2269 – as seen in

“2269 is a celebration of life and living, creativity and community, innovation and exploration"

Voyager

Voyager

If the 2269 Party sounds far-fetched or overly optimistic sometimes, we like to think about Voyager, two probes sent out by NASA back in the ‘70s.

Voyager 1 is now 14 billion miles from Earth and counting, speeding away from us at 38,026 mph. It is the most distant human-made object. Onboard is the Golden Record, a collection of messages, images and tunes for whoever finds the probe in the future.

It is, perhaps, the ultimate time-capsule. The next destination is 28,700 light years away and Voyager 1 won’t get close for 516,000 years.

Will it be found by aliens on the way? Will there be any of us left for them to reply to? It may even be for future post-humans to find as they accelerate past it.

In comparison, 2269, the ambition to host a party in 250 years seems positively prosaic!

Read more: How the Voyager Golden Record Was Made