indyz 1 #1 February 26, 2003 http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/02/25/pioneer.10.ap/index.html Quote LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Pioneer 10, the first spacecraft to venture out of the solar system, has fallen silent after traveling billions of miles from Earth on a mission that has lasted nearly 31 years, NASA said Tuesday. What was apparently the spacecraft's last signal was received January 22 by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Deep Space Network. At the time, Pioneer 10 was 7.6 billion miles from Earth; the signal, traveling at the speed of light, took 11 hours and 20 minutes to arrive. The signal and the two previous signals were very faint. The Deep Space Network heard nothing from Pioneer 10 during a final attempt at contact on February 7. No more attempts are planned. Pioneer 10 was launched March 2, 1972, on a 21-month mission. It became the first spacecraft to pass through the asteroid belt and the first to obtain close-up images of Jupiter. In 1983, it became the first manmade object to leave the solar system when it passed the orbit of distant Pluto. Although Pioneer 10's mission officially ended in 1997, scientists continued to track the TRW Inc.-built spacecraft as part of a study of communication technology for NASA's future Interstellar Probe mission. Pioneer 10 hasn't relayed telemetry data since April 27. "It was a workhorse that far exceeded its warranty, and I guess you could say we got our money's worth," said Larry Lasher, Pioneer 10 project manager at NASA's Ames Research Center. Pioneer 10 carries a gold plaque engraved with a message of goodwill and a map showing the Earth's location in the solar system. The spacecraft continues to coast toward the star Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus. It will take 2 million years to reach it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #2 February 26, 2003 Yeah, I was reading about this yesterday and thinking about Star Trek I... Talk about a stout little guy giving it all he's got, though! Going above and beyond his mission orders. You never know, Earth might just see this guy again.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydivejersey 0 #3 February 26, 2003 May she float in peace. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zennie 0 #4 February 26, 2003 ... the creator must join with VGER... - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happythoughts 0 #5 February 26, 2003 Hah! Satellites. After a 31 year relationship, the communication ends. It doesn't write or even call. You'd think that since it can send a message at the speed of light, it could find the time, but nooooo... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gawain 0 #6 February 26, 2003 This story is appropriate with Wendy's post about engineers. This reminds me of the Viking missions to Mars, each exceeding their mission goals by wide margins. Good stuff. So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright 'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life Make light! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mouth 0 #7 February 26, 2003 I remember that episode. Remember when the whole thing opened up and Kirk stood there rubbing off the Voyager plaque??? -- Hot Mama At least you know where you stand even if it is in a pile of shit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest #8 February 26, 2003 What's funny is that the caretakers of the program are almost third-generation; the engineers that designed and built the probe are all long since retired. 22 light-hour round trip. That's some distance! However, Pioneer 10 only has the distinction of being the first manmade object to leave the Solar System, but it isn't the farthest. On 17 Feb 1998, Voyager 1, despite having been launched almost ten years later, surpassed Pioneer 10 in distance from the sun. This was because Voyager 1 got a serious slingshot boost from Saturn in 1980."The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gawain 0 #9 February 26, 2003 Do we still get signals from Voyager 1?So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright 'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life Make light! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DYEVOUT 0 #10 February 26, 2003 What if the evil Thracknazoids get it? Then they have a map to find us, invade, and take all our hard earned shit!! What then? %^@$!! Aliens. ----------------=8^)---------------------- "I think that was the wrong tennis court." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Muenkel 0 #11 February 26, 2003 QuoteDo we still get signals from Voyager 1? As BillVon stated in another thread, the last signal we received was Jan. 22, 2003 and it was very weak. Chris _________________________________________ Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cajones 0 #12 February 26, 2003 Then they will come to our planet and demand that we destroy all weapons of mass destruction. They will decide, because we have used these weapons to kill our own people (humankind), we are not responsible enough to have them. Further, we may, in the future, become a threat to them, and therefore our governments will be forced into puppets of our their own government. This will be done under the threat of invasion by their obviously stronger military, and sanctioned by whatever inter-planetary organizations designed to protect the peace and well-being of all planets. Of course, even if this body does not give their stamp of approval, the Thracknazoids will still invade, on the grounds that we have the technology to build spacecraft capable of reaching their planet, as well as the technology to build chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. None of which we are responsible enough to have, as we have demonstrated numerous times by taking the lives of other human beings. The real question is: How will we react? Will we comply and disarm (and allow Thracknaziodian Inspectors to verify as much)? Will we protect our sovereignty from the invading forces? Will we ask for an open debate on 60 minutes? The laws of physics are strictly enforced. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michele 1 #13 February 26, 2003 QuoteAfter a 31 year relationship, the communication ends. It doesn't write or even call. You'd think that since it can send a message at the speed of light, it could find the time, but nooooo... ROFLMFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! That was the best comment I've seen in a while. Touche! Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happythoughts 0 #14 February 26, 2003 Quote The real question is: How will we react? Will we comply and disarm (and allow Thracknaziodian Inspectors to verify as much)? Will we protect our sovereignty from the invading forces? Will we ask for an open debate on 60 minutes? We will have no choice but to comply. Of course, they will provide us with a new type of device that will eliminate all diseases. But then, an engineer will probably take it apart to see how it works and we'll be back to square one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,119 #15 February 26, 2003 >Of course, they will provide us with a new type of device that will > eliminate all diseases. But then, an engineer will probably take it > apart to see how it works and we'll be back to square one. Which at least will make Kate and Tony happy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happythoughts 0 #16 February 26, 2003 Quote What if the evil Thracknazoids get it? Then they have a map to find us, invade, and take all our hard earned shit!! What then? %^@$!! Aliens. Oh man! Just when you think you are at the top of the food chain and then Whoops! We've been eating cows, pigs, etc because we are smarter than them (except for Californians) and the cows don't communicate with us. Now a bunch of aliens who are smarter than us, and can't understand us, show up. "Jim, they've invited us over for dinner, how sweet..." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,150 #17 February 26, 2003 QuoteWhat if the evil Thracknazoids get it? Then they have a map to find us, invade, and take all our hard earned shit!! What then? %^@$!! Aliens. Give them SUVs and they'll kill themselves in the rollovers.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
n2skdvn 0 #18 February 26, 2003 Can ya hear me now...(11 min later)......nope!was checking the site on nasa about a week ago. carry on voyager...... --. if my calculations are correct SLINKY + ESCULATOR = EVERLASTING FUN my site Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skr 1 #19 February 26, 2003 The sun moving through the interstellar medium http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020624.html Astronomy Picture of the Day http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ and an archive going back to 1995 with a bunch of really interesting pictures http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html Skr Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diverdriver 7 #20 February 26, 2003 Oh Bravo......touche. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmcd308 0 #21 February 26, 2003 Great post, Cajones. My answer - Thraknawhatevers - I am unable to remember the correct name of their race due to my American myopia - have large heads with big eyes. Years of living suspended in green goo has given them thin skin. This is their fatal flaw. The liberal application 5.56mm ammunition will render them uninterested in pursuing a ground war on Earth. If they are insistent, I hope that their bodies decompose into good fertilizer. Brent ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aero04 0 #22 February 26, 2003 Good point Dave. =Getting into my philosophical chair= One of these days in the far future, I think we will conquer space. I don't mean endless cirlces of earth, or going back to the moon or going to mars, I mean outside of our soloar system. Like I said, FAR future. I think it would just awesome to get all of our space probes and bring them back to earth. =Hopping out of chair= Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rhino 0 #23 February 27, 2003 That is very cool!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kizzie92 0 #24 February 27, 2003 Pioneer 10 carries a gold plaque engraved with a message of goodwill and a map showing the Earth's location in the solar system. The spacecraft continues to coast toward the star Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus. It will take 2 million years to reach it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile! Back on planet Earth.........The big difference between sex for money and sex for free is that sex for money usually costs a lot less. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #25 February 27, 2003 I have a question for you physicists out there. If there were a clock on Pioneer 10, how long would IT say it has been traveling? I know that the faster an object goes, time slows down (at least that's my concept of the theory of relativity). To leave the solar system, this thing must be cooking! So, does the spacecraft itself think it's only been up there 30 years? less than that? I'd be interested in some ejucaded responses. --- My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
