Voyager 1 has been traveling through space since 1977, and some scientists hoped it could keep sending back science data for 50 years. But a serious glitch has put that milestone in jeopardy.
The Voyager 1 space probe is the farthest human-made object in space. It launched in 1977 with a golden record on board that carried assorted sounds of our home planet: greetings in many different languages, dogs barking, and the sound of two people kissing, to name but a few examples. The idea with this record was that someday, Voyager 1 might be our emissary to alien life – an audible time capsule of Earth's beings. Since its launch, it also managed to complete missions to Jupiter and Saturn. In 2012, it crossed into interstellar space.
But a few months ago, the probe encountered a problem. "It's an elderly spacecraft," says NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce, "and it had some kind of electronic stroke." Greenfieldboyce talks to Short Wave Host Regina G. Barber about the precarious status of Voyager 1 – the glitch threatening its mission, and the increasingly risky measures NASA is taking to try and restore it.
What interstellar adventure should we cover next? Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.
Neptune has long been depicted as a deeper, darker blue than its fellow ice giant Uranus, but a new study shows that both are a similar shade of light greenish blue.
NPR's Daniel Estrin speaks with Daniel Estrin, lead singer of the band representing Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest, and Daniel Estrin, lead guitarist of the Grammy-nominated band Hoobastank.
Scientists who want to understand what's beyond our solar system have designed an interstellar spacecraft that could go out farther and faster than the famous Voyager probes.