We know where the edge of the solar system is and how long it takes to get there. It is amazing this has been accomplished in my lifetime.
As soon as space travel beyond the protective atmosphere of Earth is found to be safe without life threatening radiation; the universe can our new home. But, I caution that idea. The radiation found at the edge of the solar system is most likely not benign.
Not to underestimate the daunting task this actually is, but, in time it will happen and intergalactic space travel may become a reality.
I congratulate NASA on it's visionary space model and the will to see it through. It is all money well spent. Not a dime wasted. If ever an agency of the USA wanted to survive for the right reasons it is NASA. Did we ever realize how incredible this mission was to be.
By Brooks Barnes
Published: September 12, 2013
PASADENA, Calif. — The spacecraft’s technology (click here) was laughable by today’s standards: it carried an 8-track tape recorder and computers with 240,000 times less memory than a low-end iPhone. When it left Earth 36 years ago, it was designed as a four-year mission to Saturn, and everything after that was gravy.
...“I don’t know if it’s in the same league as landing on the moon, but it’s right up there — ‘Star Trek’ stuff, for sure,” said Donald A. Gurnett, a professor of physics at the University of Iowa and the co-author of a paper published Thursday in the journal Science about Voyager’s feat. “I mean, consider the distance. It’s hard even for scientists to comprehend.”...
