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Kickstarter commemorates Voyager with projects celebrating humanity

‘Projects of Earth’ campaigns are launching at the same time the Voyager probes did.

Forty years ago, the two Voyager probes were launched and to honor the anniversary, Kickstarter has created Projects of Earth -- a group of campaigns inspired by the Voyager's Golden Record that offer "unique perspectives on humanity, culture and life on Earth." All of the projects will be launched between August 20th and September 5th -- the two dates of each of the Voyager probe launches -- and like the Golden Record, are meant to capture a portrait of our world as it exists today.

One of the projects included in the collection is a reflective sculpture created by artist Trevor Paglen in collaboration with the Nevada Museum of Art. The plan is to launch it into orbit around Earth where it will be visible in the night sky and exist as the only purely artistic satellite. Another project features a sequel to the Golden Record led by Jon Lomberg, the design director of the original. He wants to persuade NASA to upload it onto the New Horizons spacecraft. The PLANETS Foundation has a campaign for a new kind of telescope made with 16 five-meter mirrors in a ring that will be used to search for life on exoplanets. Other projects include documentaries, murals, digital paintings, a rover, a really cool lamp and eclipse-focused photography.

Some projects are up now and others will roll out over the next two weeks. You can find them all here.

Images: [Kickstarter/Trevor Paglen/Nevada Museum of Art] [Kickstarter/Bobby Genalo]