A Message to Voyager

A Message  to Voyager Welcome to Interstellar Space

A Message to Voyager including someone I have the privilege to know... Dr. Janet Sternberg, a voice on The Golden Record

The twin Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft are exploring where nothing from Earth has gone before. Continuing on their more-than-35-year journey since their 1977 launches, they each are much farther away from Earth and the sun than Pluto. In August 2012, Voyager 1 made the historic entry into interstellar space, the region between stars, filled with material ejected by the death of nearby stars millions of years ago. Scientists hope to learn more about this region when Voyager 2, in the “heliosheath" -- the outermost layer of the heliosphere where the solar wind is slowed by the pressure of interstellar medium -- also reaches interstellar space. Both spacecraft are still sending scientific information about their surroundings through the Deep Space Network, or DSN. The primary mission was the exploration of Jupiter and Saturn. After making a string of discoveries there -- such as active volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io and intricacies of Saturn's rings -- the mission was extended. Voyager 2 went on to explore Uranus and Neptune, and is still the only spacecraft to have visited those outer planets. The adventurers' current mission, the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM), will explore the outermost edge of the Sun's domain. And beyond. ( All text from NASA JPL)

On September 5, 1977 Voyager 1 launched from Cape Canaveral aboard a Titan-Centaur rocket. Voyager and it's components

Interstellar Mission The mission objective of the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM) is to extend the NASA exploration of the solar system beyond the neighborhood of the outer planets to the outer limits of the Sun's sphere of influence, and possibly beyond. This extended mission is continuing to characterize the outer solar system environment and search for the heliopause boundary, the outer limits of the Sun's magnetic field and outward flow of the solar wind. Penetration of the heliopause boundary between the solar wind and the interstellar medium will allow measurements to be made of the interstellar fields, particles and waves unaffected by the solar wind.

Voyager 1 is escaping the solar system at a speed of about 3.6 AU per year, 35 degrees out of the ecliptic plane to the north, in the general direction of the Solar Apex (the direction of the Sun's motion relative to nearby stars). Voyager 2 is also escaping the solar system at a speed of about 3.3 AU per year, 48 degrees out of the ecliptic plane to the south. Passage through the termination shock ended the termination shock phase and began the heliosheath exploration phase. Voyager 1 crossed the termination shock at 94 AU in December 2004 and Voyager 2 crossed at 84 AU in August 2007. Since passage through the termination shock, the spacecraft has been operating in the heliosheath environment which is still dominated by the Sun's magnetic field and particles contained in the solar wind. The heliosheath exploration phase ends with passage through the heliopause which is the outer extent of the Sun's magnetic field and solar wind. The thickness of the heliosheath is uncertain and could be tens of AU thick taking several years to traverse. Passage through the heliopause begins the interstellar exploration phase with the spacecraft operating in an interstellar wind dominated environment. This interstellar exploration is the ultimate goal of the Voyager Interstellar Mission.

Voyager Reaches Interstellar Space The Sounds of Space

The Voyager Mission With a Message from Earth The Golden Record

Both Voyagers are headed towards the outer boundary of the solar system in search of the heliopause, the region where the Sun's influence wanes and the beginning of interstellar space can be sensed. The heliopause has never been reached by any spacecraft; the Voyagers may be the first to pass through this region, which is thought to exist somewhere from 8 to 14 billion miles from the Sun. This is where the million-mile-per-hour solar winds slows to about 250,000 miles per hour—the first indication that the wind is nearing the heliopause. The Voyagers should cross the heliopause 10 to 20 years after reaching the termination shock. The Voyagers have enough electrical power and thruster fuel to operate at least until 2020. By that time, Voyager 1 will be 12.4 billion miles (19.9 billion KM) from the Sun and Voyager 2 will be 10.5 billion miles (16.9 billion KM) away. Eventually, the Voyagers will pass other stars. In about 40,000 years, Voyager 1 will drift within 1.6 light-years (9.3 trillion miles) of AC+79 3888, a star in the constellation of Camelopardalis which is heading toward the constellation Ophiuchus.  In about 40,000 years, Voyager 2 will pass 1.7 light-years (9.7 trillion miles) from the star Ross 248 and in about 296,000 years, it will pass 4.3 light-years (25 trillion miles) from Sirius, the brightest star in the sky . The Voyagers are destined—perhaps eternally—to wander the Milky Way.

The Police - Message in a bottle

You may also be interested in: / Oh Look...We're Here! / Desiderata / The Red Letter /
Enjoy

© 2014 MU-Peter Shimon

The Red Letter

or Messages From Beyond

Messages from Carl Edward Sagan 1934-1996 Postcards from Curiosity on the planet Mars & Voyager 1 from interstellar space

Like fledglings leaving the nest to soar into a wide open sky, we are beginning to reach into "the beyond"

Carl Sagan made sure the Voyager spacecraft both included "Messages From Earth",
"The Golden Record".
On it is a message from us, for any intelligent life Voyager should encounter in its far travels.

To hear the greeting in Portuguese Click Here.The voice is that of Dr. Janet Sternberg.
The message translated to English is "Peace and happiness to all". 

With my thanks to Dr. Sternberg for agreeing to have her clip included on this blog.
 (Janet, your voice on the Voyagers is now beginning a new leg of its' journey...Bon Voyage!)

Still working 35 years later the Voyagers are signalling that they are finally beginning to leave the heliosphere
 and will soon be sailing into interstellar space. Amazingly this is happening at the same time that Curiosity is searching for evidence of life on Mars. Before he passed away, Carl Sagan also recorded a message for Mars. Here it is:

"My parents were not scientists. They knew almost nothing about science. But in introducing me simultaneously to skepticism and to wonder, they taught me the two uneasily cohabiting modes  of thought that are central to the scientific method." Carl Sagan NASA/JPL's Voyager

Dr. Carl Edward Sagan A Message To Mars "Whatever the reason you're on Mars, I'm glad you're there, and I wish I was with you." Carl Sagan NASA, & many others wish he were here today. Sagan & Viking 1  The first spacecraft to successfully land on Mars and perform its mission

 Some early Mars Science Lab, Curiosity rover postcards from Gale Crater, Mars:

All civilizations become either spacefaring or extinct. Carl Sagan Image of Voyagers 1 & 2 the edge of the heliosphere

Curiosity's parachute descent The heat shield falling away Landing on the surface Curiosity's landing site A closer look at Curiosity

"The total number of stars in the Universe is larger than all the grains of sand on all the beaches of the planet Earth." “We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture  of ignorance and power  is going to blow up in our faces.” Carl Sagan

From the surface of Mars   Curiosity's first view of a curious landscape

The Blue Letter Message to the People of Earth

To The Spirit of Carl Sagan... "Billions & Billions" of thanks!

Enjoy.

© 2012 MU-Peter Shimon

You might also like to see: / Oh Look...  We're Here! / Fly Me to the Moon... / Desiderata /

Desiderata

or Desired Things in the dog days of summer...

Desiderata (Latin: "desired things") Desired Things... Like A Vacation? Time to Reflect?

Red sand between my toes... Summer vacation in outer space. A Martian Haiku by Robin Williams Happy Landing NASA JPL MSL Curiosity!

Desiderata Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.  Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline,be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you,  no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be,  and whatever your labours and  aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.  With all its shams, drudgery, & broken dreams it is still a beautiful world.  Be cheerful. Strive to be happy. Max Ehrmann 1927

Enjoy

© 2012 MU-Peter Shimon

Fly Me To the Moon... And Beyond

Today’s post is really is just a postscript to the last one on Feb. 20th.
I didn’t intend for the blog to be a list of tributes. But just this once, I promise, I can’t let this one go by.

FLY ME TO THE MOON AND BEYOND... (THE CALL OF DUTY) In Recognition Of The People Past and Present At NASA And The JPL I wrote this post just after the previous one and really wanted to share it …hmm, should I wait until July? Well, a comment from a new friend about a lack of appreciation for the Apollo program, and an announcement today from NASA about cut backs to Mars missions has helped me decide. Besides, it seems to be in keeping with an organic theme in this blog. It's a human story of dreams, awakenings and achievements. And it's "pointing at the moon", LOL.

In July of 1969, the year the first human stepped onto the moon, I was still a little kid.
But lord, what a space freak, Star Trek geek, junior science nerd...

