All language subtitles for Spaces Deepest Secrets S01E05 Secret History of the Voyager iNTERNAL720pHDTVx264-DHD

Narrator: FAR ABOVE THE EARTH,
TWO TINY SPACECRAFT

ARE RAISING THE SPIRIT
OF EXPLORATION

TO EXTRAORDINARY LEVELS.

FOR THREE AND A HALF DECADES,
THEY'VE BEEN INVESTIGATING

THE OUTER REACHES
OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.

THEY ARE THE VOYAGERS.

VOYAGER WAS THE RIGHT SPACECRAFT
AT THE RIGHT TIME.

WHEN A HUGE AMOUNT OF STUFF
WAS WAITING TO BE DISCOVERED

AND VOYAGER WAS CAPABLE
OF DISCOVERING IT.

VOYAGER WAS THE SEMINAL MISSION
OF THE PAST 50 YEARS.

IT REPRESENTS THE GOLDEN AGE
OF SPACE EXPLORATION.

Narrator: THE VOYAGER
JOURNEYS HAVE BEEN DRIVEN

BY REMARKABLE HUMAN ENDEAVOR
AND ACHIEVEMENT.

THEY'VE BEEN A WINDOW
INTO WORLDS

ALMOST BEYOND IMAGINATION.

AND THEY HAVE HELPED UNLOCK
THE SECRETS OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.

EACH SPACECRAFT
CARRIES A GOLDEN DISK.

IT HOLDS A SNAPSHOT
OF HUMANITY,

A DISPATCH TO THE STARS.

HELLO FROM THE CHILDREN
OF PLANET EARTH.

AND NOW THE VOYAGER MISSION

IS ABOUT TO CROSS
THE FINAL FRONTIER.

THEY'RE THE FIRST OBJECTS
BUILT BY HUMANS EVER

TO PASS BEYOND THE SOLAR SYSTEM

AND INTO THE GALAXY BEYOND.

-- Captions by VITAC --
www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

[ FLEETWOOD MAC'S "NEVER
GOING BACK AGAIN" PLAYING ]

¶ SHE BROKE DOWN AND LET ME IN ¶

Narrator: IT'S 1977,

AND FLEETWOOD MAC
HAVE JUST RELEASED "RUMOURS".

THE WORLD FEELS
LIKE A DIFFERENT PLACE.

...OF THE UNITED STATES.

THE CONSTITUTION
OF THE UNITED STATES.

JIMMY CARTER IS
THE NEW AMERICAN PRESIDENT,

AND ELVIS HAS JUST DIED.

THE CAUSE OF DEATH IS
CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIA.

¶ BEEN DOWN ONE TIME ¶

Narrator:
A NEW COMPANY CALLED APPLE
COMPUTERS HAS JUST BEEN FOUNDED.

¶ I WAS STROLLING ON THE MOON
ONE DAY ¶

Narrator: AND IT'S NOT BEEN LONG

SINCE THE FINAL APOLLO MISSION
LANDED ON THE MOON.

THE PUBLIC HAS GONE CRAZY
FOR FILMS LIKE "STAR WARS"

AND "CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
OF THE THIRD KIND".

AND THIS COMBINATION
OF BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY

AND EXCITING SCIENCE FICTION

HAS HELPED TO INSPIRE
A SURPRISING PROJECT.

IN AUGUST, 1977, NASA BEGAN

ONE OF THE GREATEST ADVENTURES
IN THE HISTORY OF SPACE FLIGHT.

Man: 3...2...1...0.

Narrator: HERE WERE
TWO UNMANNED SPACE PROBES

ATTEMPTING SOMETHING

STRAIGHT OUT OF
AN ARTHUR C. CLARKE STORY.

THEIR MISSION --
TO EXPLORE THE OUTER PLANETS

OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM --

JUPITER, SATURN, URANUS,
AND NEPTUNE.

THEIR FIRST ENCOUNTER
WITH JUPITER

WOULD BE 2.5 BILLION MILES AWAY.

THE TWO SPACECRAFT WERE NOW
HEADING ON THEIR EPIC JOURNEY,

BUT THE STORY
OF THE VOYAGER MISSION

BEGAN ALMOST 20 YEARS EARLIER.

THE FIRST OBJECT
LAUNCHED INTO ORBIT

WAS SPUTNIK I.

[ STEADY BEEPING ]

AND FROM THEN ON, SPACE
SCIENTISTS BECAME OBSESSED

WITH JOURNEYING EVER FURTHER
FROM EARTH,

EXPLORING THE FAR REACHES
OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.

YET NO SPACECRAFT COULD GET
MUCH FURTHER THAN MARS,

AND EVEN THAT WAS A STRUGGLE.

IN 1961, IN CALIFORNIA,

ONE MAN THOUGHT HE MIGHT KNOW

HOW TO BRING THESE PLANETS
INTO REACH.

MICHAEL MINOVITCH
WAS A BRILLIANT MATH GRADUATE.

Minovitch: MY FATHER TAUGHT ME
HOW TO DO ARITHMETIC WHEN I WAS

LIKE IN THE FOURTH
OR FIFTH GRADE,

AND THEN I LEARNED
THE LANGUAGE --

THE SECRET OF SCIENCE.

AND THE SECRET OF SCIENCE
IS MATHEMATICS.

Narrator: AT THE AGE OF 25,

WHILE HE WAS STILL
STUDYING FOR HIS PhD AT UCLA,

MINOVITCH CHALLENGED HIMSELF
TO SOLVE

THE MOST DIFFICULT PROBLEM
IN SPACE EXPLORATION...

...A SOLUTION
TO THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM.

THE ABILITY
TO PREDICT EXACTLY

HOW A SPACECRAFT
PASSING A PLANET

WOULD HAVE ITS PATH AFFECTED
WAS STILL BEYOND SCIENCE.

UNTIL, THAT IS,
THE YOUNG MINOVITCH CAME ALONG.

IT WOULD'VE BEEN REGARDED
AS AN IMPOSSIBILITY

PRIOR TO WHAT I DID IN 1961.

I WAS GIFTED,
BEING AT A UNIVERSITY

THAT HAD THE 7090 COMPUTER,
SO THAT WAS THE KEY.

Narrator: UCLA'S
STATE-OF-THE-ART IBM COMPUTER

WAS THE FASTEST
ON EARTH AT THE TIME,

AND MINOVITCH PUT IT
TO GOOD USE.

HE BEGAN CALCULATING THOUSANDS
OF ALTERNATIVE DIRECTIONS

IN SPEEDS IN AN ATTEMPT
TO HOME IN ON THE SOLUTION.

