WHAT IF ?
These last few weeks have marked the 40th anniversary of the
launch of two unmanned space probes from Cape Canaveral,
Florida.
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 left Earth in 1977 between the end of August and the
first week of September. Their missions were to head to Saturn and
Jupiter where they would be captured by the gravitational pull of the giant
planets, shoot video and photos, collect all sorts of gravitational, magnetic
and plasma data and beam the information back to Earth. The missions were timed
because of the unique way the planets were lined up. The setup gave scientists
a window of opportunity for the launches and a successful potential outcome -
a rare alignment of the outer planets which occurs once in 175 years.
THE MISSION WAS A SUCCESS
It took Voyager 1 about two to three years to reach the
planets. It took Voyager 2 about three to four years for its mission. Voyager 1 was actually launched weeks after Voyager 2 but arrived first because the space probes had different trajectories. NASA scientists built the
spacecrafts to last about five years so the missions were expected to expire
around 1982.
THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN
Gravitational bounce and whip from the giant planets hurled
both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 beyond Jupiter and Saturn to the outer reaches of
our solar system past Uranus and Neptune. Over the years, scientists have been
able to upload new technology to the Voyagers to aid their data gathering, up to a point. And each space probe continues to send back new data on its journey.
STILL OUT THERE
As of 2017, the Voyagers are exiting an area referred to as
the heliopause of our solar system – the
boundary between the end of the Sun’s solar wind dominance and entering the fringes of interstellar space. That's akin to jumping into the deep end of the space pool.
VOYAGER INTERSTELLAR MISSION
The missions have now been renamed the
Voyager Interstellar
Mission.
Scientists estimate the spacecrafts have enough electrical
power to last until 2020. What
then? Communication will be lost. Each Voyager will continue to travel at the
rate of millions of miles each year.
Each will likely continue its journey, perhaps throughout the Milky Way Galaxy,
perhaps beyond. Perhaps forever. Where they will end up is an unknown.
MEANWHILE BACK ON EARTH
Around 1969, a film project began developing well in advance
of the NASA Voyager Mission. The film was released to the public at around the
same time the first Voyager was approaching Jupiter eight years later. Star
Trek: The Motion Picture became the first theatrical film based on the
television series Star Trek. The fictional plot of the film revolves
around a dangerous and powerful alien energy force on a trajectory headed
towards Earth.
THE FILM IS SET IN 2271
With respect to not giving away the rest of the plot of the
film, suffice it to say the story is prescient. It crosses the line from real to unreal and back again - long before the Voyager Mission and long before reality, fiction and time unfolded together – perhaps even addressing the question, what if?
Photos and
Images Courtesy NASA
Sources:
National
Aeronautics Space Administration
NASA, Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Star
Trek.com
IMDB
