’s a meaningful milestone for those of us here on Earth, and one worth commemorating. That’s why NASA JPL just released three gorgeous new — and free — posters to celebrate our “ambassadors to the rest of the Milky Way.”
The first poster, “Reaching for the Stars,” pays tribute to our hopeful cosmic message by highlighting the vastness and beauty of the universe that Voyager is just a small part of.
The second, funky poster, “Rock On,” is a fitting celebration of both the year Voyager left, 1977, and the Golden Record each carries, featuring messages and songs from Earth. The “greatest hits” on the right of the poster lists some of Voyager’s biggest discoveries, like “the volcanoes on Jupiter’s moon Io” and the “hazy nitrogen atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan.”
Finally, no other spacecraft has ever gone on a journey quite like the ones Voyager I and II are on right now, which is why the last poster touts “The Grand Tour” each are taking. Their trip has been helped out by “a once-every-175-year-alignment” of our outer planets, which has given Voyager a big gravitational boost.
You can download all of these posters free from NASA’s site. Because even if forty years is nothing in Voyager’s long journey, a beautiful, free poster is timeless.
Which of these would you most like to hang on your walls? Travel into our comments section below to let us know.
Images: NASA JPL
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