When a malfunction occurs in the loneliest spacecraft in the universe, it’s not just a matter of turning it off and on again. Voyager 1, the first human-made object to leave the Solar System in 2012, went silent in November, meaning no science or engineering data would be sent back to Earth. The probe was… Read More »
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, which will head to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa in October 2024, will carry a laser-etched message celebrating humanity’s connection to water. The message pays homage to past NASA missions that carried similar messages. As president of Extraterrestrial Messaging Intelligence, or METI International, I helped design the messaging in Clipper along with… Read More »
NASA’s Voyager spacecraft are the furthest human-made objects from Earth.NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s Voyager 1 and 2 are the only human-made objects to reach interstellar space. The two probes were launched in 1977 and may soon lose communication with Earth. NASA hopes to stay in touch with the probes at least until the 50th anniversary in 2027.… Read More »