Today, the Voyager II probe was launched in 1977 and the Viking 1 in 1975. I remember Captain Kangaroo being interrupted a year later to show the first images of the Martian surface from Viking 1. However, the Voyager series of probes really impressed me with all those awesome pictures of Jupiter and its moons when they were showcased in National Geographic in 1980.
NPR recently interviewed Terry Ferris, the man who selected the content of the record attached to the probes. I loved the Steve Martin joke the interviewer mentioned about the musical choices.
Professor Ferris says there are instructions included plus the means to play the record. I only hope it’s not found by an alien equivalent of the RIAA, then they’ll just want to find Earth to sue us for some “piracy” claim because we didn’t file a copyright with their greedy corporations.