Voyager points the way for an exciting future

I have a love for anything about space and space travel, ever since I found some old dog-eared copies of National Geographic telling the stories of the Mercury 7, like that of John Glenn and his epic journey in Friendship 7. I was barely old enough to read, but even just looking at the pictures was a thrill to know that mankind was reaching for the stars.

When Apollo 11 landed on the moon in 1969, I was just 8 years old. What was once science fiction was now science fact. Even at that tender age, I knew the whole world had changed on that day in July.

In 1977, a pair of space probes were launched aptly named Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. They began what would be one of the longest space journeys in human history.

In 1979 when I was in high school, Voyager 1 arrived at Jupiter followed shortly by Voyager 2. It was just perfect for my astronomy class. We saw all our astronomy books rendered obsolete by the Voyager discoveries. They took amazing pictures of Jupiter and later, Saturn. Voyager 1 discovered active volcanoes on the moon Io. The exploration also found ice-encrusted moons like Europa and the first glimpses of the mysterious moon Titian, one of Saturn’s moons with a thick atmosphere of nitrogen and methane. They made many more discoveries before drifting on to be the first spacecrafts to take shots of Neptune and Uranus. Then they sped onward into space.

Thirty-four years later, they are on the verge of leaving our solar system, and here is the kicker — they are still functional, still able to send data back and receive commands. Unlike their predecessors Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11, the Voyagers are very much alive. Even though it takes more than 16 hours for radio signals to reach them, they still have power from their radioactive generators.

They are a little more than 120 astronomical units (Aus) from us. One AU is equivalent to 93 million miles, the same distance the Earth is from the Sun. The reason why is the vastness of space between Earth and them. They are the fastest objects ever made by man, but it still took more than three decades to get where they are now.

While I’m fascinated by the other probes and rovers that have been launched, the Voyagers capture my imagination and heart. Like the twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity on Mars, they have gone far past their warranties, decades past. These are tough machines that have endured intense radiation, extreme temperatures of hundreds of degrees above and below zero and the gravity wells of huge planets as they slung around them to pick up speed. And they still function.

Their computer power is a little better than a high-end calculator. Your iPhone is a thousand times more powerful. That makes me admire these two even more. I always did like a scrapper. Right now, they are leading the way for mankind’s true destiny.

We must heed that call from the deep black. We must do more. NASA blew it, lost its edge when the agency retired the space shuttle fleet years too early. Thankfully, U.S. and other civilian companies are taking up the slack. One of those companies, SPACEX, made history last month when it became the first commercial spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station, bringing onboard much needed supplies. That is a big step in the right direction.

Man has not gone beyond Earth’s orbit since the early 1970s. That must change. We need to go back to the Moon, but not for putting up flags and bringing back rocks. We need to have a permanent presence there — and not just the Moon. Forget low orbital stations. Building them in high orbit is the key.

Why? Industry, like mining, construction and the forging of metals and other materials that are becoming scarce here on the scarred surface of our home planet. Better computer chips and lighter, stronger alloys can be made only up there. Fuel and endless energies can be harnessed for all. These are just some of the benefits.

We must go and spread to the planets. Mars is another. The mineral wealth of asteroids must be harnessed as well. We must make space not only for the astronaut, but for the miner, construction worker, the metallurgist and, last of all, the colonist.

It will take vision, and it will not be cheap. It will take guts, but can be done. It will be a challenge; something Americans are very good at. We just need that spur, that one thing that will make all this go from science fiction to real, live fact. I believe it is out there right now, waiting for the wondering hands of an explorer to find. Be it robotic or human, I believe there is life on another world.

Voyagers 1 and 2 point the way for us to follow, blazing the trail. It’s a legacy for whoever finds them ages from now. Where they go, we must strive to follow.

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.