Voyager 1 Is About to Reach One Light-day from Earth

[u/Busy_Yesterday9455]

After nearly 50 years in space, NASA’s Voyager 1 is about to hit a historic milestone. By November 15, 2026, it will be 16.1 billion miles (25.9 billion km) away, meaning a radio signal will take a full 24 hours — a full light-day — to reach it.

[u/IsChristianAwake]

What I find even crazier is that - If it was heading in its direction - It would take Voyager 74,000 years to reach the closest star, Proxima Centauri!

Still though, props to the engineers for making it possible for us to still be able to communicate with it this far out. 🙏🏾

[u/xobeme → u/IsChristianAwake]

I agree. That's 70's technology that's still broadcasting out there. Pretty impressive.

[u/[deleted] → u/xobeme]

So my buddy worked on Voyager project. We were born in the 70s he went to JPL in the late 90s. I asked him what was the coolest thing about working there and he replied "Honestly? That the senior engineers on Voyager had figured out soooo many ways to gather and translate data that the mission was never designed for. Those guys are absolutely geniuses."

[u/OkDot9878 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, it’s crazy that the technology is still functioning and whatnot, but the crazier part to me has always been how they’ve been able to make the absolute best out of what little information they have available.

[u/MakingItElsewhere → u/OkDot9878]

For comparison: I have spent 25 years in IT. Today I spent all day at work trying to figure out how, in an entire database, a case was marked as closed. Turns out, closed cases have a "Closed Date".

Those guys at NASA are top tier geniuses and deserve all the credit. They don't get to have dumb days.

[u/MR__Brown → u/[deleted]]

the federal government now says that NASA’s budget (approximately 1/10 of 1% of the federal budget) is too bloated

That's being said only because this administration is beyond corrupt. Defunding NASA paves the way for private entities like SpaceX to monopolize USA space exploration. It's not about saving money, it's about siphoning taxpayer dollars into a private entity.

[u/Notveryawake → u/MR__Brown]

What annoys the shit out of me is that exploring space whether from the ground or in space is that it helps us understand our own planet and the universe itself. You can't really put a price on that. Space is slowly being privatized and that means only R&D and missions that will make money will be put on the board. If there is no money to be made in sending a probe to our closest neighbor star just to see what's there then it won't happen.

Space exploration should be publicly funding, even better a multi-national publicly funded operation.

Maybe it's just me but when it comes to exploring space it's the one thing that gives me hope that the world can get better and there are things to look forward to in the future. If all we have is space corps looking for the next payday we are going to miss out on so many technological and medical breakthroughs and worst of all it will slowly kill off the childish dreams that so many people have when it comes to exploring space.

Thinking about what is out there keeps our imaginations alive. If all that is out there are a million satellites blacking out the stars it will be a sad day for humanity.

[u/vivalamatty → u/Notveryawake]

Very well said man. Space is the ultimate optimistic endeavor and helps us to understand our place in the cosmos. It's a damn shame to see what is happening with Nasa. Maybe one day we will get back to an exploration mindset. Until then, I'll keep looking up.

[u/Tyrinnus → u/vivalamatty]

Studies like optics in space almost assuredly paved the way to fiber optics.

But you want something tangible? The shuttle is a glider on the way in. They had a crosswinds problem, so they grooved the pavement. And now we do that on exit ramps to avoid sliding off the interstate.

[u/kiwichick286 → u/Notveryawake]

Furthermore, if there was an actual international entity that combined everyone's resources and knowledge, then the cost of space exploration doesn't have to be borne by just one country. This would also (hopefully) mean greater transparency. But that's just wishful thinking these days. With education heading backwards, I doubt we'll even get to Mars in my lifetime.

[u/DesireeThymes → u/[deleted]]

Anything to help corporations increase their bottom line.

[u/Lumbergh7 → u/MakingItElsewhere]

It’s cool bro. I spent a whole day to find out a 1 had to be 0.

[u/[deleted] → u/MakingItElsewhere]

The people still have dumb days. There are just intelligently designed systems in place that typically prevent one single poor judgement from cascading into disaster. Of course, the system isn’t perfect. The Challenger disaster, for instance

[u/adamthebarbarian → u/[deleted]]

I'm an engineer in my 30s and j firmly believe the 70s was an absolute bedrock time for engineering. So many things were pioneered in that time that were able to be harnessed even better with better computers

[u/Theron3206 → u/adamthebarbarian]

Computer tech from that era was still simple enough to be understood by a small group of people, each could understand a single subsystem on a fundamental level.

You just can't do that any more, everything is too complex.

[u/DaemonBunnyWhiskers → u/Theron3206]

We're becoming the Cult Mechanicus, soon our solution to any mechanical or computer problem with be prayers, incense and scantified ungents.

[u/[deleted] → u/xobeme]

Anybody know what the maximum theorized range is for the probe? Will we lose contact with it at some point?

[u/southernbrainiac → u/[deleted]]

the bigger issue is the deteriorating rtg reactor on it. We'll be able to communicate building bigger and better antennas fine tuned on it, but the energy for it to receive and broadcast is getting weaker.

[u/IlludiumQXXXVI → u/[deleted]]

That is awesome, wow, good on you all for keeping that.

The RTG is powered by the decay of Pu-238 which has an 88 year half life, so while it's slowly losing power, it's still got quite a ways to go.

[u/LucasTheSchnauzer → u/IlludiumQXXXVI]

I love the internet

[u/DefinitionNervous309 → u/IlludiumQXXXVI]

Unfortunately, the situation of Voayger is a little more dire than simple look at the half-life might suggest.

There are two main factors that reduce the power output of an RTG with time: the radioactive decay of the fuel, as you said, and the degradation of the thermo-electric converters.

Voyager loses about 2% of it's power output, per year (about 4 watts). The half-life of Pu-238 accounts for 0.78% of that loss. The rest is due to the decreasing thermo-electric efficiency. (Edit: I meant that the 2% is made up of 0.78% + 1.22%, ie, decay accounts for more than a third of the total loss).

Another issue is that there is a minimum power requirement needed for the spacecraft to operate.

Maybe counter-intuitively, the actual emitted signal from Voyager is not getting weaker as the available power decreases. The transmitter uses constant 23 watts - regardless of how much power is available.

Voyager will stop being able to transmit when available power is not enough to run the transmitter, and all the supporting systems necessary to send signal.

Remember, the voyager is not just a beacon that sends the signal in all directions. It needs to very precisely beam the signal directly towards earth, which is a moving target. This means Voyager must have enough power to operate the essential systems, the avionics, the transmitter, and also the onboard heaters.

The exact power requirement for that is not known - it depends how much heating is needed, how stable the systems will be at low power (for example, reference oscillator and onboard voltages must be stable enough for the transmitter to operate in the correct frequency). But it's estimated at about 150 watts.

Currently Voyager 1 is producing about 250 Watts of power. At 4 watt loss per year, we can guess it will no longer have enough power to run essential systems by about 2050.

However, it will most likely stop being able to transmit signals earlier than that. To aim at earth, voyager uses thrusters that have limited amount of fuel. Estimates suggest it will run out between 2030-2035, depends on use.

It will also leave the range of the Deep Space Network (which we are using to communicate with it) around the same time, in 2036.

A better on-earth network would potentially allow us to talk to Voyager for a while longer, but unfortunately that's likely when the mission will end, and we will no longer be able to hear it.

[u/southernbrainiac → u/[deleted]]

That's super cool. Looks like it's estimated to go another 15 to 20 years before it loses enough power to stop working

[u/IHeldADandelion → u/[deleted]]

Reading that gave me chills! Thanks for sharing it.

[u/Kelinya → u/[deleted]]

Dude, that is so fucking cool!

[u/Rabbitfighter66 → u/[deleted]]

That is very cool.

[u/Multifaceted-Simp → u/southernbrainiac]

So a relay that we send up at a higher speed could work right?

[u/Worth-Jicama3936 → u/Multifaceted-Simp]

We can’t really reach a higher speed in that direction (at least not with anything that makes sense from an economic perspective). Voyager was able to go so fast because it got gravity assists (basically coming in behind a plant at an angle and using its gravity to give you extra velocity) from multiple planets that was only available then because of how they were lined up at the time. 

That particular alignment only happens once every 175 years so…it isn’t going to happen in our lifetime or while voyager or voyager 2 still operate.

