Yuuki said:
Voyager 1 has only just managed to get away from that grain of sand. It is estimated that Voyager 1 will have to travel for another 40,000-50,000 years to reach the next grain of sand (i.e. Alpha Centauri, the closest star). That's longer than the length of time that humans have been walking upright.
That's how depressingly empty space is.
Longer than humans have been walking upright? Well .. maybe if you believe the Creationists, sure. If you just missed a zero you'd be closer.
If you took a human baby from those times and put them through current education they'd likely turn out smarter and stronger than most of us - the pressures of natural selection back then were far greater than now - just take a walk around your local mall and you'll see dozens of examples of dead-end lienages - and with the medical care and diet and education of today you'd probably be looking at a rather potent combination of genetic potential with modern tech.
Anyhoo OT: interesting milestone I guess. I'd be far more impressed when a man (or woman!) walks on another planet. Voyager drifting out into the inky void frankly is about as interesting as rolling up a fortune cookie note inside a ping pong ball and tossing it in the ocean. It'll drift for ages, likely no intelligent life will see it again, and it'll probably end up in the belly of a Space Kraken.
Hey it could happen.
Hell, many of the scientists responsible for getting Voyager aloft are dead by now ... but science for science's sake is always better than nothing, and NASA is famed for getting every last ounce of juice out of their gadgets. Hell, give em a stone and they'll give you a pint of blood.
