Happy 35th anniversary Voyager 2, may you experience wonders in interstellar space.

So folks, its now 35 years since Voyager 2 was launched, and is now the furthest any man made object has gone after Voyager 1 (which was launched 16 days later, but took a more direct route out of our solar system).

What's so incredible is that in the intervening 35 years, the Voyager spacecraft have journeyed billions -- literally billions -- of miles (Voyager 1 is now 11 billion miles away from the sun and Voyager 2 trails about two billion miles behind), borne the extreme cold of outer space (mission managers recently turned off a heater on Voyager 1 in order to conserve energy, bringing its temperature below minus 110 degrees Farenheit), and still, miraculously (in a strictly scientific sense, of course), the little Voyagers continue to send data back to Earth every single day, updating us on the very outer edge of the heliosphere known as the heliosheath.

Also as of yesterday, then it is however, the longest continually running space craft.

Here is a video NASA released for the occasion



Soon the Voyagers will leave the Heliosphere (the reach of our solar winds) and be the first man made object to do so, and will give us the first real taste, of what Inter Stellar space is like.

It would be nice, fulfilling even, if at the edge of the heliosphere there were, well, an actual edge, a boundary between our bubble and the cosmos. But, it's probably not going to be so cut and dried. "The boundary," Stone postulates, "will not be an instantaneous thing. [Voyager] won't suddenly be outside." Rather, the exit will be turbulent, "a mix of inside and outside," and the work of Stone and the other Voyager scientists is trying to square the different data -- the particles and the magnetic field -- to try to understand what that transition from inside to outside looks like. That turbulent region may take several months to get through.

Just thought id share, as i could not see it up anywhere on ATS.

Such interesting times we live in, Curiosity on Mars, Voyagers will soon leave Heliosphere, now if we could only build a damned space lift, so we don't have to wait to long between missions .

Namaste.

Source

Back in the old days they used to build stuff to last. Relatively simple with long lasting parts. Now they give a life expectancy of a few years on their space junk and are happy when it exceeds their expectations by a year.

Very exciting indeed.

Its hard to comprehend the vastness and emptiness of interstellar space.

I wonder if in the time it takes Voyager to reach a distant galaxy if our current level of technology will advance enough to catch back up to it

Or Voyager returns to planet earth in search of the creator like in Star Trek

I wonder which will happen first

Great thread, thanks for posting.

I often forget that the Voyager crafts are out there clocking up the miles. Seems odd that such an amazing mission is now consigned to what looks like a back room at NASA.

i'll just be happy when 'V-GER' returns will all it's vast knowledge it has accumulated!
i hope we have someone as smart as spock to communicate with it!
ah,screw it! i just wanna meet that bald chick!!!

reply to post by MDDoxs

It's not hard for me to comprehend the vastness and emptiness of interstellar space. I just have to look at the sky on a clear night with awe to understand. We never needed proof to understand the vastness of space, the evidence is so evident.

reply to post by MDDoxs


That is true, i never did think about that .

Without a doubt, we will catch up to it at some point, that would be a grand day,the Return of Voyager 1 & 2 to earth, that's an event i wouldn't mind being alive to experience .

Probably quite a few decades in the future, but it would be a hell of a day.

Namaste.

Nice sentiment but im afraid Voyager 1 or 2 cant experience anything unless AI in the 70s was really kept secret.

reply to post by WiseThinker


Even if it turned around today, it would probably take thirty years to return. How old are you? In thirty years I will be more worried about my bowel movement than seeing Voyagers.

reply to post by rickymouse


Im not saying we should turn it around, however once (if we do) get Faster than Light travel, then it should be a breeze picking it up again.

Also, do not forget, that we are on the verge of discovering ways to exponentially increase lifespan, so im not to worried about age at this moment.

And i can already picture myself, in a museum looking at the voyagers, trying to grasp my head around they have traveled.

Namaste.

Originally posted by WiseThinker
reply to post by rickymouse

 

Im not saying we should turn it around, however once (if we do) get Faster than Light travel, then it should be a breeze picking it up again.

Also, do not forget, that we are on the verge of discovering ways to exponentially increase lifespan, so im not to worried about age at this moment.

And i can already picture myself, in a museum looking at the voyagers, trying to grasp my head around they have traveled.

Namaste.

If we attain faster than light speed travel then I think we'd have more interesting places to go rather than pick up Voyager. A nice thought nonetheless!

reply to post by WiseThinker


Have you any idea the velocity these probes have accumulated? You cant just turn them around and reverse trajectory. Where would the thrust and fuel come from?

It's really amazing we have archieved this, we should focus more on Space exploration instead waging wars.
I hope Voyager will last for many more years.

reply to post by andy06shake


We are currently on the verge of making a Tractor Beam , this could be used to slow down the Voyagers once they have been caught up to.

Namaste

reply to post by WiseThinker


Think you have more chance of FTL happening before tractor beams rear their ugly head. How would they even find the probes in the vastness of our outer solar system taking into account the time lag, what i mean is even if the probes are still broadcasting there location there not where they say they are when there signal returns to Earth. Another thing, do you really think Voygers design would not break up if some form of Tractor Beam were exerted on its superstructure?

reply to post by andy06shake


I never said it would be easy, they didn't go to the Moon or Mars because it was easy.

And agreed, it is highly unlikely, however it would still be something i would not mind seeing.


And to be honest, than i just thought, that if we have the technology to go further than Voyager (Catch up with and over take that is), then there would be no reason to still have the Voyagers floating out in space as ancient relics, then they may as well be hauled back, and displayed as a proud piece of human history.

But hey, who knows, maybe some aliens will pick it up in a few years, and bring it with them back to us (It has alot of information on it, i doubt an alien species finding it, would just let it float on, just as if we found an alien pod or satellite, we would be all over it, scanning it from top to bottom for the next couple of years)

Namaste.

reply to post by WiseThinker


Yes it would be something indeed! My moneys on the Aliens returning it with an inclusive fine for fly tipping! LoL

Namaste to you also.

Lets not forget Pioneer 6. It was launched 6 years earlier.
The last communication attempt was in 2000. Working fine.
There is no reason to believe it isn't functioning now. I wish I had a dish big enough to ping it now.