Voyager 1 - still going strong, amazing
Discussion
So Voyager 1, launched in 1977 and expected to last just five years is still going strong. It's now reached the edge of "deep space" and is still in contact with earth (8 Billion miles away).
Is it just me, or do others think that this an astounding achievement - especially as it has 1970's technology.
I don't know why the media don't make more noise about human achievement - it's always human failure that dominates the news.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4576623.stm
Is it just me, or do others think that this an astounding achievement - especially as it has 1970's technology.
I don't know why the media don't make more noise about human achievement - it's always human failure that dominates the news.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4576623.stm
for that achievement.
wizzpig said:
It'll all end in tears sending this stuff out, I tell thee...
Star Trek re-runs. Coooooool!!
V Ger will one day return to its carbon unit creators in order to join with them. Of that you can be sure!
Following which V Ger will discover that humpback whales are extinct and will destroy the earth.
Aye, they don't make them like they used to. Now they crash into Venus, or fall down the only chimney on the whole of Mars, or the telescope's been put in backwards...
Such a fuss about that silly Beagle thing, the size of a football, that went a bit flat. The Americans got a lander the size of a Cadillac safely onto other planets 30 years ago!!
Such a fuss about that silly Beagle thing, the size of a football, that went a bit flat. The Americans got a lander the size of a Cadillac safely onto other planets 30 years ago!!
There are more successful probes in action NOW than at any time in history. The US has two rovers running on the surface of Mars plus a Mars orbiter. The USA also has a successful Saturn orbiter in action and Europe has a Mars orbiter plus landed a successful probe onto the surface of Titan. The US has just launched a probe to Mercury.
It's getting quite busy out there.
It's getting quite busy out there.
It's amazing stuff, just trying to imagine that kind of distance is mind-boggling.
When they colonise Mars I'm going to drive over and nick those little rovers, they would be great at carrying beers from the fridge
Eric Mc said:
There are more successful probes in action NOW than at any time in history. The US has two rovers running on the surface of Mars plus a Mars orbiter. The USA also has a successful Saturn orbiter in action and Europe has a Mars orbiter plus landed a successful probe onto the surface of Titan. The US has just launched a probe to Mercury.
It's getting quite busy out there.
When they colonise Mars I'm going to drive over and nick those little rovers, they would be great at carrying beers from the fridge
Eric Mc said:
There are more successful probes in action NOW than at any time in history. The US has two rovers running on the surface of Mars
erm, isnt one in a ditch at the moment?
i think they found an interesting hole and made the decision that they wanted to investigate even if it meant it got stuck. its got stuck.
personally i think the rovers are a great idea. i mean - whats the point of sending something that you cant drive around the surface?* if you did that your assuming that the whole planet has the same make up - which is a huge generalisation.
blah blah off....
* even if they didn't collect anything - at least you could race your buggies remotely from Earth. the first interplantory race. lets face it - probably more overtaking than F1.
danhay said:
I wonder what sort of MPG it's averaged over the whole trip?
Good question - many MPG I would suggest.
Conversely, my Griff achieves a stunning 15mpg. Should it ever decide to make the same trip it will need to a fuel tank with a capacity of 533,333,333 gallons! At £4 per gallon it will cost me £2,133,333,332.
The car's got a top speed of 165mph so it will take about 48,484,848 hours, which is 2,020,202 days, which is 5535 years. So I could be there by the year 7539. Mind you, the five hundred million pound gallon fuel tank might reduce my top speed. Don't think I'll bother going!
tinman0 said:
There are more successful probes in action NOW than at any time in history. The US has two rovers running on the surface of Mars
erm, isnt one in a ditch at the moment?
i think they found an interesting hole and made the decision that they wanted to investigate even if it meant it got stuck. its got stuck.
personally i think the rovers are a great idea. i mean - whats the point of sending something that you cant drive around the surface?* if you did that your assuming that the whole planet has the same make up - which is a huge generalisation.
blah blah off....
* even if they didn't collect anything - at least you could race your buggies remotely from Earth. the first interplantory race. lets face it - probably more overtaking than F1.
I wonder? The hole in which the rover got stuck could be called "Longbridge Crater".
srebbe64 said:
Balmoral Green said:
It'll all end in tears sending this stuff out, I tell thee...
Star Trek re-runs. Coooooool!!
V Ger will one day return to its carbon unit creators in order to join with them. Of that you can be sure!
Following which V Ger will discover that humpback whales are extinct and will destroy the earth.
Kirk unit...Decker unit....where will it end?
I love ST: The Motion Picture - seriously underrated and very intelligent in an epic kind of way. The new director's cut is even better...
Trivia fact: When it was made in 1979 it was the most expnesive movie ever made at $49 million. It kept the title for a couple of years until Superman II.
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