IT WAS A LONG SHOT
NOT ONLY FOR THE YOUNG STUDENT,

BUT ALSO FOR THE UNIVERSITY.

WORKING ON A 7090 WAS COSTING
THE UNIVERSITY $1,000 AN HOUR,

SO THEY WERE DUMPING
BUSHELS OF MONEY

INTO A FANTASTIC BELIEF.
AND WHAT WAS THE BELIEF?

BELIEF THAT A PERSON
THAT HADN'T EVEN GOT HIS PhD

SOLVED THE PROBLEM THAT ALL
THE MOST ADVANCED MATHEMATICIANS

IN HISTORY COULDN'T SOLVE.

THAT MEANT PRESSURE ON ME.

AND SO, I THOUGHT TO MYSELF,
HOW COULD I --

I CAN'T LIVE WITH MYSELF,
GIVEN THIS GIFT,

KNOWING THAT THERE'S
A VERY STRONG POSSIBILITY

THAT MY TRAJECTORIES
WERE NOT CORRECT.

Narrator:
MINOVITCH WENT TO THE PEOPLE

WITH THE MOST ACCURATE DATA

ON THE SOLAR SYSTEM
AT THE TIME --

NASA'S JET PROPULSION
LABORATORY IN PASADENA.

THEY WOULD DECIDE IF HE'D SOLVED
THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM

OR JUST WASTED A LOT
OF THE UNIVERSITY'S MONEY.

THEY RAN THE TESTS

ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE
DIFFERENT TRAJECTORY TYPES,

DIFFERENT ENCOUNTERS,

AND FOUND EVERY SINGLE ONE
CONVERGED TO THE EXACT SOLUTION.

Narrator: IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL
MOMENT IN MATHEMATICS.

BY SOLVING
THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM,

MINOVITCH HAD DISCOVERED A WAY
TO USE GRAVITY

TO PROPEL A SPACECRAFT FURTHER
AND FASTER THAN EVER BEFORE.

AND WHAT MINOVITCH REALIZED WAS,

AS A SPACECRAFT
APPROACHES THE PLANET,

IT GETS PULLED IN
BY ITS GRAVITY,

AND AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T
CRASH INTO THE PLANET,

BY USING
THE SLINGSHOT TECHNIQUE,

MINOVITCH HAD OPENED A GATEWAY
TO THE OUTER PLANETS,

AT LEAST THEORETICALLY.

HE IDENTIFIED HUNDREDS

OF POSSIBLE MISSIONS
TO THE PLANETS,

METICULOUSLY DRAWING THEM UP
IN HIS NOTEBOOKS.

THE CONCEPT THAT I INVENTED,

AND I CAN SHOW YOU THE PRINTOUT.

IF YOU LOOK HERE,
YOU'LL SEE THERE WAS NO LIMIT.

I COULD HAVE A SEQUENCE

THAT WAS 100 PLANETS
LONG, NONSTOP --

PLANET TO PLANET TO PLANET.

LAUNCH FROM EARTH,
AND THEN YOU COME TO JUPITER.

NOW JUPITER,
YOU GET A NICE, BIG BOUNCE,

AND YOU USE THAT
TO PROPEL YOURSELF TO SATURN,

AND THEN SATURN
IS A PRETTY DARN BIG PLANET,

AND THAT'LL CATAPULT YOU
OUT TO PLUTO.

THIS CONCEPT COULD BE USED

TO EXPLORE
THE WHOLE SOLAR SYSTEM

WITH ONE LAUNCH VEHICLE
AT ONE TIME,

WITHOUT ANY ROCKET PROPULSION
AT ALL.

Narrator: AT NASA'S JPL,

ANOTHER STUDENT WAS HIRED
TO CRUNCH NUMBERS

FOR A MISSION
TO THE OUTER PLANETS.

Flandro: OBVIOUSLY,
THE FIRST THING IS TO DETERMINE

WHEN THE PLANETS ARE GOING TO BE

IN POSITIONS
WHERE WE COULD REACH THEM.

SO, I DREW VERY CAREFUL MAPS
OF WHERE THE PLANETS WOULD BE,

AND ONE OF
THE MOST IMPORTANT DRAWINGS

WAS ONE IN WHICH I DREW
THE POSITIONS OF THE PLANETS

VERSUS THE DATE.

AND THE THING THAT CAUGHT
MY ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY

WAS THAT THE LINES
FOR JUPITER, SATURN, URANUS,

AND NEPTUNE ALL CROSSED IN
ABOUT THE 1975-'76 TIME PERIOD.

IN OTHER WORDS,
THOSE FOUR MAJOR PLANETS

WERE ON THE SAME SIDE OF THE SUN

AND IN THE SAME GENERAL POSITION

AT THE SAME TIME,

SO IT GAVE ME THE IDEA
IMMEDIATELY

THAT WE COULD DO
ALL OF THOSE PLANETS

WITH ONE FLIGHT.

Narrator: THIS NARROW WINDOW

TO SLINGSHOT FROM ONE PLANET
STRAIGHT TO THE NEXT

WOULD NOT OPEN AGAIN
FOR ANOTHER 176 YEARS.

IT WAS TOO GOOD
AN OPPORTUNITY TO MISS.

AND SO WAS BORN THE IDEA
OF A GRAND TOUR,

THE MOST AMBITIOUS SPACE MISSION

OF ITS TIME.

IT WOULD SEND TWO
IDENTICAL SPACE PROBES

TO ALL FOUR OF THE SOLAR
SYSTEM'S OUTER PLANETS

IN ONE RELATIVELY SHORT FLIGHT.

THESE ENCOUNTERS
PROMISED SPECTACULAR VIEWS

OF THESE DISTANT WORLDS,

PLANETS WE ONLY KNEW AS BLURRY
OBJECTS THROUGH TELESCOPES.

THE HALF-BILLION MILES
TO JUPITER

WOULD TAKE TWO YEARS, THEN
ANOTHER TWO YEARS TO SATURN.

FIVE MORE TO URANUS,

AND A FINAL THREE
TO REACH NEPTUNE.

FOR THESE JOURNEYS
TO BE SUCCESSFUL,

IT MEANT
THE VOYAGER SPACE PROBES

WOULD NEED TO FUNCTION
FOR AT LEAST 12 YEARS,

YET NASA HAD NEVER BUILT
A SPACECRAFT GUARANTEED

TO LAST LONGER
THAN A FEW MONTHS.

Casani: THE ISSUE IS THE TIME.

IT TAKES TIME
TO COVER THAT DISTANCE.

YOU'RE GOING A LONG WAYS,
AND THAT TAKES TIME,

AND THE TIME IS CAN YOU MAKE
ALL THESE MACHINES

OPERATE WITHOUT
HUMAN INTERVENTION

OR WITHOUT ADJUSTMENT?