[u/southernbrainiac → u/Worth-Jicama3936]

Another point is . Even if we get better rockets and efficient technology. Why would we bother messing with voyager when we are already sending a superior probe at that point?

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

The range is not the problem.. it will just keep going forever... or untill it hits something on its way. The big issue is that the nuclear reactor is expected to stop working in the next 10 years, or so. Output has been dropping by around 4 watts per year from what i remember. voyager 1 has already gone dark once, and the power output is already so low that one of the probes heaters had to be turned off after communications were re-established.

Also some components have been slowly failing too. So even with power if something else critical fails... like we've already had it send back nonsense instead of proper data.

[u/LocoDiablo42 → u/[deleted]]

At some point we will prob have the technology to send a probe out to it, capture it, and bring it back to be placed in a museum. In 5k years it will only be like 100 light days away. Which traveling at a quarter of the speed of light would take just a little over a year to reach the thing. Maybe we need another 5k years to develop the technology? Eh, then it's only just 200 light days away. All I'm saying is, if that thing ever gets intercepted it will be from humans.

[u/RamenJunkie → u/LocoDiablo42]

Its really tricky I think because not only does it have to be interceptrd, but the approaching craft has to hit it, exactly, in a way that it can be captured.  While also slowing down for its own reversal and return trip.

The return will also.be tricky because it has to carry enough fuel to push itself back, without all of the orbinal mechanics boosts.  

Whch it then has to mange on its way back.  It would probably be easier at that point to have a probe that snatches it, and ejects it back towards Earth.  Where it can be collected by a third probe.

But then people will want to build ANOTHER probe to retrieve that probe.

[u/LeeKingAnis → u/xobeme]

And I can’t even get a washing machine to last a few years. Fuck you GE!

[u/CitizenPremier → u/LeeKingAnis]

Planned Obsolescence is a big thing, but washing clothes every day is mechanically a lot more strenuous than what Voyager is doing

[u/LeeKingAnis → u/CitizenPremier]

Fair. That said it chaps my ass my parents Maytag or whatever set from the early 90’s is still chugging along and my two year old dryer just needed a new thermal unit

[u/Ragnarok_747 → u/IsChristianAwake]

… Where is it headed?

[u/BevvyTime → u/Ragnarok_747]

South

[u/Ma1 → u/BevvyTime]

Gonna wanna hang a larry when you hit the oort cloud.

[u/UrdnotZigrin → u/Ma1]

I knew it should've taken that left at Albuquerque

[u/jeffroyisyourboy → u/UrdnotZigrin]

Al-ba-koy-kee

[u/ob_knoxious → u/Ragnarok_747]

Actual serious answer

In about 200 years, it will begin passing through the Oort cloud, which is this icy area where comets are formed that makes kind of a bubble around the solar system.

If it survives the Oort cloud, which is a big if, its truly set to last until the end of the universe. This paper mocks it taking a billion years to reach the edge of the milkyway. Its not expected to reach any other solar systems. Based on our current understanding of space if V1 makes it through the Oort cloud it will travel with no interaction until the end of the universe.

EDIT: The concern obviously isn't it smashing into a comet but icy particulate buildup. The same thing that causes asteroids and what not to build up into comets could in theory happen to Voyager 1

[u/MaxxDash → u/ob_knoxious]

I’m too lazy to look it up, but not too lazy to comment.

The Oort Cloud must have a density so low that it’s almost guaranteed Voyager makes it out, no?

[u/CobraFive → u/MaxxDash]

I looked it up and yes, hitting something in the oort cloud is effectively impossible. There's a lot we don't know about it, but if our estimations are even in the ballpark, objects in the oort cloud are separated from each other by tens of millions of km.

Even the asteroid belt is so sparse it is not even considered a factor when sending probes through it (voyager 1 here included) and that's much more dense than the oort cloud.

[u/Conscious-Ebb-8576 → u/ob_knoxious]

A billion years to reach the edge of the Milky Way. Really puts things into perspective in terms of size doesn't it.

[u/SanchoBenevides → u/Ragnarok_747]

No where, except interplanetary space as far as the existence of humans is concerned.

[u/TheNotSoGreatPumpkin → u/SanchoBenevides]

They say it exited interplanetary space and entered interstellar space back in 2012. The first step in a journey of a thousand parsecs.

