A unique NASA Satellite launched in 1976 continues to orbit Earth with a remarkable secret hidden inside. LAGEOS 1, a satellite designed to study Earth’s movements, carries a special plaque created by renowned astronomer Carl Sagan that is intended to be discovered millions of years in the future.
Launched on May 4, 1976, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, LAGEOS 1, short for Laser Geodynamic Satellite, is a simple yet durable spacecraft. Measuring about 60 centimetres in diameter and weighing around 400 kilograms, it contains no electronics, sensors, power source, or moving parts. Instead, it is a solid sphere made of brass and aluminium fitted with 426 reflectors.
The satellite’s purpose is straightforward. Scientists on Earth direct laser beams at LAGEOS 1 and measure the time taken for the light to return. This helps track tectonic plate movements, changes in Earth’s rotation, and shifts in the planet’s centre of mass.
Because of its simple design, LAGEOS 1 is expected to remain in orbit for approximately 8.4 million years before eventually re entering Earth’s atmosphere.
Recognising that the satellite would outlive its mission by millions of years, NASA commissioned Carl Sagan to design a message for future discoverers. The result was a small stainless steel plaque placed inside the satellite, with 2 identical copies sealed within its core.
Rather than using words, the plaque relies on diagrams. It includes binary numbers from 1 to 10 and uses Earth’s orbit around the Sun as a reference point for measuring time. The most significant feature is a set of 3 maps showing Earth’s continents at different points in time.
The first map depicts the supercontinent Pangaea around 268 million years ago. The second shows Earth as it appeared in 1976 at the time of launch. The third illustrates the predicted arrangement of continents approximately 8.4 million years in the future.
That future date was deliberately chosen because it closely matches the estimated time when the satellite is expected to return to Earth. By comparing the continents shown on the plaque with the geography of their own era, future finders could estimate how much time has passed since the satellite was created.
Unlike the Voyager and Pioneer messages designed for possible extraterrestrial discovery, the LAGEOS 1 plaque is intended for whoever may inhabit Earth when the satellite eventually returns, whether that is a future human civilisation or something entirely unknown.
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