StyroCupMan writes "NASA has announced that it will launch a satellite to map our solar system's boundary. It will also study the particles and radiation that pose a health and safety hazard to humans. Time to invest in that shiny new spacesuit."
The birth of interstellar exploration
by
It+doesn't+come+easy
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· Score: 3, Interesting
Pretty cool. We are about to transition into the age of interstellar exploration, at least technically speaking, once the Voyager 1 probe "officially" cross into interstellar space. The actual boundary shifts in relation to the activity of the sun and so this new satellite should help determine (among other things) when Voyager has crossed over.
Interesting note: The Pioneer/Voyager probes illustrate the space exploration concept that the later you leave, the sooner you get there...
-- The NSA: The only part of the US government that actually listens.
Why do we need this? Someone please explain it to me. None of the Pioneer or Voyager probes have yet to reach the heliopause and they were launched in the 1970s. So we should expect to see results in sixty years? How about doing some USEFUL exploring like investigating Pluto/Charon and KBOs?
-- "Well Ranger Brad, I'm a scientist. I don't believe in anything." - Dr. Roger Fleming
Re:Historically speaking...
by
iainl
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· Score: 4, Interesting
The problem, if memory serves, is that it's a lot easier to sling a probe out along the plane than it is to send it "up or down" with any speed - simply because it's being launched from Earth any probe will already have a substantial amount of momentum in the plane.
Slashdot Mirror
Interesting note: The Pioneer/Voyager probes illustrate the space exploration concept that the later you leave, the sooner you get there...
The NSA: The only part of the US government that actually listens.
Why do we need this? Someone please explain it to me. None of the Pioneer or Voyager probes have yet to reach the heliopause and they were launched in the 1970s. So we should expect to see results in sixty years? How about doing some USEFUL exploring like investigating Pluto/Charon and KBOs?
"Well Ranger Brad, I'm a scientist. I don't believe in anything." - Dr. Roger Fleming
The problem, if memory serves, is that it's a lot easier to sling a probe out along the plane than it is to send it "up or down" with any speed - simply because it's being launched from Earth any probe will already have a substantial amount of momentum in the plane.
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"