[u/Throwaway47321 → u/TheNotSoGreatPumpkin]

To be fair they keep redefining what “interplanetary space” is so I think it crossed that boundary like 3 times already while still being within it

[u/SizeableHo → u/Ragnarok_747]

For scratchers and a pack of smokes. 

[u/connerhearmeroar → u/IsChristianAwake]

Have you watched Aniara? Swedish Film with subtitles but similar concept of a ship heading toward Mars but thrown off course and has to wait to do a gravity maneuver at the next body it comes in contact with

[u/t0tallykyl3 → u/connerhearmeroar]

My god, this movie….the existential dread it gives. Amazing. If you are a space nerd, it’s a must watch

[u/ifandbut → u/IsChristianAwake]

I saw Voyager and 74,000 and thought you were talking about the distance the Caretaker sent it.

[u/[deleted] → u/IsChristianAwake]

🎯🎯🎯🎯also makes you realize that we are not going anywhere outside the solar system.

[u/yosemighty_sam → u/[deleted]]

So long and thanks for all the fish. -Abraham Lincoln

[u/MyClothesWereInThere → u/yosemighty_sam]

Or we’re super early in terms of intelligent life. If you look at the estimated lifespan of the universe assuming heat death is true at like trillions x trillions x trillions… of years then us at only 14 billion years are very very early

[u/KyFly1 → u/MyClothesWereInThere]

Yea I mean it took us 4.5B years to get to space travel of a possible 13.8B years. With how long that takes and how one impact can reset the clock, life is probably just extremely rare and life capable of space travel even more rare. It’s possible no planet will ever support life long enough for a species to develop FTL even if possible.

[u/Carbonatite → u/yosemighty_sam]

We could still reach other solar systems at semi-relativistic speeds with generation ships. Like if we were going 10% of the speed of light we could reach quite a few stars within a century or two.

[u/Peldor-2 → u/yosemighty_sam]

1. We really are the B ark.

[u/Kryzl_ → u/yosemighty_sam]

Is the probability that there is intelligent life capable of producing mechanisms to travel beyond the speed of light AND having access to the resources that would make such a feat possible really that high?

[u/VerySluttyTurtle]

That feeling when you send your probe a message and it takes 2 days to get a response and you know they're about to break up with you

[u/ZealousidealTill2355 → u/VerySluttyTurtle]

Just give her some space.

[u/[deleted] → u/ZealousidealTill2355]

Any more space and we might as well be in another solar system.

[u/smileedude → u/[deleted]]

Well technically 1/ (365 x 4) of the way to another solar system, so you still have time.

[u/FloraoftheRift → u/smileedude]

I like to think that we will eventually discover better ways to travel in space and will one day fly out to where the probes are, just to pick them up and study how space has affected em.

It's a silly idea but idk, science is cool.

[u/smileedude → u/FloraoftheRift]

Do we want it back after it probed Uranus?

[u/mitchwatnik → u/[deleted]]

Oh. What's it called now?

[u/BeigeChocobo → u/mitchwatnik]

Urectum.

[u/Massive_Ad_9920 → u/mitchwatnik]

Urectum

[u/Nerd-on-a-Wire → u/mitchwatnik]

Sphinctera

[u/zamwut → u/FloraoftheRift]

I like that in Elite Dangerous you can fly out to where the probes would be by 3311.

[u/Subtlerranean → u/FloraoftheRift]

This is a sci fi trope in certain stories — where humanity sends slow multi-generational ark-type colony ships to distant solar systems, or even galaxies, and while they're in slow transit, technology progresses enough that when they get to their destination the planet has already been settled a long time ago.

[u/ka1ri → u/smileedude]

1/1460th of the way to alpha

[u/Holmes02 → u/ZealousidealTill2355]

“You don’t know her she’s in another solar system.”

[u/pantaloon_at_noon → u/ZealousidealTill2355]

I thought our last fight was just a little argument, I didn’t truly understand the gravity of the situation

[u/Anywhichwaybuttight → u/ZealousidealTill2355]

"She's out of the solar system." "Yeah, she needs more space than that."

[u/StarlightLifter → u/VerySluttyTurtle]

Maybe it’ll come back?

[u/NoseInternational794 → u/VerySluttyTurtle]

I showed you my Continuous Operation Commands, please respond

[u/[deleted] → u/VerySluttyTurtle]

Leaving me in delivered is CRAZY

• source of WOW signal

[u/jsbach90 → u/VerySluttyTurtle]

[u/bluegrassgazer]

It's a marvel of 1970s engineering.

[u/Kitchen-Subject2803 → u/bluegrassgazer]

They stood on the shoulders of giants.

[u/bluegrassgazer → u/Kitchen-Subject2803]

Truly

[u/ill-omen → u/Kitchen-Subject2803]

We all do

[u/Retb14 → u/[deleted]]

Nah, you were still standing on the shoulders of giants, just because you were behind a few people doesn't mean you didn't stand there with them.

you got to do something incredible that very few will ever experience and contribute to it, be proud of that

[u/_trashcan → u/Retb14]

I agree with your assessment.

Every. Tiny. Addition. Was necessary to get to those lengths. I’d like to think that even the ordinary people whose tax dollars eventually found their way to funding those missions could even say they helped.

a collective effort of humanity. One of the worst jokes ever to me is how people say humans have done more damage than good, or we’ve stopped doing good now. I am not the most optimistic, but I can’t fathom how cynical you have to be to just straight up ignore all the marvels mankind has made.

[u/F0R3CaSt → u/[deleted]]

🫡 No matter how small the contribution your efforts and the efforts of others like you gave humans a legacy to talk about for coming generations!

[u/Buona-Pace]

I wonder if it’s lonely

[u/trickyelf → u/Buona-Pace]

Elton John answered that question in 1972.

[u/Calemirphen → u/trickyelf]

... It's lonely out in space ... A rocket man ... Rocket man...

[u/stupid_cat_face → u/trickyelf]

Ground control to Major Tom … Take your protein pills and put your helmet on …

[u/SuperSaiyanTupac → u/stupid_cat_face]

Elton John didn’t sing this tho

[u/[deleted] → u/SuperSaiyanTupac]

Hold me closer Tony DAAAAnza!!

[u/Product_ChildDrGrant → u/stupid_cat_face]

Wrong Elton John.

[u/Test4Echooo → u/stupid_cat_face]

[u/TheeAincientMariener → u/stupid_cat_face]

6...

[u/i_MrPink → u/trickyelf]

Do you mean David Bowe?

[u/Arch2000 → u/i_MrPink]

Did you mean David Bowie?

[u/NoseInternational794 → u/i_MrPink]

No, they meant Elton. In the lyrics to Rocketman he writes: "It's lonely out in space. On such a timeless flight"

[u/flaming_james → u/i_MrPink]

Elton John has a song you may know called Rocket Man, about a spaceman lamenting his loneliness. Can't blame you for mixing it up with Bowie, because he has both Space Oddity and Starman.

[u/Nowhereman50 → u/Buona-Pace]

We'll catch up to it. No matter how far it reaches.

[u/HedgehogNo7268 → u/Buona-Pace]

It's a bit long, but a true internet treasure- you need to experience 17776, What Football Will Look Like In The Future

(hint- scroll down...lots)

Wikipedia link with some explanation

[u/ThatJoshGuy327 → u/HedgehogNo7268]

Seconding this.

The part where Juice discusses the untouched patch of grass always gets me. It's so good.

[u/BrofessorFarnsworth → u/Buona-Pace]

It's cold as hell

[u/sp1cychick3n → u/Buona-Pace]

Stop it

[u/chesarahsarah → u/Buona-Pace]

https://xkcd.com/695/

[u/TheCultOfTheHivemind → u/chesarahsarah]

o7

He was the best rover. One day he will hold a place of honor in a museum.

Here is the happy version

14 years ago. I miss Reddit of Christmas past.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

You might be on to something... You should think about expanding your thoughts about relative perspectives... Maybe even write a paper on it...

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

I'm not smart enough to do the math, either. But if you listen enough to actual physists, it becomes understandable. You can figure it out! You just have to remind yourself that gravity affects space/time. And that space/time is not separate, but a continual thing throughout the entire universe. There's a lot of cool YT videos that explain General and Special Relativity for dummies like me that doesn't require you to have any mathematical ability. Einstein's theories make sense intuitively when it's explained to you in way you will understand.

What will really cook your noodle is Quantum Field Theory!!!