(Let’s just say I was a precocious child.)

The original Star Trek was new on tv, priming our imagination toward space... and a united Earth.
It was only 2 years before Apollo 11, in 1967, that another historic first had just been made by the Beatles.
It's the clip below, the first song broadcast simultaneously around the world by satellite.

(Click here: All You Need Is Love)

a

Fly Me To The Moon Up to that summer I had followed the previous Apollo missions thanks to my interest in science, space and of course television. This particular mission, Apollo 11…I was young... but knew all about it. And this was BEFORE the Internet was a public utility. New satellites had made TV global and that had raised awareness. I was not alone in following this space mission, the whole world did. It was a first for humankind. A globally historic event. We were really going to the moon.

From the July 16th launch on, everyday, I sat on the edge of my seat mesmerized and along with the entire world, watched the flight on TV. (Watch Apollo 11 Launch)   Nearing the July 20th landing date, it was vacation time at home and my parents told me they were bringing me with them to visit one of my uncles. (Frankly, I can’t recall if was in Delaware or New Jersey, what do you want, I was a kid). Now I love my uncle, don’t get me wrong, but the first thing that came to my mind naturally was... “He’d better have a good TV.”

Of course, he did. :)

After just days of flight (for me a day felt like years in the back seat of my parent's car), the now docked command module CM and lunar module LM were finally in lunar orbit. Preparing to go to the surface. While the CM continued orbiting. The CM would re-dock with the LM after the mission to the surface and bring everyone (and some moon rocks) back home to Earth. On July 20th 1969, I watched in awe along with my family and the rest of the world, the TV broadcast of the LM (the Eagle) landing on the moon.  “Houston, The Eagle Has Landed” (Watch Apollo 11 LM Landing)  That night, I was enthralled as Neil Armstrong took the first human step on the moon and heard him say these words… “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”.

I was a kid but stayed awake... not wanting to miss a thing... for as long... as I could... konk.

That night, at my uncle's place, I slept on the floor on a mattress in the same room as my parents. According to my mother, she woke up in the middle of the night and saw me walking around but not answer her. Walking in my sleep. It's the only time I’ve been known to do that… and, not just any somnambulism, she said there was something different in the way I was moving. She realized what I was doing. Just like the astronauts, walking as if somewhat weightless but wearing a bulky spacesuit and taking bouncy slow motion steps. That's right... I was MOON-WALKING! (Watch Actual Moon Walk) Ok, so it seems humans taking a big step off the Earth and a small step on the moon was a big thing for me. What do I know, I was a just kid… who had witnessed a moment of pure bliss in the history of mankind.

AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY What I don’t recall (again, I plead “I was a kid”) is at what point I wrote a letter to NASA. And at what point... holy cow, I got a reply! I never expected an answer... so when an envelope marked NASA arrived with my name on it. JOY! I will always remember and never forget the name of the gentleman from NASA who wrote me back… Howard Gibbons. God Bless him. Along with Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin Jr and Michael Collins, he is also a hero in my eyes. NASA must have been getting thousands of letters from little kids all over the world. I don’t know if it was their PR policy to write everyone back like Santa Claus or he just was being kind to one enthusiastic kid. But WOW!

I continued corresponding with him for years. Over the course of the all the lunar missions, Apollo 11 up to Apollo 17. I received NASA mission reports and glossy color photos of the astronauts. I did also buy other NASA photos from a catalogue he sent me at some point. I saved my coins and I got photos of the earth from space, the moon, and the astronauts on the moon. But frankly, I was just thrilled he and NASA wrote me back! Seriously… Hats off to NASA, the JPL and Mr. Gibbons. Total funding for ALL the Apollo missions generating scientific, technological, and economic benefits: $19,408,134,000 Funding for banks and an economy that shouldn’t have been broken in the first place:  $Trillions and counting. Although a few years old, this is a link to a special site for the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11. You can relive it virtually as they recreate the entire mission, day by day! Flying mankind to another place in space for the first time and then back home safely. (We Choose The Moon) And Beyond You might also like: Enough Said / Desiderata / The Red Letter /  Enjoy!

© 2012 Peter Shimon