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The Voyager spacecrafts were launched by the United States in 1977 to explore our Solar System’s gas giants – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune – and then interstellar space, where they’re still gathering valuable information. In addition to their mission of exploration, they’re also on a mission of communication: each craft is equipped with a ‘golden record’ featuring sounds and images of life on Earth, and information about our place in the cosmos, intended as a message to any extraterrestrial beings that might find them. Combining animation, archival photographs, videos, images, sounds and a sweeping, operatic score, Santiago Menghini’s short film Voyagers is a stunning tribute to one of humanity’s most ambitious – and idealistic – projects.
Director: Santiago Menghini
Website: Nemesis Films
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Architecture
A 3D rendering of the Colosseum captures its architectural genius and symbolic power
17 minutes
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Making
On the Norwegian coast, a tree is transformed into a boat the old-fashioned way
6 minutes
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History of technology
Curious singles and tech sceptics – what ‘computer dating’ looked like in 1966
6 minutes
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Design and fashion
A ceramicist puts her own bawdy spin on the folk language of pottery
14 minutes
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Information and communication
‘Astonished and somewhat terrified’ – Victorians’ reactions to the phonograph
36 minutes
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Engineering
From simple motors to levitating trains – how design shapes innovation
24 minutes
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History of technology
Replicating Shakespearean-era printing brings its own dramas and comedy
19 minutes
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Astronomy
The remarkable innovations inspired by our need to know the night sky
5 minutes
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Space exploration
The rarely told story of the fruit flies, primates and canines that preceded us in space
12 minutes