An Epic Journey

Voyager I & II are celebrating 40 years of exploration this August and September. Image from NASA.

Amazing planetary encounters in Voyagers’ journey includes discovering the first active volcanoes beyond Earth, on Jupiter’s moon Io and hints of a subsurface ocean on Jupiter’s moon Europa.

Voyager I (top) launched on September 5, 1977, has traveled beyond our solar bubble into interstellar space almost 13 billion miles from Earth. Voyager II (bottom) launched on August 20, 1977, is still exploring the outer layer of the solar bubble, is almost 11 billion miles from Earth. Image NASA/JPL-Caltech

Now that Voyager I has left the solar system, its next big spaceflight milestone comes with a flyby of a star called AC +79 3888, which lies 17.6 light-years from Earth, in 40,000 years from now.  Although the spacecrafts’ science instruments will be turned off by 2030, they’ll continue their journeys at their speed of more than 30,000 mph, completing an orbit within our Milky Way galaxy every 225 million years. 

Each spacecraft carries a Golden Record of Earth sounds, pictures and messages. Since the spacecraft journey could last for millions of years, these time capsules could one day tell the story of human civilization on planet Earth. 

και αν μας βρητε ακομα ζωντανους, εδω στη Ιθακη             

θα σας καλοσωρισουμε, με δωρο αντι δωρου                

και θα γλεντησουμε μαζυ, διοτι ετσι ειναι το εθιμο μας, 

με αυτους που ειναι ποντοποροι

but if you found him alive, here in Ithaca

we would have replied in kind, gift for gift,

and entertained you warmly..

that’s the old custom, when one has led the way

                                                                               from Homer’s Odyssey 24.315-18