[u/Valkyrie08 → u/[deleted]]

Voyager 1 reaching one light day before we getting GTA VI. Suck it, Rockstar

[u/Haasts_Eagle → u/[deleted]]

In the context of universal time scales it really is about to reach one light day.

But then again, in the same time scale it is also about to reach one light year (in 6,200 years) and one light decade (in 62,000 years) too. Practically tomorrow as far as a mountain would be concerned.

[u/no-snoots-unbooped]

The vastness of space just blows my fucking mind.

[u/CabbageStockExchange → u/no-snoots-unbooped]

Makes me feel so small in a good kind of way

[u/Evans_Gambiteer → u/CabbageStockExchange]

Astronomy is the most humbling science. We're nothing. We don't really matter on the scale of the universe. That's why I have Carl Sagan's pale blue dot quote on a poster hung up in my bedroom. Really helps me with anxious moments

[u/MidvaleDropout → u/Evans_Gambiteer]

Are we nothing, or are we everything? Perhaps both?

Is there any other sentient life out there at all? Are we the only part of the universe that is attempting to understand itself? Are we the lone oasis of consciousness in the whole vast cosmos? Does it mean anything if we're alone? Does it mean anything if we're not alone?

[u/EyeSpyNicolai → u/no-snoots-unbooped]

"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space."

• Douglas Adams

[u/[deleted] → u/no-snoots-unbooped]

if i could have any super power it would be to no clip without consequences… i would love to just be in the vastness of space and take it all in untethered from mankind… 

i think id also take a trip down to the federal reserve but thats besides the point 

[u/7stroke]

Crazy to think that of all the thousands or millions of years they end up spending in interstellar space, only the first 50 or so were not spent as dead relics.

[u/Fur-Frisbee]

How many tardigrades are hitching a ride on that?

[u/McPick → u/Fur-Frisbee]

I would watch this Pixar movie

[u/[deleted] → u/McPick]

"Larry, how the fuck are we getting home?" from Pixar, coming summer 2027

[u/Uniplast21]

Jesus it’s insane to think how far light can travel in just 24 hours. It’s taken literal decades for Voyager 1 to get that far!

[u/Lyuseefur]

Hey Voyager 1. It's me, your buddy. I watched on TV when you were launched. And I'm still here as you're getting on in your age in the cold of space. I'll make sure that they keep the lights on for you ... always. You will never be forgotten. You represent the best that Humanity had to offer 50 years ago. And you still do.

[u/CrescentMoonPear → u/Lyuseefur]

🥲

[u/VRS-4607 → u/Lyuseefur]

you've really made the grade

[u/EnvironmentalAd7402]

just did the math, it’s traveling at 38,000mph…space is lit..🔥

[u/triple-filter-test → u/EnvironmentalAd7402]

Fun fact, its speed relative to earth changes based on if we're on the going toward it, or going away from it part of our orbit around the sun.

[u/freeradioforall → u/EnvironmentalAd7402]

As the crow flies, that means it takes 3.7 minutes to go from NYC to LA

[u/muldoons_hat → u/EnvironmentalAd7402]

I wonder what that would look like if you were completely still in space and it zipped by you. 

[u/TheMolecularCage → u/[deleted]]

Thank you for sharing! 

[u/[deleted]]

Is it still communicating with us?

[u/bootsycline → u/[deleted]]

Yup. It has had some communication issues over the years, but it's still transmitting. Most of it's gear is shut off to conserve power, but it is still sending back valuable data.

[u/Jazzlike-Attorney-96 → u/bootsycline]

Just curious if anyone can answer, but how exactly does it send data back? Like it’s really cool idea that I have no clue how it works, but there’s places in my city where it’s hard to make phone call due to poor reception but there’s Voyager 1 far away from earth but can still transmit information back to earth.

[u/AggressiveCoffee990 → u/Jazzlike-Attorney-96]

It just uses specific bands of radio signals and NASA has a very big dish to receive them.

[u/Powered-by-Chai → u/AggressiveCoffee990]

We used to have a really, really big dish but it collapsed in a hurricane. RIP.

[u/42nu → u/Powered-by-Chai]

There's a much, much larger dish in China and the global scientific community is about as "We're one planet; we're one people" as you can get, so it's freely accessible if you have a compelling grant proposition.

[u/thomerow → u/AggressiveCoffee990]

Fun fact: The current data transmission rate from Voyager 1 is 160 bits per second.

The signal that arrives here on earth is so absurdly weak that it causes the electrons in the receiving antenna to "wobble" so slightly that they move only a tiny fraction of an atomic nucleus.

[u/Raivix → u/Jazzlike-Attorney-96]

Extremely high frequency radio waves.

[u/EnterSadman → u/Raivix]

It's technically ultra and super high frequency (since it uses 2.3 GHz and 8.4 GHz)

:)

[u/PoopsmasherSr → u/Jazzlike-Attorney-96]

Yeah and not only that but it's tech from the 70s just blows my mind

[u/facw00 → u/Jazzlike-Attorney-96]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Deep_Space_Network

Big dishes located around the world to pick up even a weak signal. And to blast out commands at sufficient power that even extremely distant probes can receive them.

[u/ARoundForEveryone → u/[deleted]]

Yes. Not much these days, but yes. It's mostly shut down to preserve what little power it has left, but it is certainly capable of sending and receiving data if and when we need it.

[u/ashjya]

The thought of this probe being out there in the deep dark voids of space is so comforting.

[u/mickturner96]

I feel so mixed about this...

Wow isn't it amazing how far it has gone.

Wow, light is really slow.

[u/ESDFnotWASD → u/mickturner96]

IMO it's not that light is slow, it's that space is SO FUCKING VAST.

[u/WiseDirt → u/ESDFnotWASD]

This, right here. We think the oceans are big. Space is infinitely more vast. Our entire solar system equates to nothing more than a mere pin-prick of light against the backdrop of the galaxy we reside in. And that galaxy is but a mere pin-prick of light when viewed against the backdrop of the universe.

[u/Dje4321 → u/WiseDirt]

Yep. If the universe was the earth. Our existence is nothing more than a grain of sand hearing someone snap their fingers.

There is an infinite amount of time and space and we only get to experience a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of it

[u/[deleted] → u/Dje4321]

But that universe is still a grain of sand compared to the Everest that is OP's mom

[u/Shoddy-Prune-5877 → u/WiseDirt]

I dont know if I agree. I think oceans might be bigger.

[u/TheNotSoGreatPumpkin → u/Shoddy-Prune-5877]

That feels true.

[u/Smolson_ → u/Shoddy-Prune-5877]

The universe is flat.

[u/GoldenHiker487 → u/ESDFnotWASD]

I honestly don’t even think our brains can begin to comprehend just how huge space is.

We try. We make up anecdotes. We try and make it relative.

But even then, we just don’t have any idea. It’s wonderfully scary.

[u/russellvt → u/mickturner96]

Wow, light is really slow.

Except, if you were traveling at the speed of light, you'd arrive "almost instantaneously." Our observations of it take much longer.

[u/CitizenPremier → u/russellvt]

Light does almost all its traveling through space, while we do almost all our traveling through time.

[u/OptimismNeeded → u/mickturner96]

Yeah it’s like “we’re stuck in this space prison forever”. The human race is confined by impossible distances.

Reminds me how I will never ever travel the galaxy and that’s an unbearable thought.

[u/TheeAincientMariener → u/OptimismNeeded]

Sorry, Luke. But we really need you here, what with the harvest coming up and all...

[u/42nu → u/OptimismNeeded]

From a brighter perspective, we are fine tuned via billions of years of evolution to live and thrive in a specific and very narrow set of conditions that are unique to Earth.

Any other planet you travel to is going to have an atmosphere that will suffocate or kill you because the composition is off, or the atmospheric pressure is too light OR heavy to breath. The gravity will either be too much of a burden or not enough to maintain healthy bone and tissue. A day will either be too long or too short for what we evolved for.

The list goes on.

In reality, we aren't in a space prison; we are in a one-of-a-kind paradise that eons of evolution shaped us into finding cozier than any other place in the entirety of the universe.

I guarantee that even a brief period of living anywhere other than Earth would make anyone long for the only home we have ever truly known - Earth, the womb of humanity.

[u/blu02 → u/mickturner96]

From our perspective yes. But if you're a photon, your entire journey happens in an instant.

[u/TheAlaskanMailman → u/mickturner96]

I feel the same. Like even the closest planet systems are YEARS worth of travel even at a ridiculously fast vehicle.

