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Thread: Current Space Probe Missions

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    Default Current Space Probe Missions

    Found this nice little diagram of where the current space probes are.
    Yes I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.

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Look Here ->
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    What a pity we don't get to hear more about this sort of thing, and less about Justin Beiber, on our evening news.
    It's not exactly rocket science to figure out which one is more relevant to the future of the human race.
    Thanks, Trash - a devilishly good find.

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    Excellent find.
    Cheers, Tiny
    "You can lead a person to knowledge, but you can't make them think? If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
    The information is out there; you just have to let it in."

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    Some of the probes have made it out of the solar system then? We better hope they still work, because it's going to be a while before world economics allows more money to be dumped into the space program

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    Beiber is a space cadet, he's going to be dead in a few years from a drug overdose, or in jail for killing some girlfriend.
    I think we should save him and the planet from his own future and hurtle him into space as a representative of Earth.
    If nothing else it's send a clear message to aliens to stay the hell away !

    There is so many cool space craft arriving at their destinations in the next 18 months.
    Rosetta landing on a comet and New Horizons flying by Pluto and Dawn heading for Ceres.

    Exciting stuff going on out there. I can only hope that the Russian's arrogance kicks in and they won't let China take second place for a Manned moon mission.
    They've got enough technology to get to the moon, so it's really only the lander they need to develop. I'd bet the Chinese have already been testing components for their lander.
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    If you are interested in space-related information, I suggest that you subscribe to .

    There are sister-sites with daily newsletters, i.e. Astronautix, Spacewar, Terradaily etc., listed at the top of the page.

    I've been receiving the daily reports since the site's creation and find it most interesting.

    There are others also, e.g. - Google knows them.

    Quote Originally Posted by Thomas Ennis View Post
    Some of the probes have made it out of the solar system then? We better hope they still work, because it's going to be a while before world economics allows more money to be dumped into the space program
    Voyager 1, launched in 1977, long ago left our solar system, is currently travelling in interstellar space, and has so-far travelled 18.9 billion kilometers, or 0.002 light years and is still sending data back to earth. (See - ). There are others also.

    An up-to-date List of currently-active Solar System probes can be found at .

    The website is also well worth a visit.
    Last edited by tristen; 07-02-14 at 02:44 PM. Reason: Additional info. added

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    If anybody sees anything, post it. I can never get enough of this stuff.
    Yes I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.

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    Voyager 1, launched in 1977, long ago left our solar system, is currently travelling in interstellar space, and has so-far travelled 18.9 billion kilometers, or 0.002 light years and is still sending data back to earth.
    Bloody hell!
    Nearly 40 years in the air (figuratively speaking) and it's covered a whole 0.002 light years.
    That kinda puts us back in our box, doesn't it!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Thala Dan View Post
    Bloody hell!
    Nearly 40 years in the air (figuratively speaking) and it's covered a whole 0.002 light years.
    That kinda puts us back in our box, doesn't it!
    Yes it does but also a object made with the computing power of a calculator and a projected working life of around 10 year that is still working is not a bad effort

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    Don't worry Thala Dan, they're about to launch a practical solar sail craft. They reckon it will overtake voyager in 8 years if it goes to plan.

    Rosetta has been in hibernation. That's another big first for a spacecraft. It doesn't sound like much but think of it like turning off your Vic 20 in 1990 and turning it back on now and it still works.
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    .....but also a object made with the computing power of a calculator and a projected working life of around 10 year that is still working is not a bad effort
    I totally agree...the quality of that 40 year old technology is incredible...particularly when you consider what the cosmos has probably thrown at it over that period.

    I'll bet it wasn't "Made in China"

    But 0.002 light years in 40 years makes stuff like "bring her up to warp speed, Scotty" and "Engage Hyperdrive, Chewy" look a bit fanciful, doesn't it

    Still, I guess much the same was thought about Marconi's spark transmitter at the time.

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    I think it has an Intel 4004 processor from memory.
    This might be a geeky urban myth.

    checking .....
    A popular myth has it that Pioneer 10, the first spacecraft to leave the solar system, used an Intel 4004 microprocessor. According to Dr. Larry Lasher of Ames Research Center, the Pioneer team did evaluate the 4004, but decided it was too new at the time to include in any of the Pioneer projects.[citation needed] The myth was repeated by Federico Faggin himself in a lecture for the Computer History Museum in 2006.

    Funny that there seems to be a lack of information for the Voyagers.
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    The unit of measurement in space is very hard to imagine. A probe; taking 40 years to travel .002 light years, gives us an idea of how far the nearest star is. Now consider that the most distant star discovered (last time I checked) is 13 billion light years away. The majesty involved in the universe is beyond recognition.

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    No, it's not a star, it's a QSO (Quasi Stellar Object) or as they're commonly called; Quasars, from QSRS. (Quasi Stellar Radio Sources)

    And surprisingly we know quite a lot about them.
    They're small compared to a galaxy. Typically the region where most of the radiation comes from is only about 1 light day across. About 26 billion kilometres.
    They emit a spectrum of light not unlike a typical galaxy, but very doppler red shifted.
    Some of them have polar X-ray jets.
    It's now pretty common for cosmologists to suggest that Quasars are actually early galaxies which evolve into Seyfert galaxies and then into normal whirlpool and elliptical galaxies.

    At the other end of the scale, the Brown dwarf Luhman 16 which is the third closest star system. They're measuring the weather from one of the stars. It's raining iron again.
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    This stuff will keep you busy for hours !
    Some of it appears to have been assembled by Star Trek fans.

    <-- You are here !

    Actually... here is pretty much in all of the maps.


    And if you thought that fun... these maps are how Star Trek fans spread their religion.



    .... I think there's enough scifi material here to give George Lucas nightmares.
    Last edited by trash; 10-02-14 at 10:18 PM.
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