We have an innate desire to explore. If we look at our history as a species, that seems to be consistently true from the very beginning. But the frontier of space presents a distinct challenge from previous frontiers — it is simply SO large. Large enough, in fact, that for the first time in the history of exploration, we cannot be the pioneers ourselves. Instead, we must send machines in our place, like Voyagers 1 and 2. These probes have flown by Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. But, even more than that, they kept going. Voyager 1 is now over 15 billion miles from Earth. It is, in fact, the most distant human made object from our planet ever achieved. The funny part is, this truly incredible distance is just so small. Scientists believe that Voyager 1 will reach the inner edge of the Oort Cloud, how we might define the outer edge of just our solar system, in 300 years. Just let that sink in.

NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Our Universe is huge. But with human ingenuity, and stubborn determination, we just might be able to make a dent. Let’s keep exploring.


Comments

3 responses to “Our Voyage”

  1. Hey John, I like your post on the voyager spacecrafts. I did my blog post on something specific on them known as the golden record. You said it would take 300 years to reach the oort cloud. Do you think this golden record will ever be received by intelligent life?

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  2. Hello John,

    Thank you for delving into this topic. I had similar question about Voyager 1. Do you think Voyager 1 will ever leave the solar system considering the Oort Cloud is spherical? Also, are you aware that the Oort Cloud is a theoretical concept?

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  3. Jonas Kobza Avatar
    Jonas Kobza

    It’s crazy to think that the fastest thing we have ever made will only reach the edge of the solar system in 300 years. We have a long way to go if we ever want to build something fast enough to go to another solar system. It’s also interesting that we now explore with machines, rather than humans. It’s all amazing to think about.

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