WELL, I MEAN,

AT THAT POINT IN TIME,

THAT WAS A MIND-BLOWING
THOUGHT --

OF HOW YOU BUILD A SPACECRAFT
THAT CAN SURVIVE FAILURES

AND STILL KEEP ON CHUGGING.

Narrator: FIVE YEARS OF TESTING
AND REDESIGNING FOLLOWED,

AS NASA'S ENGINEERS
GRAPPLED WITH THE TASK

OF BUILDING A SPACECRAFT
CAPABLE OF THE JOB.

AND THEY NEEDED
TO DO IT BEFORE 1977,

WHEN THE LAUNCH WINDOW
FOR THIS GRAND TOUR

WOULD CLOSE AT LEAST
FOR ANOTHER 176 YEARS.

Casani:
THE THING THAT WAS SCARY WAS

THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE BASED ON
A LOT OF NEW TECHNOLOGY,

SO IT WAS A TECHNOLOGICAL LEAP.

WE THOUGHT WE COULD DO IT.

NOBODY ELSE DID, YOU KNOW?

Narrator:
THEY'D CRACKED THE MATHEMATICS.

THEY WERE CONFIDENT
TACKLING THE TECHNOLOGY.

BUT THERE WAS
ONE MORE THING THEY NEEDED --

MONEY.

NASA STILL LACKED THE FUNDING

TO SUPPORT THE MISSION
BEYOND SATURN.

TO ENSURE FURTHER FUNDING,

THE PUBLIC AND CONGRESS

WOULD NEED REGULAR REMINDERS
OF THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS.

THE VOYAGERS NEEDED A VOICE,

SOMEONE WHO COULD TURN
THEIR SAGA

OF CELESTIAL EXPLORATION

INTO SOMETHING
THAT ALL AMERICANS COULD SHARE.

THEY TURNED TO A YOUNG MEMBER
OF THE VOYAGER TEAM

WITH A PASSION FOR STORYTELLING.

HIS NAME WAS CARL SAGAN.

WOULDN'T IT BE LOVELY
TO MAKE CONTACT

WITH ANOTHER CIVILIZATION

THAT HAS ARISEN
AND EVOLVED INDEPENDENTLY?

Narrator:
AWARE THAT THE VOYAGERS
WOULD HEAD AWAY FROM US FOREVER,

SAGAN PROPOSED
AN EXTRAORDINARY IDEA.

ONBOARD EACH SPACECRAFT,

HE SUGGESTED PLACING
A MESSAGE FROM EARTH,

AN IDEA WITH THE POTENTIAL

TO CAPTURE
THE PUBLIC IMAGINATION.

Sagan:
ATTACHED TO EACH SPACECRAFT

IS A FAIRLY ELABORATE MESSAGE

IN THE FORM
OF A PHONOGRAPH RECORD

AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR PLAYING.

IT WAS A GOLD-PLATED
COPPER RECORD,

A GIFT OF RECORDINGS
AND GREETINGS

FROM THE INHABITANTS
OF THIS PLANET

TO THOSE OF SOME OTHER.

[ CLASSICAL PIANO PLAYING ]

[ WOMAN SAYING "HELLO"
IN MULTIPLE FOREIGN LANGUAGES ]

EACH DISK
CONTAINED A COMBINATION

OF SOUNDS AND PICTURES,
AND ABOVE ALL,

MUSIC FROM CHUCK BERRY
TO AZERBAIJANI BAGPIPES

AND JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH.

SAGAN ARGUED THAT SOMETIME,
SOMEWHERE,

ANOTHER CIVILIZATION
MAY FIND ONE OF THE VOYAGERS.

THE RECORD'S
PURPOSE WAS TO TELL THEM

WHAT KIND OF CREATURES
HAD SENT IT.

Sagan: HOW MUCH
WILL THEY KNOW ABOUT US,

ABOUT WHAT WE'RE REALLY LIKE?

TO COMMUNICATE THAT,
MUSIC IS A WAY

OF EXPRESSION OF HUMAN FEELINGS,
DESIRES, PASSIONS, HOPES.

IN SOME SENSE,
ALL THE PERFORMERS

AND COMPOSERS ON THIS RECORD
WILL LIVE FOREVER.

Narrator: WITH THEIR
GOLDEN RECORDS ONBOARD

AND THE PUBLIC'S
IMAGINATION FIRED UP,

THE GRAND TOUR WAS UNDERWAY,

BUT NO ONE COULD KNOW
IF THE MISSION WAS GOING

TO DELIVER RESULTS

UNTIL THE VOYAGERS
REACHED THEIR FIRST PLANET,

AND THAT WOULD TAKE
TWO LONG YEARS.

IT'S A CROSS.

Narrator: APRIL, 1979,

AND TWO YEARS AFTER LAUNCH,

MISSION CONTROL
WAS STEERING THE VOYAGERS

TOWARDS THEIR FIRST RENDEZVOUS.

IT WAS THE LARGEST PLANET
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM --

JUPITER.

BEFORE VOYAGER,
THE BEST IMAGES ASTRONOMERS HAD

OF JUPITER AND ITS MOONS
WERE FUZZY PHOTOGRAPHS.

COULD THE VOYAGERS
CHANGE ALL THAT?

Stone: I THINK WE ALL FELT

THAT WE WERE IN THE TRADITION
OF GALILEO,

WHO WAS THE FIRST TO SEE
THE MOONS OF JUPITER

AND THE FIRST
TO APPLY AN INSTRUMENT

TO INCREASE OUR ABILITY
TO OBSERVE THE UNIVERSE.

VOYAGER WAS JUST THE LATEST TOOL

WHICH WE AS A CIVILIZATION
HAD MANAGED TO DEVISE,

AND OF COURSE, THE TOOL
WAS SO POWERFUL

THAT WE SAW THINGS
NOBODY HAD SEEN BEFORE,

AND THAT NOBODY HAD IMAGINED
WE WOULD SEE.

SEE, I'M A WEATHERMAN.
I'M AN ATMOSPHERIC SCIENTIST,

AND WE KNEW ABOUT 300-YEAR-OLD
STORMS, THE GREAT RED SPOT,

BECAUSE PEOPLE HAD BEEN
LOOKING AT IT FROM EARTH,

AND FOR ME, THE SURPRISE WAS,
WHEN WE GOT UP CLOSE,

WE SAW THAT THE ATMOSPHERE
WAS JUST CHURNING AND TURBULENT,

AND IT MADE
THIS 300-YEAR-OLD STORM

ALL THE MORE MYSTERIOUS,

'CAUSE HOW COULD IT GO ON
IN THE MIDST

OF ALL THIS TURBULENCE?

Narrator:
IN ADDITION TO EXTREME WEATHER,

JUPITER HAS AN IMMENSE
MAGNETIC FIELD,

10,000 TIMES
STRONGER THAN EARTH'S,

AND FOR THE VOYAGERS,
THAT WAS A PROBLEM,

BECAUSE THIS MAGNETISM
CREATES LETHAL RADIATION BELTS

WHICH CAN SCRAMBLE THE COMPUTERS

OF ANY SPACECRAFT
THAT GETS TOO CLOSE.

YET, GETTING CLOSE WAS EXACTLY
WHAT WAS NEEDED.

THE VOYAGER TEAM WANTED
TO SEND VOYAGER 1 TO EXPLORE IO,

ONE OF JUPITER'S
FOUR LARGEST MOONS,

AND IT WAS THE NEAREST
OF ALL OF THEM TO THE PLANET.

THE SPACECRAFT WAS DESIGNED

TO WITHSTAND A CERTAIN
TOTAL DOSE OF RADIATION,

AND FULLY 50%
OF THAT EXPECTED DOSE

WAS GOING TO OCCUR
AS WE APPROACHED AND FLEW BY IO.

[ HIGH-PITCHED WHISTLING ]

Narrator:
AS VOYAGER 1 APPROACHED,

IT SENT BACK RECORDINGS

OF THE RADIO SIGNAL
GENERATED BY THE RADIATION.

THESE ARE THE REAL SOUNDS
OF THE ONSLAUGHT.

BACK AT JPL,
THE VOYAGER TEAM WORRIED

WHETHER IT COULD WITHSTAND
SUCH AN ASSAULT,

AND IF THE GAMBLE WOULD PAY OFF.

VOYAGER NAVIGATION ENGINEER
LYNDA HYDER

WAS THE FIRST TO FIND OUT.

Hyder: WELL, I CAME IN
ABOUT 9:00 THAT MORNING

TO THE NAVIGATION AREA,
AND THE TAPE WITH THE PICTURES

THE SPACECRAFT HAD TAKEN
THE DAY BEFORE WAS ON MY DESK.

I PUT THEM ON THE COMPUTER
SYSTEM AND I DISPLAYED THEM.

AND I COULD SEE THAT IO,
THE MOON OF IO, WAS A CRESCENT,

AS VERY OFTEN OUR OWN MOON IS,
A CRESCENT IN THE NIGHT SKY.

AND I WENT
AND ENHANCED THE BRIGHTNESS,

AND THERE APPEARED,
BESIDE IO, AN OBJECT --

A HUGE OBJECT,

AND IT COMPLETELY
CAPTURED MY ATTENTION.

IT LOOKED LIKE ANOTHER MOON
PEEKING OUT BEHIND IO.

BUT THERE WAS NO OTHER MOON,

AND THERE WAS NOTHING
WRONG WITH THE CAMERA.

LYNDA DECIDED THIS OBJECT
HAD TO BE PART OF IO.

AND, IN FACT,
THAT WAS VERY HARD TO ACCEPT,

BECAUSE THE SIZE
OF THIS OBJECT WAS ENORMOUS.

AND WHEN I EXPLORED IT,
I WAS ABLE TO FIND

THAT THIS LARGE,
STRANGE OBJECT --

IT WAS EXACTLY COINCIDENT

AND FELL OVER
A HEART-SHAPED FEATURE ON IO.

WHAT I HAD DISCOVERED
WAS THE HUGE PLUME

OF A VOLCANIC ERUPTION

ARISING 270 KILOMETERS

OVER THE SURFACE OF IO
AND RAINING BACK DOWN ONTO IT.

SO I HAD DISCOVERED
THE FIRST-EVER VOLCANIC ERUPTION

EVER SEEN ON ANOTHER WORLD
BESIDES THE EARTH.

Narrator:
THE GAMBLE OF BEING EXPOSED
TO SUCH RADIATION HAD PAID OFF.

VOYAGER 1 HAD REVEALED THAT IO,

THE CLOSEST
OF JUPITER'S LARGE MOONS,

WAS MORE GEOLOGICALLY ACTIVE
THAN THE EARTH.

JUPITER'S ENORMOUS GRAVITY
STRETCHES AND SQUEEZES THE MOON,

FORCING ITS CORE TO HEAT UP

AND ITS INTERIOR TO STAY MOLTEN.

WITH JUPITER BEHIND THEM,

THE TWO VOYAGER SPACECRAFT

HEADED FURTHER
OUT INTO INTERPLANETARY SPACE.

IT WOULD BE MORE THAN TWO YEARS

BEFORE THEY REACHED
THE NEXT DESTINATION

ON THEIR GRAND TOUR --

THE PLANET SATURN,

ALMOST A BILLION MILES AWAY.

Narrator:
THE TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING

NEEDED TO ACCOMPLISH
VOYAGER'S LONG-DISTANCE,

LONG-DURATION SPACE FLIGHT
WAS TRULY REMARKABLE.

THE SPACECRAFT
NEEDED TO BE DESIGNED

TO COPE WITH ANYTHING

THEIR MULTI-BILLION-MILE JOURNEY
WOULD THROW AT THEM.

[ BOSTON'S "MORE THAN A FEELING"
PLAYING ]

IN 1981, TWO YEARS FROM
THE STUNNING IMAGES OF JUPITER,

THE PUBLIC WAS LINING UP
TO GET THEIR FIRST CLEAR VIEWS

OF THE MYSTERIOUS
RINGED PLANET SATURN.

¶ MORE THAN A FEELIN' ¶

¶ MORE THAN A FEELIN' ¶

¶ WHEN I HEAR THAT OLD SONG
THEY USED TO PLAY ¶

¶ MORE THAN A FEELIN' ¶

¶ I BEGIN DREAMIN' ¶

THE VOYAGER TEAM HAD PREPARED
IN METICULOUS DETAIL

FOR THE ENCOUNTER.

THEY KNEW THEY HAD
JUST A TINY WINDOW

TO GET IT RIGHT.

EACH SPACECRAFT
WOULD FLY BY SO QUICKLY,

ON SUCH A CLOSE APPROACH,

THERE WAS ALMOST NO TIME
TO GATHER DATA.

THE CLOSEST APPROACH FLYBY
SEQUENCES ARE A MATTER OF HOURS.

YOU KNOW, REALLY, THE TIGHTEST,
CLOSEST APPROACH ACTIVITY'S

WITHIN ABOUT A 12-HOUR SPAN.

Narrator: IN PARTICULAR,
THE TEAM NEEDED TO DECIDE

WHERE TO POINT THE CAMERAS.

THE SCAN PLATFORM,
WHICH INCLUDED THE CAMERAS

AND THE SPECTROMETERS --

AM I GONNA POINT IT AT THE MOON?
AND WHICH MOON?

OR AM I GONNA POINT
IT AT THE PLANET?

OR WHICH WAY
AM I GONNA POINT IT?

AND SO YOU HAVE TO ARGUE
WITH YOUR COLLEAGUES.

BLUE-ISH.

BLUER THAN GRAY.

Narrator: BUT IT WAS THE RINGS
OF SATURN WHICH STOLE THE SHOW.

Flandro: WHEN I BEGAN MY WORK,
I HAD SUGGESTED

THAT ONE THING WE COULD DO
WITH THIS PARTICULAR MISSION

WAS TO FLY BETWEEN THE PLANET
AND THE RINGS,

AND, VERY FORTUNATELY,
WE DIDN'T DO THAT,

BECAUSE AS WE APPROACHED SATURN,

WE SAW THAT THE REGION THERE

THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO HAVE FLOWN
THROUGH WITH THE SPACECRAFT

WAS FILLED WITH MORE RINGS.
THERE WAS NO QUESTION

THAT SPACECRAFT
WOULD NOT HAVE SURVIVED

TRYING TO GO THROUGH THAT GAP.

Narrator:
THE IMAGING TEAM COULD BARELY
COPE WITH ALL THE NEW DATA.

WHAT I REMEMBER,
IT WASN'T REALLY STRESSFUL,

BUT IT WAS JUST CHAOTIC
AND HECTIC AND EXCITING

RIGHT THE FEW DAYS
AROUND THE ENCOUNTER,

TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH THE
DISCOVERIES AS THEY POURED IN.

EVENTUALLY, NO ONE GOT ANY SLEEP

BECAUSE WE WERE JUST
OVERWHELMED WITH NEW STUFF.

WELL, LOOK AT THOSE.
NOW THOSE ARE REALLY ODD.

Narrator:
VOYAGER REVEALED STRANGE
FEATURES CALLED SPOKES --

PATCHES OF DUST PARTICLES
SLIGHTLY RAISED ABOVE THE RINGS.

BY STUDYING A SERIES
OF TIME-LAPSE PICTURES

OF THE SPOKES,
THE VOYAGER TEAM

DISCOVERED THEY FOLLOWED
SATURN'S MAGNETIC FIELD

AS IT ROTATED WITH THE PLANET.

FOUR YEARS SINCE LAUNCH,

THE VOYAGERS HAD, SO FAR,
BEEN A WILD SUCCESS.

BUT NOW CAME THE MISSION
PLANNERS' BIGGEST GAMBLE.

HERE AT SATURN,

THE TWIN SPACECRAFT
WOULD PART COMPANY.

VOYAGER 1 WOULD BE DIVERTED
TOWARDS SATURN'S LARGEST MOON,

TITAN.

IT WAS AN ENTICING TARGET.

Porco: I MEAN, IT WAS CLEAR
THAT THE COMPOSITION

OF TITAN'S ATMOSPHERE

MAKES IT KIND
OF AN ANALOGUE WITH THE EARTH,

WHICH IS TERRIBLY SURPRISING,

BECAUSE NO ONE EXPECTED,
YEARS AGO,

YOU'D FIND AN ANALOGUE
OF THE EARTH

OUT AT THE DISTANCE OF SATURN.

Narrator: WITH AN ATMOSPHERE
OF SIMILAR DENSITY TO EARTH'S,

IT WAS BELIEVED TITAN MIGHT EVEN
HARBOR PRIMITIVE LIFE.

BUT THE MANEUVER
CAME AT A GREAT COST.

TO FLY PAST TITAN,

VOYAGER 1'S GRAND TOUR
WOULD HAVE TO BE SACRIFICED.

TO VISIT THIS INTRIGUING MOON,

IT NEEDED TO BE PUT
ON A DIFFERENT PATH,

THROWING IT UP AT AN ANGLE,

OUT OF THE PLANE
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

BEYOND TITAN,
THERE WOULD BE NO MORE

PLANETARY ENCOUNTERS
FOR VOYAGER 1.

IN THE END, THE TITAN
FLYBY WAS A DISAPPOINTMENT.

VOYAGER 1'S CAMERAS COULDN'T
PENETRATE ITS ATMOSPHERE

TO OFFER FURTHER CLUES TO
WHETHER LIFE MIGHT BE BENEATH.

TITAN WAS THE FIRST MAJOR
SETBACK FOR THE VOYAGER TEAM.

IT MEANT VOYAGER 1 HAD BEEN
SACRIFICED FOR VERY LITTLE,

AND WAS NOW SPEEDING
AWAY FROM THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

Narrator:
THE REST OF THE GRAND TOUR

WOULD HAVE TO RELY ON ONE SINGLE
SPACECRAFT -- VOYAGER 2.

NOW ON ITS OWN, IT WAS
HEADING ACROSS THE SOLAR SYSTEM

TOWARDS THE OUTER-MOST PLANETS.

BUT THEN,

JUST AS IT LEFT SATURN,
ANOTHER SETBACK.

THE TEAM NOTICED VOYAGER 2'S
CAMERA PLATFORM

HAD STARTED TO JAM.

WITHOUT THE CRUCIAL ABILITY
TO PAN ITS CAMERAS,

THERE WOULD BE FEW PICTURES
OF THE OTHER OUTER PLANETS.

IT WAS A POTENTIAL DISASTER,

AND THE TEAM STRUGGLED
TO FIND THE CAUSE.

Casani: IN THE CASE
OF THE STUCK SCAN PLATFORM,

THE EXPECTATION WAS THAT
THERE WAS A PIECE OF DEBRIS,

WHICH IS NOT LIKELY.

I MEAN, WE ARE SO CAREFUL

WHEN WE PUT THESE MACHINES
TOGETHER.

SO, THEN IT GOES DOWN TO,

"WELL, MAYBE IT'S THE LUBRICANT,

THE WAY THE LUBRICANT
HAS DISTRIBUTED ITSELF."

Narrator:
SO, HOW DO YOU FIX A SPACECRAFT

THAT'S OVER
A BILLION MILES AWAY?

WHAT WE DECIDED TO DO

WAS TO EXERCISE IT
VERY CAREFULLY,

MOVING THE GEARS TRAIN BACK
AND FORTH SLOWLY OVER THIS SPOT.

AND WE COULD SEE
THAT WE WERE MAKING PROGRESS,

AND THEY SAY, "OKAY, THIS
IS IT," AND WE WORKED WITH IT.

Narrator: BUT WITHOUT ANY TARGET
TO FOCUS THE CAMERAS ON,

THEY HAD NO WAY TO KNOW
IF THEIR FIX WAS SUCCESSFUL.

THEY'D ONLY KNOW
THAT WHEN VOYAGER 2

REACHED ITS NEXT DESTINATION --

URANUS.

EVEN TRAVELING
AT 50,000 AN HOUR,

THIS ENCOUNTER
WAS FIVE YEARS AWAY,

WHICH MEANT HALF A DECADE
OF UNCERTAINTY AND ANXIETY.

WELL,
JUST ABOUT TWO MINUTES AGO,

VOYAGER 2 PASSED THROUGH
ITS CLOSEST APPROACH TO URANUS.

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]

Narrator: DESPITE THEIR FIX
TO THE SCAN PLATFORM,

WITH LIMITED LIGHT THIS FAR
FROM THE SUN,

THE VOYAGER TEAM KNEW
THEIR CAMERAS WOULD STRUGGLE.

Stone:
VOYAGER WAS PLANNED TO OPERATE
AT 1 BILLION MILES AT SATURN.

IT WAS NOW BEING ASKED
TO OPERATE

AT 2 BILLION MILES AT URANUS,
WHERE THE SUN WAS VERY DIM.

AND WE HAD TO DO SEVERAL THINGS.

FOR INSTANCE, YOU HAVE TO HAVE

MUCH LONGER EXPOSURES
ON THE CAMERA,

AND IF YOU HAVE TOO LONG
OF AN EXPOSURE,

THE SPACECRAFT'S MOVING VERY
RAPIDLY, THINGS BECOME SMEARED.

SO WE HAD TO LEARN
HOW TO PROGRAM THE SPACECRAFT

TO TURN AT JUST THE RIGHT RATE

SO IT WOULD COMPENSATE FOR
THE MOTION OF THE SPACECRAFT.

THEY HAD TO BASICALLY REPROGRAM
THE BRAINS OF THE SPACECRAFT.

IT DIDN'T HAVE VERY MANY BRAINS,
BY TODAY'S STANDARDS,

BUT THEY HAD TO REPROGRAM IT,

AND THOSE WERE
FANTASTIC ACHIEVEMENTS.

Narrator: AS THE FIRST IMAGES
OF URANUS ARRIVED BACK AT EARTH,

IT BECAME CLEAR
THE ENGINEERS INGENUITY HAD,

ONCE AGAIN, PAID OFF.

BUT THE EXTRAORDINARY
PIN-SHARP PICTURES

OF THIS DISTANT PLANET,

2 BILLION MILES FROM EARTH,

REVEALED TANTALIZINGLY LITTLE.

WOULD THE TEAM
DISCOVER MORE AT NEPTUNE,

THE LAST MAJOR PLANET
IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM?

THIS MYSTERIOUS WORLD HAD
RESISTED INVESTIGATION FROM EVEN

THE MOST POWERFUL TELESCOPES.

TO MAINTAIN ITS TRAJECTORY,

VOYAGER 2 NEEDED
TO MAKE A LOW PASS

OVER NEPTUNE'S NORTH POLE,

BUT THIS BROUGHT
ITS OWN PROBLEMS.

BECAUSE OF INCREASED SPEED
AND APPROACH ANGLE,

VOYAGER 2'S WINDOW
OF OPPORTUNITY

WOULD BE THE NARROWEST YET.

Stone:
THE CHALLENGE AT NEPTUNE

WAS THE MOST
DIFFICULT ONE WE'D HAD.

WE HAD TO KNOW,
WITHIN ONE SECOND,

WHEN WE WERE GOING TO FLY
OVER THE NORTH POLE OF NEPTUNE.

THAT WAS A MAJOR
NAVIGATIONAL CHALLENGE.

WE HAD NEVER DELIVERED
THAT KIND OF ACCURACY BEFORE,

AND IF WE WERE RIGHT, IT WORKED,

AND IF WE WERE WRONG,
WE HAD NO SECOND CHANCE.

Narrator: NOT ONLY DID THE TEAM
NEED TO POSITION A SPACECRAFT

WITHIN A SECOND OF ACCURACY
AFTER A FLIGHT OF 12 YEARS,

BUT TO ENSURE
SCIENTIFIC SUCCESS,

THEY ALSO HAD TO FORECAST
THE WEATHER

ON A PLANET 3 BILLION MILES
AWAY FROM EARTH.

Ingersoll: WE HAD TO FORECAST

WHERE TO POINT THE CAMERAS
TWO WEEKS IN ADVANCE

WHERE THOSE INTERESTING FEATURES
ARE GONNA BE,

AND WE SAID, "WELL,
THEY'RE MOVING AROUND.

THEY'RE STORMS
IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF NEPTUNE."

AND THIS WAS AUGUST OF 1989,

AND THERE WAS A BIG HURRICANE
OFF THE COAST OF FLORIDA,

AND THE WEATHER FORECASTERS
HERE SAY,

"WELL, 12 HOURS FROM NOW,

WE THINK IT'S GONNA VEER RIGHT,

OR WE THINK IT'S GONNA GO LEFT,

BUT WE'RE NOT SURE."

IT MAY BE STARTING
TO TURN A LITTLE BIT MORE

TOWARDS THE NORTHWEST
OR WEST-NORTHWEST.

AND MEANWHILE,
WE WERE CONFIDENTLY

ISSUING WEATHER FORECASTS

FOR NEPTUNE TWO WEEKS IN ADVANCE

AND TELLING THE ENGINEERS,

"OKAY, TWO WEEKS FROM NOW,

POINT YOUR CAMERA THERE
AND THERE'LL BE A STORM THERE."

AND WE WERE RIGHT!

IT WAS GLORIOUS!
[ LAUGHS ]

Narrator:
THE FLY BY WAS APPROACHING.

WOULD THE SOFTWARE REWRITES AND
RUNNING REPAIRS HOLD TOGETHER

TO GIVE HUMANITY ITS ONLY
CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH NEPTUNE?

THERE WAS NOTHING MORE TO DO
BUT WAIT AND HOPE.

AFTER 12 YEARS OF FLIGHT
AND DECADES OF ANTICIPATION,

THE GIANT BLUE PLANET BEGAN
TO LOOM IN VOYAGER 2'S LENSES.

ON AUGUST 25th, 1989,

THE SPACECRAFT
PASSED WITHIN 3,000 MILES

OF NEPTUNE'S NORTH POLE.

THE CRAFT HAD SURVIVED
THE 3-BILLION-MILE JOURNEY

TO THE EDGE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]

THE FINAL ENCOUNTER, I WAS ABLE
TO WITNESS HERE AT JPL

WITH MY YOUNGEST SON,

AND WE WATCHED WITH FASCINATION

AS THE PICTURES
OF NEPTUNE UNFOLDED.

SUDDENLY, THINGS THAT NO ONE HAD
IMAGINED WERE THERE.

HERE WAS A PLANET
THAT WAS VIBRANT WITH LIFE.

IT HAD ITS OWN GREAT SPOT,

THE DARK SPOT IN THIS CASE,

WHITE CLOUDS FLOATING
IN ITS ATMOSPHERE,

AND THESE THINGS UNFOLDED
BEFORE OUR VERY EYES,

AND WHAT A WONDERFUL SURPRISE.

NEPTUNE, FOR ME,
WAS A GREAT SURPRISE.

Porco: THERE WAS SOMETHING
STRANGE AND EERIE ABOUT NEPTUNE,

BECAUSE HERE, THE LAST PLANET,
YOU KNOW, THE SENTINEL

AT THE OUTER EDGE OF OUR
SOLAR SYSTEM LOOKS LIKE EARTH

WITH ITS BEAUTIFUL,
DEEP-BLUE COLOR

AND ITS WHITE CLOUDS FLOATING
IN THE ATMOSPHERE.

WE WERE BACK
WITH A REALLY EXCITING PLANET

AGAIN AT NEPTUNE.

THERE WERE FAST-MOVING CLOUDS,

CLOUDS THAT MOVED
IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS,

SOME OF THEM
ALMOST AT SONIC SPEEDS.

THE COMPLEXITY
OF THE PLANET'S ATMOSPHERE

WAS FAR BEYOND OUR EXPECTATIONS.

Narrator: VOYAGER 2 HAD SURVIVED

TO REACH THE EXTREMES
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

IT HAD REVEALED
NOT JUST THE PLANETS THEMSELVES,

BUT WHOLE SYSTEMS
OF RINGS AND MOONS

UNLIKE ANYTHING WE'D IMAGINED.

SUZANNE DODD CAPTURED A FINAL
IMAGE FROM THE HISTORIC FLIGHT.

ONE OF THE IMAGES I TOOK
AND HELPED DESIGN

WAS THE ONE WHERE YOU HAVE --

IT'S ACTUALLY ONE TAKEN
WHEN YOU'RE GOING AWAY.

YOU HAVE THE CRESCENT
OF NEPTUNE,

AND THEN YOU HAVE THE CRESCENT
OF NEPTUNE'S MOON, TRITON,

IN THE BACKGROUND,
AND YOU'RE TAKING THAT

AS THE SPACECRAFT IS TRAVELING
OUT OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

YOU SAY, "THAT'S THE LAST IMAGE

THAT VOYAGER 2 IS GONNA TAKE,

AND THAT'S THE LAST IMAGE
THAT SPACECRAFT'S GONNA REMEMBER

OF THOSE PLANETS.

Narrator: VOYAGER 2 DELIVERED
ITS FINAL IMAGES IN 1989,

MORE DATA ON THE OUTER PLANETS

HAD BEEN COLLECTED
BY THE TWO VOYAGER SPACECRAFTS

THAN IN THE REST
OF HUMAN HISTORY.

BUT LET'S NOT FORGET VOYAGER 1,

HEADING OUT OF THE PLANE
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

ALTHOUGH IT HADN'T BEEN ABLE

TO MAKE ANY MORE ENCOUNTERS
WITH PLANETS,

THERE WAS ONE LAST, SPECIAL TASK
ITS MAKERS ASKED OF IT.

BECAUSE IT WAS HIGH
ABOVE THE SOLAR SYSTEM

RATHER IN ITS PLANE,

VOYAGER 1 HAD A VIEW
OF ALL THE PLANETS

THAT ITS TWIN COULD NEVER HAVE.

CARL SAGAN AND CAROLYN PORCO
BEGAN DISCUSSING AN IDEA.

VOYAGER WAS GONNA BE
IN A LOCATION

THAT NO OTHER SPACECRAFT
HAD BEEN BEFORE,

EQUIPPED WITH, YOU KNOW,
SOPHISTICATED INSTRUMENTATION

SO THAT IT COULD TURN AROUND
AND TAKE A PICTURE

OF ALL THE PLANETS
IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM,

AND I THOUGHT THAT THIS WOULD BE
A RIVETING COLLECTION OF IMAGES.

YOU KNOW, A FIRST.

Narrator:
SO ON VALENTINE'S DAY, 1990,

13 YEARS AFTER LEAVING EARTH,

VOYAGER 1 WAS ASKED
TO TURN ITS CAMERAS BACK

TOWARDS THE PLANETS.

NOW, 3.7 BILLION MILES AWAY,

BY THE TIME
VOYAGER'S PITIFULLY WEAK SIGNAL

REACHED THE DISHES ON EARTH,

IT WAS JUST A MILLIONTH OF
A BILLIONTH OF A WATT OF POWER.

IT WAS THEN BOOSTED
AND SENT ON TO PASADENA,

WHERE THE IMAGE
WAS ASSEMBLED HERE

IN THE DEEP-SPACE CONTROL ROOM.

A UNIQUE FAMILY PORTRAIT --

THE ULTIMATE SNAPSHOT
OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.

HERE IS THE MOSAIC TAKEN...

Narrator: FOR CARL SAGAN,
THE SYMBOLIC VALUE

OF THE PHOTOGRAPH
WAS A GIFT.

...THE PLANETS MOVE AROUND THE
SUN, AND IN ANY GIVEN MOMENT...

Narrator:
HE HELD A PRESS CONFERENCE TO
PUBLICIZE IT AROUND THE WORLD.

THE PORTRAIT OF THE PLANETS
HAS NOW BEEN TAKEN.

THIS LOOKS LIKE MORE THAN A DOT,

BUT IT IS, IN FACT,
LESS THAN A PIXEL.

IN THIS COLOR PICTURE, YOU CAN
SEE THAT IT IS SLIGHTLY BLUE,

AND THIS IS WHERE WE LIVE,
ON A BLUE DOT.

WITH THIS FINAL
HISTORIC IMAGE CAPTURED,

AND NOTHING MORE TO PHOTOGRAPH,

VOYAGER 1'S CAMERAS
WERE TURNED OFF TO SAVE POWER.

[ BEEPING ]

Narrator:
WITH OVER 35 YEARS ON MISSION,

THE VOYAGERS HURTLE AWAY FROM US
OVER 10 MILES A SECOND.

THEIR CUTTING-EDGE, 1970s
TECHNOLOGY KEEPS ON CHUGGING.

