NASA Pulling the Plug on V'ger(s)

Discussion in 'Techforge' started by MikeH92467, Jun 22, 2022.

  1. MikeH92467

    MikeH92467 RadioNinja

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2004
    Messages:
    13,270
    Location:
    Boise, Idaho
    Ratings:
    +23,113
    I'm sure the warranties have long since expired.

    The probes launched 45 years ago have pushed the boundaries of space exploration going beyond their initial mission.

    Nasa had previously said that the Voyagers ‘were destined—perhaps eternally—to wander the Milky Way’. But the radioactive plutonium-powered probes are losing energy by about 4 watts a year.

    ... initial projections had expected the Voyager mission to last just four years.

    ‘We’ve done 10 times the warranty on the darn things,’ Ralph McNutt, a physicist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, told Scientific American.

    After 2030, Voyager will likely lose contact with Earth but both probes carry a 12-inch, gold-plated record that carries information from Earth. This includes 115 images, greetings in 55 different languages, sounds of the wind, rain, the human heartbeat and 90 minutes of music.

    In another 20,000 years, the probes will pass the nearest star, Proxima Centauri, with this time capsule of human life. :salute:
    • Agree Agree x 3
    • Love Love x 2
  2. Tuckerfan

    Tuckerfan BMF

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2007
    Messages:
    76,627
    Location:
    Can't tell you, 'cause I'm undercover!
    Ratings:
    +154,181
    • Agree Agree x 3
  3. Tuckerfan

    Tuckerfan BMF

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2007
    Messages:
    76,627
    Location:
    Can't tell you, 'cause I'm undercover!
    Ratings:
    +154,181
    • Happy Happy x 6
  4. Tuckerfan

    Tuckerfan BMF

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2007
    Messages:
    76,627
    Location:
    Can't tell you, 'cause I'm undercover!
    Ratings:
    +154,181
  5. Tuckerfan

    Tuckerfan BMF

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2007
    Messages:
    76,627
    Location:
    Can't tell you, 'cause I'm undercover!
    Ratings:
    +154,181
  6. We Are Borg

    We Are Borg Republican Democrat

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2004
    Messages:
    21,443
    Location:
    Canada
    Ratings:
    +36,232
    • Funny Funny x 2
    • popcorn popcorn x 2
  7. Tuckerfan

    Tuckerfan BMF

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2007
    Messages:
    76,627
    Location:
    Can't tell you, 'cause I'm undercover!
    Ratings:
    +154,181
  8. Tuckerfan

    Tuckerfan BMF

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2007
    Messages:
    76,627
    Location:
    Can't tell you, 'cause I'm undercover!
    Ratings:
    +154,181
    • Thank You! Thank You! x 1
    • Love Love x 1
  9. Tuckerfan

    Tuckerfan BMF

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2007
    Messages:
    76,627
    Location:
    Can't tell you, 'cause I'm undercover!
    Ratings:
    +154,181
    • Winner Winner x 1
    • Happy Happy x 1
  10. Tuckerfan

    Tuckerfan BMF

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2007
    Messages:
    76,627
    Location:
    Can't tell you, 'cause I'm undercover!
    Ratings:
    +154,181