About Us

Who we are

BEACON (Building Earth Archive – Contexts, Origins, and Narratives) is an independent global initiative designed to share the knowledge, experiences, and aspirations of humankind across space and time. Our goal is to assemble grounded portrayals of life on Earth, curated with scientific and scholarly rigor, to accompany deep space missions. Through multimedia expressions, these records will bridge ecological and social narratives to reflect the complexity of our changing world.

BEACON carries forward the optimism and curiosity that shaped the Voyager Golden Records in 1977, reimagining them for the 21st century with an expanded commitment to planetary representation, cultural reflection, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

We are honored to carry this effort forward with the blessing of the original members of the Golden Records team.

Our Story

The concept for BEACON emerged in 2021, when astrophysicist and atmospheric scientist Dr. Jonathan H. Jiang, together with his former colleagues at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), recognized in the Interstellar Probe mission concept and proposal an opportunity to initiate the development of a new, contemporary successor to the Voyager Golden Records.

Informed by Dr. Jiang’s decades-long career at NASA JPL as a Senior Research Scientist, and following conversations with several members of the original Voyager Golden Records team, the initiative published its first official paper in late 2023. Co-authored by Dr. Jiang, the paper outlined the project’s mission, scientific framework, and cultural vision. Soon after, a core operational team was formed, bringing together an international group of scientists, researchers, creatives, and practitioners across disciplines and continents to begin shaping BEACON.

As of 2026, BEACON is in the process of establishing itself as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Our Mission

Expanding upon the Voyager Golden Records, BEACON seeks to create new messages of goodwill from Earth to the cosmos, conveying the complex and multifaceted realities of our contemporary era through visual and sonic materials that reflect humanity’s relationship with our planet. Instead of capturing a comprehensive history of Earth, this initiative is anchored in humanity’s most aspirational qualities that speak to our present and shared future.

Our mission is organized around three objectives:

Interstellar Messages

We will produce physical artifacts to accompany future deep space missions, sharing knowledge and experiences of humankind with whoever may one day encounter them.

Time Capsules

We will develop copies of the artifacts to be stored on Earth, preserving a record of the cultures, perspectives, and conditions of the current world as a time capsule for posterity.

Global Cooperation

We will foster global cooperation, encouraging reflection on shared human experiences to shape a collective voice. The initiative also seeks to engage the broader public through educational programs and selective open calls.

Our Values

Our values inform how we operate as a team, how we select relevant materials for the artifacts, and how we communicate the vast content contained within.

Plurality is Worth Celebrating

We celebrate the multitude of voices, cultures, and forms of life that make our planet extraordinary in order to honor and encapsulate Earth in its plurality and diversity.

Integrity Fueled by Curiosity

We center curiosity in our ambitious pursuit to represent Earth’s essence within the artifacts, and we aim to do so with integrity and transparency.

Expressivity Fosters Optimism

We welcome expressivity in all its forms—including ambiguity, contradiction, and difference—to deepen our understanding of humanity’s lived experience. We believe that authentic expression nurtures empathy and optimism for a shared future.

Our Values in Action

We are grateful for the precedents set by similar cultural and scientific initiatives since the Voyager Golden Records, inspiring BEACON to operate at a broader scale in the following ways:

Prioritizing a Plurality of Perspectives

We draw from a plurality of perspectives, ranging from empirical knowledge to subjective experience. This involves collaborating with researchers and practitioners across disciplines and cultures to move beyond a North American-centric lens.

Peer-reviewed Materials

We ground our work in research reviewed by international scholarly communities made available through open-access academic journals. Aiming for transparency in our research and process, we will make public a series of papers that document our methodologies. Our introductory paper, “Part I: Objectives and Key Content of the Message” was published on AGU Earth and Space Science in 2023.

Engaging the Broader Public

We involve the public in our endeavor through public and educational programs, including workshops and events with storytelling opportunities. We will also invite material submissions via selective open calls, welcoming enthusiastic individuals—regardless of formal or academic backgrounds—to collaborate.