The 1977 twin Voyager space missions were tasked with documenting and exploring the outermost planets in our solar system, notably Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus, and their moons. On this 40th anniversary of the launch, filmmaker Emer Reynolds's PBS-aired documentary recalls the suspenseful, sometimes surprising, and ultimately inspiring stories behind the probes, which were first announced in 1972. As one scientist put it, Voyager was meant to satisfy the human "longing to understand the significance of the universe," and communicate our place in it. Towards this end, at the instigation of astronomer Carl Sagan and others, a metallic gold record was produced, sending greetings in over 50 languages, along with samples of music and photographs of the diverse branches of the human family. The Voyager probes sent back detailed photos of the planets, which gave insights into geographic storms and possible inner oceans beneath a planet's surface (of interest, since water is a precondition to life). As the probes passed planets, they took advantage of a "gravity assist," or slingshot effect, which increased the satellite's velocity to its next destination. The Voyager mission always seemed to be one of the most poignant and idealistic journeys in NASA's history, and Voyager 2 is now "knocking on eternity's door"—completing the first part of its mission and entering interstellar space. While other intelligent life may not exist in this solar system, there are still billions of stars and planets beyond our solar system where it may. Combining commentary from scientific experts together with outstanding space views, this is a fine homage to and update on the Voyager program. Extras include a bonus featurette. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)
The Farthest: Voyager in Space
(2017) 100 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR), Blu-ray: $29.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS Video. SDH captioned. ISBN: 978-1-5317-0242-7 (dvd), 978-1-5317-0296-0 (blu-ray). Volume 33, Issue 2
The Farthest: Voyager in Space
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