When humans eventually get to Mars, there will be a lot that they need to do. They will need to make sure that whatever living structures they need are working, confirm they have energy, do scientific experiments, and much more.

If they have any downtime, however, they will undoubtedly want to watch a video that has been waiting for them since May 25, 2008.

That’s right, a silica-glass mini-DVD was sent to Mars along with NASA’s Phoenix lander. The DVD was recorded by the legendary Carl Sagan.

Sagan was a very popular astronomer and science communicator at the time, and he was also the co-founder of The Planetary Society. He was a big advocate of sending humans to Mars and strongly believed that it would happen at some point in the future.

In 1996, he recorded a message that he wanted to be seen by future astronauts who made it to the Red Planet. You can see the message here:

He said:

“I’m Carl Sagan. This is a place where I often work in Ithaca, New York, near Cornell University. Maybe you can hear, in the background, a 200-foot [60-meter] waterfall, right nearby, which is probably – I would guess – a rarity on Mars, even in times of high technology.”

“Science and science fiction have done a kind of dance over the last century, particularly with respect to Mars. The scientists make a finding, it inspires science fiction writers to write about it, and a host of young people read the science fiction and are excited and inspired to become scientists to find out more about Mars, which they do, which then feeds again into another generation of science fiction and science. And that sequence has played a major role in our present ability to get to Mars. It certainly was an important factor in the life of Robert Goddard, the American rocketry pioneer who, I think more than anyone else, paved the way for our actual ability to go to Mars. And it certainly played a role in my scientific development.”

“Or, maybe we’re on Mars because we recognize that if there are human communities on many worlds, the chances of us being rendered extinct by some catastrophe on one world is much less. Or maybe we’re on Mars because of the magnificent science that can be done there, the gates of the wonder world are opening in our time. Or maybe we’re on Mars because we have to be, because there’s a deep nomadic impulse built into us by the evolutionary process. We come after all, from hunter-gatherers, and for 99.9 percent of our tenure on Earth, we’ve been wanderers. And the next place to wander to is Mars. But whatever the reason you’re on Mars is, I’m glad you’re there. And I wish I was with you.”

He was clearly very excited about the possibility of going to Mars, so as astronomers today are getting closer to making it a reality, it is exciting to know that they have something so special waiting for them.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about the mysterious “pyramids” discovered in Antarctica. What are they?