AND, REMARKABLY, THEY CONTINUE
TO SEND BACK NEW INFORMATION

ABOUT THE SPACE
THEY ARE NOW TRAVELING THROUGH,

11 BILLION MILES FROM EARTH.

[ INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER ]

EVEN TRAVELING
AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT,

THEIR MESSAGES
TAKE QUITE A WHILE TO GET HOME.

THE JOURNEY TIME
NOW IS ABOUT 15 HOURS, ONE WAY,

FROM VOYAGER 1 BACK TO EARTH,

AND SO YOU SEND A SIGNAL UP,

AND THE NEXT DAY, YOU COME BACK,
AND YOU HAVE SOME INDICATION

THAT THE SPACECRAFT HEARD
THE SIGNAL AND RESPONDED.

[ INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER ]

Dodd: THERE ARE FIVE INSTRUMENTS

THAT ARE STILL OPERATING
ON THE SPACECRAFT,

AND WE'RE STARTING TO SEE
THE EVIDENCE NOW IN THE DATA

THAT WE ARE CROSSING
INTO INTERSTELLAR SPACE.

WE'RE SEEING THINGS
THAT WOULD LEAD US TO BELIEVE

THAT WE ARE ON THAT BOUNDARY.

Narrator:
NOW OUR PLANETARY EXPLORERS

ARE CROSSING THIS BOUNDARY
OF THE SUN'S INFLUENCE.

THEY'RE TRAVELING BEYOND
THE LIMITS OF OUR SOLAR WIND

AND INTO THE GALAXY BEYOND.

IT'S THE FIRST TIME
ANY OBJECT BUILT BY HUMANS

HAS ACHIEVED THIS --
A NEW CHAPTER

IN HUMAN EXPLORATION
IS BEGINNING.

Dodd: WE HAVE ENOUGH POWER
TO GET US ABOUT 10 MORE YEARS,

MAYBE OUT TO 2025, BUT WE WILL,
OVER THE COURSE OF THOSE YEARS,

HAVE TO TURN OFF THINGS
SO THAT WE CONTINUE

TO HAVE ENOUGH POWER
TO RUN THE TRANSMITTER

TO SEND THE DATA
BACK TO THE EARTH.

[ INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER ]

Ingersoll: THE FACT
THAT VOYAGER'S STILL ALIVE,

AND THERE'S STILL
A SIGNAL FROM IT,

AND ITS ABOUT TO LEAVE
THE SOLAR SYSTEM --

I THINK THAT'S WONDERFUL,
THAT IT HASN'T JUST GIVEN UP

OR THAT WE HAVEN'T
GIVEN UP ON IT.

IT'S A TRIBUTE
TO WHAT VOYAGER MEANS TO US,

THAT WE'VE KEPT IT GOING.

Stone: REALLY,
IT'S WONDERFUL AS A SCIENTIST

TO BE STILL EXPLORING,

STILL GOING SOMEWHERE
NO SPACECRAFT HAS BEEN BEFORE.

Narrator: OVER 35 YEARS
ENGAGED IN ONE MISSION

HAS SEEN THE TEAM AT JPL AGE,

EVENTS IN THEIR LIVES

RUNNING PARALLEL
TO THE VOYAGERS' ENCOUNTERS.

Stone:
WHEN I STARTED ON VOYAGER,
MY TWO DAUGHTERS WERE YOUNG,

BY THE TIME
THEY WERE IN COLLEGE,

WE WERE ALREADY
HAD PASSED SATURN.

WE WERE ON OUR WAY TO URANUS.

THEY GOT MARRIED
AND THE VOYAGER JUST KEPT GOING.

WE HAD GRANDCHILDREN
AND VOYAGER JUST KEPT GOING,

AND SO NOW
OUR GRANDCHILDREN ARE AWARE

OF WHAT'S HAPPENING TO VOYAGER
JUST LIKE OUR CHILDREN WERE.

Narrator:
LONG AFTER THEIR POWER HAS GONE,

THE VOYAGERS WILL CONTINUE
TO RUSH AWAY FROM US,

1.5 TONS OF 1970s ENGINEERING,

MONUMENTS TO HUMAN ENDEAVOR
AND EXPLORATION

HEADING OUT TOWARDS THE STARS.

I BELIEVE THE NEXT ENCOUNTER

WITH THE CLOSEST STAR

IS SOMETHING
LIKE 40,000 YEARS FROM NOW.

Narrator: THE TWO GOLDEN
DISKS ARE STILL ATTACHED

TO THE SIDES OF EACH SPACECRAFT,

AND IN THE BENIGN,
EMPTY ENVIRONMENT OF DEEP SPACE,

THEY WILL OUTLIVE THE PYRAMIDS.

THEY'RE LIKELY TO OUTLIVE US,

AND PERHAPS EVEN
THE EARTH ITSELF --

THE ONLY RECORD
OF OUR EXISTENCE.

Boy: HELLO FROM THE CHILDREN
OF PLANET EARTH.

YET DESPITE THE AMBITION,
GIVEN THE VASTNESS OF SPACE,

IT'S ALMOST INCONCEIVABLE

THAT THESE TWO TINY SPACECRAFT

WILL EVER BE INTERCEPTED
BY OTHER BEINGS.

IT'S A LITTLE BIT
LIKE THROWING A BOTTLE

INTO THE COSMIC OCEAN.

Narrator: BUT SAGAN WAS
CLEVER ENOUGH TO REALIZE THIS.

HE KNEW THAT IT WASN'T
WHAT THE GOLDEN RECORD

SAID TO OTHER CIVILIZATIONS
THAT MATTERED,

MORE SIGNIFICANT WAS
WHAT IT SAID TO OUR OWN.

Sagan: YOU MIGHT THINK THAT IT
IS A HOPELESSLY QUIXOTIC PROJECT

TO LAUNCH
THIS MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE

INTO INTERSTELLAR SPACE
AND EXPECT ANYONE WILL FIND IT,

BUT THERE ARE REALLY TWO KINDS
OF RECIPIENTS OF THE MESSAGE

ON THE VOYAGER RECORDS.

ONE IS THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL
AUDIENCE,

THE OTHER AUDIENCE
IS DOWN HERE ON EARTH.

HERE IS A MOMENT
WHEN WE HAVE TO SUDDENLY THINK,

WHAT IS THERE ABOUT OUR CULTURE

THAT WE WOULD WANT
OTHERS TO KNOW ABOUT?

THAT WE WOULD BE PROUD OF.

THE RECORD SHOULD REPRESENT
THE HUMAN SPECIES

AS AN ENTIRETY.

THE UNITY OF THE HUMAN SPECIES
SEEN DOWN HERE

IS A FACT THAT IS ESSENTIAL
FOR THE HUMAN FUTURE.