DimSkip's Universe: Voyagers

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Thursday, March 10, 2011

Voyagers

This still truly astounds me no end whenever I come across an article about their continued progress¹...

At Solar System's Edge, Old Voyager 1 Probe Performs New 'Acrobatics'

"Even though Voyager 1 has been traveling through the solar system for 33 years, it is still a limber enough gymnast to do acrobatics we haven't asked it to do in 21 years," Suzanne Dodd, Voyager project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said in a statement. "It executed the maneuver without a hitch, and we look forward to doing it a few more times to allow the scientists to gather the data they need."

. . . .

Voyager 2 was launched on Aug. 20, 1977. Voyager 1 was launched on Sept. 5, 1977. Both spacecraft were originally tasked primarily with studying Jupiter, Saturn and their moons.

On March 7, Voyager 1 was 10.8 billion miles (17.4 billion km) away from the sun. Voyager 2 was 8.8 billion miles (14.2 billion km) from the sun, on a different trajectory, NASA officials said.

Related: "NASA’s 10 Greatest Science Missions"

I don't know about the precise rankings, but I guess I'm willing to accept their order as given (in the link further below) since I'm sure Clara Moskowitz (or the space.com editorial staff) is (are) much more familiar than I am with the scientific ramifications of each...

[ But before checking out the link, it's perhaps an interesting little exercise to give some brief thought to what may be on the list and then go see how many you pegged vs. those you missed. I would guess that up to a handful (at least) ought to be quite obvious. But then there are certain "glamourous" and "sexy" projects that have maybe (I'm sure it's arguable) gotten more than their fair share of glory. Bear in mind, of course, that it's a NASA-b(i)ased list, so non-U.S. and officially designated international efforts won't be acknowledged. ]

NASA’s 10 Greatest Science Missions

Regardless of scientific vs. general popular perception I think it's still very hard to quibble with #1, especially if you factor in historical and inspirational contexts beyond the "mere" science.

¹ Of course, I'm assuming everything NASA says about them is true... I mean, it's not like anyone can just pop out and check for himself! Some things you just gotta take on faith.