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© 2014 Universal Uclick Where No Craft Has Gone Before from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick Starcraft Voyager On Aug. 25, 2012, the The Voyager were spacecraft became the first human- launched with technology that seems primitive 36 made object to leave our . years later. Their radio It could continue sailing between the transmitters operate on only stars for billions of years. 23 watts, about as much as It took about a year before scientists a refrigerator bulb. By the time the signals reach had proof that the craft really had , they are less than one- crossed the solar system boundary. billionth of a watt. They had to analyze data Voyager sent Although there are three to Earth before they knew for sure. Its onboard each twin, , is expected to leave craft, the total computing power seems tiny today. our solar system in about three years. A smartphone has about The Mini Page talked with the 240,000 times more memory Voyager chief scientist to find out than all the Voyager more about these spacecraft that are photo courtesy NASA/JPL computers put together. exploring billions of beyond Earth. The little missions that could Going and going The Voyager In the summer of 1977, NASA Twelve years into their journeys, spacecraft launched identical spacecraft, the Voyagers had completed their new launched Voyagers 1 and 2. The craft were on explorations. They were still working. from Cape an exciting mission to explore Scientists set even greater goals for Canaveral, Fla., aboard and . Scientists hoped the the spacecraft. - Voyager mission would last five years. This time, they reprogrammed both But five years later, after finishing Voyager spacecraft to fly into the rockets. their exploration, the spacecraft were space between the stars. Voyager 2 launched still going strong. NASA scientists They renamed the exploratory on Aug. 20, increased the mission to 12 years. journey the Voyager Interstellar 1977, and They reprogrammed Voyager 2 to Mission, or VIM. (“Inter” means Voyager 1 continue on to and , between, and “stellar” means stars.) launched on Sept. 5 that where no spacecraft had flown before. Experts believe the Voyagers have year. Voyager 1 was reprogrammed to travel enough power left to continue sending to the boundaries of the solar system. data until about 2025. photo courtesy NASA/JPL ®

from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick Messenger in Space Joyful messages Planetary discoveries The Voyager missions have thrilled Many Voyager discoveries have the world and filled people with hope. surprised scientists, such as an These spacecraft are continuing the active on Jupiter’s moon . human tradition of taking great Close-ups of Saturn’s rings showed voyages to explore the unknown. billions of tiny particles making The Voyager spacecraft carry up its rings. Experts believe most messages to any intelligent life of them are bits of water ice. The who might someday come across spacecraft measured winds of 1,100 the spacecraft. But the messages miles per hour at Saturn’s . are really more of a tribute to the power of human achievement. NASA

scientists don’t actually expect aliens photo courtesy NASA/JPL to encounter the Voyagers. The cover of a Golden Record carries directions for playing the record and Each Voyager craft has a gold- shows the location of our solar system. plated, or gold-coated, copper record onboard filled with sounds Earth sampler and pictures from Earth. These Scientist and other are known as the Golden Records. experts chose what information to The long-playing, double-sided include on the Voyager records. The phonograph records onboard the records have 115 images of people, Voyagers were state-of-the-art at scenery and animals. Sounds include

the time. greetings in 55 languages, music photo courtesy NASA/JPL A cartridge and needle to play the from many cultures, thunder, surf, a Three images of Saturn taken by Voyager 2 were joined to make this photograph. record were included on each craft. dog barking and a whale singing. The false-color image helped experts see ring details.

from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick TM Basset Brown try ’n’ The News Ready Resources Hound’s Voyager find The Mini Page provides ideas for Words that remind us of the Voyager spacecraft are hidden in the block below. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally. See if you can find: DATA, websites, books or other resources that will help FRONTIER, GALAXY, GASES, GOLDEN, , INTERSTELLAR, you learn more about this week’s topics. LAUNCH, MILKY, PROOF, RADIO, RECORD, SATURN, SOLAR, SPACE, On the Web: STARCRAFT, STARS, , URANUS, VOYAGER, WAY. • voyager.jpl..gov Space is S L S S E R E H P S O I L E H • voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/kids/index.html full of S T A A U G N N E D L O G V F • bit.ly/19eV2By mysteries! S O A U T N A M P A T A D O R G P L R N U A S I R S L M Y O • bit.ly/1ksWHJ2 A R A A S C R R E L O U V A N • bit.ly/1dNFYSV L A W C R L H N U S K O N G T At the library: A D A L E D R O C E R Y F E I • “Space Encyclopedia: A Tour of Our Solar System X I Y M T F A R C R A T S R E and Beyond” by David A. Aguilar Y O R A L L E T S R E T N I R ®

