Eric Burgess, Carl Sagan, Frank Drake & Linda Saizman Sagan

The Profile

Eric Burgess suggested the idea; Carl Sagan (with his wife Linda Salzman Sagan) and Frank Drake designed the Pioneer Plaques mounted on Pioneer 10 and 11 launched in 1972–1973. The plaques were intended to communicate origin and identity through engraved symbolic drawings.

Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 were launched in 1972 and 1973; Pioneer 10 was the first human-made object to leave the Solar System (1983). The plaques include the hydrogen hyperfine transition, a binary legend, engraved figures of a man and a woman, a pulsar map, and a Solar System diagram. Eric Burgess proposed the idea; Carl Sagan served as a consultant for the Pioneer Program; Frank Drake contributed to the design; Linda Salzman Sagan created the plaque engravings.

The reviews discuss the Pioneer Plaques mounted on Pioneer 10 and 11 (launched 1972–1973) as intentional messages from humanity. They describe the plaques' engraved elements (hydrogen hyperfine, binary legend, man and woman, pulsar map, solar system diagram). The pieces place the plaques in a broader philosophical reflection on human self-image and humility.