40 Years of Real and Imaginary Space Explorations

It was the year Alpha Omega Publications began, the year Jimmy Carter became president, the year Elvis died, and the year George Lucas released the first of what would become an iconic science fiction movie series. Set in “a galaxy far, far away,” Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope featured imaginary planets and alien life. The movie was a groundbreaking success and helped to spur the curiosity and imagination of the public.

The same year Star Wars premiered, NASA launched two space probes named Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. Each spacecraft carried “Sounds of Earth,” a recording that was meant to convey a story of Earth to any extraterrestrials who might find it. The twin spacecraft were originally sent into space to explore Saturn and Jupiter, where they made such discoveries as active volcanoes on one of Jupiter’s moons; however, NASA decided to extend the Voyager’s mission, with Voyager 2 encountering the planets of Uranus in 1986 and Neptune in 1989.

In 2017, space explorations both real and imaginary are still going strong. The newest Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi is set for release in December, and the missions of Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 still continue. Their more-than-39-year-journey is now exploring the interstellar medium under the new name: Interstellar Mission. Both probes are now more than 114 astronomical units from the sun and should continue to work until approximately 2025 when it’s anticipated that they’ll reach their limitations to power any instruments on board.

Meanwhile, NASA isn’t relying just on old spacecraft to continue new missions. This year they plan on launching TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite). TESS is the first all-sky exoplanet survey satellite which will survey the sky, searching for small rocky worlds beyond our own solar system. This is the first satellite of its kind, but 2017 is still a slower year for space exploration with no major milestones planned. However, 2018 has the potential to bring space exploration back to the forefront with SpaceX, a private rocket launching company, which is planning on sending two civilians on a trip around the moon.