When the Golden Record Went to Space

‘A present from a small distant world.’ How an American president addressed eternity.

Cover of the “Golden Record” that NASA sent aboard its Voyager spacecraft on their mission to deep space. The Voyagers left the Earth 46 years ago and are still traveling, with messages for any civilization they might encounter, billions of miles away. (NASA image.)

Two weeks ago, when the Carter family revealed that Jimmy Carter was suspending medical t…