Monument of 1977 NASA Voyager spacecraft that launched Georgian folk song into space unveiled near Tbilisi
Created by Georgian painter Murtaz Murvanidze, the monument was unveiled in presence of dignitaries from the Georgian Parliament and the US Ambassador to the country. Photo: Archil Talakvadze's Facebook page
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The green surroundings of the medical and recreational resort town of Bioli near Georgia’s capital Tbilisi on Wednesday hosted the ceremony for the unveiling of a monument of a Voyager spacecraft of the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration, in an event paying homage to the 1977 launch of a recording of a Georgian folk song onboard the craft.
Created by Georgian painter Murtaz Murvanidze, the monument was unveiled in presence of dignitaries from the Georgian Parliament and the US Ambassador to the country.
In a Facebook post, Deputy Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze noted the “pride” in the historical event that involved the launch of a recording of Chakrulo, a polyphonic song performed by two late Georgian vocalists Ilia Zakaidze and Rostom Saginashvili, the latter passing away in February.
#NASA #Voyager monument opening in Tbilisi ???????? accompanied by the song #Chakrulo from the Voyager Golden Records. pic.twitter.com/07oTHBMkxp
— Archil Talakvadze (@A_Talakvadze) May 11, 2022
The recording was the only musical piece selected from Soviet republics for the NASA project, and joined images and natural sounds from planet Earth, in an effort to deliver into space a collection that represented the diversity of life and culture on the planet.
The event's 40th anniversary was marked in 2017 with an interactive talk in Tbilisi involving NASA Mars Engineering Manager Rob Manning, as well as a meeting between former Voyager program manager John Casani and Saginashvili.
Singer Rostom Saginashvili, whose performance of a popular Georgian folk song in a duo with Ilia Zakaidze was launched into space by NASA in 1977, has passed away, with institutions and individuals of the folk performance scene sending in tributes on Sunday.
The Georgian capital of Tbilisi is marking an anniversary of a historic event that brought together interstellar exploration and Georgian national folk singing within NASA’s Voyager Golden Records project 40 years ago.
40 years have passed since sending the Georgian song Chakrulo into space through the US Voyager 1 on September 5.
The US Embassy to Georgia dedicated a special post to the remarkable anniversary.