Mission Control (My Kitchen Table)
My To-Do List While My Message Flies to Voyager 1
Next month, Voyager 1 will be one light-day from Earth. A message takes a whole day to reach it. I'm keeping busy.
On November 18, the space agency says, Voyager 1 will be one light-day from Earth, about 16.1 billion miles away: the first human-made object to get that far. A message at light speed takes a day to arrive. I sent mine early.
My To-Do List
Hour 1: Celebrate sending the message. Big moment for space.
Hour 3: Check whether Voyager got it. It hasn’t. Light is fast, but it isn’t Donny-fast.
Hour 6: Write a second message, in case the first one was too short.
Hour 12: Halfway. Have lunch. Voyager has been flying since 1977 without stopping for lunch. Tough spacecraft.
Hour 20: Practice my reaction for when it arrives.
Hour 24: It’s there. Nobody can confirm it, because the reply would take another day. I’ve decided it was received with great enthusiasm.
Next Steps
Voyager keeps going, farther every second, so my messages will take longer and longer. That’s fine. I’ll make them longer too. Good things take time, and the best things take the most.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far is a light-day?
The distance light travels in a day: about sixteen billion miles. Light is fast. I'm faster at getting to the point.
What did your message say?
Keep going. Short, powerful, and it takes a day to arrive. Very dramatic.