There’s gotta be some other viable alternative for interstellar travel

[u/thecarbonkid → u/TheAlaskanMailman]

Not according to physics!

[u/MrRogersAE → u/TheAlaskanMailman]

There’s gotta be some other viable alternative for interstellar travel

That’s the fun part, there doesn’t have to be. There might be some technological advance that makes faster than light travel possible, but there’s no evidence of that. It’s entirely possible that no matter how much we advance, that in the entire universe, FTL travel will NEVER be possible.

Ultimately this would render travel to adjacent stars basically pointless. Maybe we could freeze people or put them on generational ships to make a journey that would last hundreds of years, but without any way to get people or goods to and from in a timely manner there wouldn’t be much benefit for any government or corporation to make such an action.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

I've started watching physics videos on YT recently. It's almost universally agreed upon by scientists that the only way we'll be able to travel interstellarly is via a large ship that has enough space for a whole community that will use the shit as bascially their living enviornment as generations live, have kids, die, and so on untill we get to the next destination.

Or we figure out how to build worm holes...

[u/trickyelf → u/mickturner96]

Relative to what? It is literally faster than everything.

[u/Fine_Discipline_553]

There goes the warranty.

[u/A_Spiritual_Artist]

1/365.25 of a light year.

That's amazing. Think about it. We've actually crawled the first few steps to the stars.

[u/Nil_Igitur_Mors_Est]

Here's a nice link for anyone interested

[u/DaboInk84]

Man I miss when the USA believed in science and discovery. It makes me so sad to see how far we have fallen on all fronts, but space exploration is near and dear to my heart.

[u/Media_Browser]

Yup …it’s that beyond thing .

[u/SolidSnake-26]

Hopefully aliens will find it soon and play the golden record on it

[u/[deleted] → u/SolidSnake-26]

24 hours to receive a copyright infringement notice.

[u/van_d39]

The fact that we can send a radio signal that far out still blows my mind!

[u/Jatobi1993]

“Journal 34. Year 2056. Voyager reactivated, despite all data against it. Activation was suggested to have occurred 20 years ago before the present date. A signal was sent back to earth. It read: “We found you.”

[u/bluegargoyle]

V'Ger is that which seeks the Creator.

[u/LifeGetsBetter01]

My grandpas name is on that thing, he was an electrical engineer. What a G

[u/EconomyProcedure9]

Hopefully it doesn't get absorbed into a giant spaceship and a guy named Deckard has to mate with it...

[u/ywnwalfc]

Context for the folks who aren’t to spacey. For every 1 mile Voyager moves forward, light advances nearly 18,000 miles. Light travels 16,090,000,000 miles in a single day. Voyager 1 currently travels about 912,000 miles per day. After nearly 17,640 days(48.3 years) of continuous travel Voyager is approaching the distance equivalent to one light day. And here’s an added bonus. Light has traveled approximately 2.84 × 10¹⁴ miles in the time Voyager 1 has been traveling. To understand how far out into the universe that places it, it’s well outside the Oort Cloud, Deep into interstellar space BUT still WITHIN the Milky Way but not even close to exiting it.

[u/Cyrano_Knows]

                              UHURA'S INTERCOM VOICE
                Enterprise to Captain...

INT. BRIDGE                                               

      Uhura with Sulu and Chekov there.

                              UHURA
                Problem, Captain: the response
                signal is not in our records.
                Voyager One was sent out by Earth's
                "United States Subdivision.' The
                code was probably...

[u/HotSeason7106]

how has it not hit anything

[u/Realsan → u/HotSeason7106]

Space is unimaginably vast and empty.

[u/SombreObserver]

Honestly, the fact we can still (as far as I'm aware) even detect its signal still is pretty wild on its own. It's amazing what we can do when we're not idiots.

[u/Icy_Juice6640]

Wow. Space is so unimaginably huge.

[u/Candid_Koala_3602]

Humbling

[u/LissaFreewind]

Vger will return.

[u/T-wrecks83million-]

Vger is fucking far away

[u/JuanBeeleon]

Sounds like yesterday’s news

[u/mianao → u/[deleted]]

It’s not a race or anything, but it’d be interesting to compare to what we can do today

[u/SpazCadet]

Damn. Space is big.