TM TM Rookie Cookie’s Recipe Mini Spy . . . Hamburger Soup Mini Spy and her class are visiting a planetarium. See if You’ll need: you can find: • word MINI • man’s shoe • strawberry • 1 pound lean ground beef • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce • ring • heart • cherry • number 7 • 2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes • 1 teaspoon soy sauce • kite • dog • tooth • letter C • 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce • 3 carrots, chopped (1 cup) • 2 cups water • 2 celery stalks, chopped • whale • teapot • bird • apple • 1 (1.25-ounce) package dry onion • 1 (15.25-ounce) can yellow corn • number 3 • frog • feather • peapod soup mix • 1 teaspoon sugar What to do: 1. Brown ground beef over medium heat; drain off excess fat. 2. Put ground beef in large soup pot with all other ingredients. 3. Bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat. Simmer for one hour. Serves 8 to 10. You will need an adult’s help with this recipe. from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick Meet Kiersey Clemons Kiersey Clemons stars as Skye in the Disney Channel movie “Cloud 9.” It first airs on Jan. 17. Kiersey is best known for her role as Kira on the Disney Channel series “Austin & Ally.” She has appeared in other TV shows such as “Shake It Up” and “Good Luck Charlie.” She has also

photo by Bob DíAmico, courtesy Disney Channel appeared in commercials. Kiersey, 20, grew up in Pensacola, Fla. As a child, she performed in musical theater. She later moved with her family to Los Angeles. She has three younger sisters. She enjoys painting, writing, recording music, cooking and going to the beach. from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick

TM from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick TM

Supersport: Odyssey Sims All the following jokes have something in common. Height: 5-8 Birthdate: 7-13-92 Hometown: Irving, Texas Can you guess the common theme or category? To her Baylor teammates, Odyssey Sims is simply “O.” That letter in her first name also could stand for “Outstanding.” Sally: Why didn’t the sun go to college? After all, the talented senior guard is a two-time All- Sam: It already had a million degrees! American and the team’s co-MVP the last two seasons. She is shining again this year. Sims averaged more than 27 points in the first six games, while continuing to play tenacious defense. Simon: How does a space traveler cut his Besides starring for the powerful Bears, Sims has helped lead the U.S. hair? to two gold medals at the World University Games. Before college, she Sarah: Eclipse it! excelled at MacArthur High and is the only athlete to have her jersey (No. 3) retired. At Baylor she wears “O.” Opponents no doubt would like to see this Lady Bear hibernate. Don’t Sophie: What is the best way to organize a count on it. Sims wants to help her team have another big year and then party in space? play professionally. Sidney: ! ®

from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick Exploring a New Frontier Bubble around the sun The Voyager 1 spacecraft left the heliosphere in August Our solar system is in a kind of 2012. The long blue bubble bubble surrounding the sun. This to the right in this art is the bubble is called the heliosphere heliosphere. (HEE-lee-uh-sfeer). “Helio” comes Voyager 1 is now billions of from the Greek word for the sun. miles from Earth, traveling through interstellar space.

The heliosphere is filled with art courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech gases from the sun’s atmosphere. Showing their age The future The gases expand, or spread out, as The sun is 4.5 billion years old. We can’t imagine how huge space they move away from the sun. The Electrically charged particles from is. It will be about 40,000 years sun’s is also inside the the sun are also that old. before the Voyagers encounter bubble. When stars are dying, they can another besides the sun. Electrically charged atomic blow up, scattering their matter Stars are so far apart in space particles from the gases join through space. Eventually, after that it is unlikely that the Voyagers with the magnetic field. As these millions of years, the matter comes will encounter anything to stop charged gases expand, they carry together again and forms new stars. them. Voyager 1 has now joined the the magnetic field with them. The This happens again and again. stars orbiting around the center of partnership of the expanding charged The matter in interstellar space the . It takes about 240 gases and magnetic field creates the has not yet come together to form million years for stars to make one bubble, or heliosphere. new stars. This means that some orbit around the center. of the matter may be only a few million years old. Particles inside the heliosphere are about 4.5 billion years old. The proof Interstellar space is filled with the matter from supernovae, or stars that blew up. In interstellar space, there are about 80 times more ionized atoms* per cubic foot than

inside the heliosphere. art courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech This illustration shows our Milky Way

art courtesy NASA/CXC/M.Weiss When Voyager 1 started finding This illustration shows a , or the greater numbers of ionized galaxy. It is likely that Voyager 1 and 2 will exploding star. When dying stars blow up, be orbiting the galaxy center for billions atoms, NASA scientists jumped for of years. most of their matter flies into interstellar joy. This was the proof they needed. space. Voyager 1 had entered interstellar Look through your newspaper for stories and pictures about . The Mini Page thanks Ed Stone, Voyager space. chief scientist, NASA, for help with this *An ionized atom is an atom missing at Next week, The Mini Page is about the issue. least one electron. choreography of figure skating. The Mini Page Staff Betty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist