Again, as a Netflix junkie, and a person/human/wanna-be science nerd that strives to fill my mind with things that might be useful later, say on a game show or something, I am an avid watcher of documentaries. I recently watched this documentary "The Farthest" the story of NASA launching Voyager I and II to take the first ever recorded pictures of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus (heehee) and Neptune.
I know it hurts, but think back to science class as a kid. Forget photosynthesis, the scientific method and bunson burners, what was it that really captivated our attention and still does to this day, OUTER FLIPPIN SPACE! I loved it! Who of us honestly still to this day does not want to go to the moon. Come on Elon Musk! Were all waiting!!
So anyway, I totally forgot about Voyager! The team of scientist at NASA that put this little gem together were amazing. Think about this. Voyager 1 was launched September 5, 1977. That 41 years ago. The internet was not around and the technology they used was basically a high end DSLR camera mounted on a rocket fueled by a plutonium reactor. We basically sent a nuke with a camera to space to take pictures. Err..Im off topic.
So this team sent out two probes into space to take the first ever recorded pictures of the planets. BUT, Voyager 1 had to travel 2 years before it reached Jupiter its first stop and didn't reach Neptune till 1989, 12 years later! Who of us can even fathom the waiting time of working on a project for 12 years. That is incredible.
Here is a snapshot of the journey and time it took to make the trip.
What these scientist invested their entire career in, they did to change the course of history. They alone are the reason that we have the data on the solar system that we have and they alone take the credit for launching the first man made spacecraft into interstellar space! The sad thing is, I bet hardly anyone can think of one of their names. They defined an era that forever changed space and the information we have about it.
To all the members of the Voyager I and II out there still alive. You rock.
Oh and they also sent the first message out to any alien life out there on a charming gold plated disc.
