In 1977, NASA launched Voyager 1 and 2. Their mission? To explore the farthest reaches of our galaxy. Their missions were only supposed to last about four years, but it’s been almost 50. They’re now in interstellar space, navigating the region between stars.
But since November, Voyager 1 has been sending unintelligible data back to Earth, raising concerns that it could be nearing the end of its mission.
Ira talks with Maggie Koerth, science writer and editorial lead at Carbon Plan, about Voyager 1 and other science news of the week, including work on detecting neutrinos with forests, calculating the age of giant sand dunes, uncovering the origins of cells, investigating why we don’t have tails anymore, and how a man walking his dog discovered a dinosaur fossil.
Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.
Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.
655: Jane Goodall On Life Among Chimpanzees
654: The ‘Wet-Dog Shake’ And Other Physics Mysteries
657: Ig Nobel Prizes | Stop Flushing Your Health Data Down The Toilet
653: The West’s Wild Horses | Artist Explores History Of Humans Genetically Modifying Pigs
650: Moon Rock Research | Science of Unraveling Sweaters
652: 2023’s Best Science Books For Kids
649: How AI Chatbots Can Reinforce Racial Bias In Medicine
651: An Exoplanet Where It Rains Sand
648: Ask A Chef: How Can I Use Science To Make Thanksgiving Tastier?
645: Monumental And Invisible: How Infrastructure Works
647: Everything You Never Knew About Squash And Pumpkins
644: How A University Is Adjusting One Year After ChatGPT
646: Euclid Telescope’s First Images | A Black Hole That Came From Gas
642: How Five Elements Define Life On Earth
639: Climate Future Exhibit | Oregon's Proposed Fish Vacuum
641: How A Deaf Advisory Group Is Changing Healthcare
643: 40 Years Of Sounding The Alarm On Nuclear Winter
640: CRISPR-Based Sickle Cell Treatment | Pain Tolerance From Neanderthals
637: How Poisons Have Shaped Life On Earth
635: Placenta Research May Help Explain Pregnancy Loss
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Voices of Misery Podcast
House of Whimsical Terror
Dairyland Frights
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL