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Wednesday Aug. 23, 1989 / University Daily Kansan
Voyager nears Neptune pass
The Associated Press
PASADENA, Calif. — A robot explorer named Voyager 2 will fly past Neptune this week for its dazzling last picture show — the final photo opportunity during the spacecraft's four-planet, 4.4 billion-mile odyssey.
"We're getting close, everything is working extremely well, and we're all excited," said Norm Haynes, Voyager project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
"The surf is definitely up here at JPL," joked Franklin O'Donnell, a spokesman for the lab where about 170 scientists from around the world are assembling for the critical period.
Concidentally, Sunday was the 12th anniversary of Voyager 2's launch.
The researchers will share ultimate exhilaration as front-row observers for humanity's first close-up look at the solar system's fourth-largest planet, a blue-green ball nearly four times Earth's diameter.
But their excitement is tinged with nostalgia because Voyager's Neptune encounter will be the last planetary flyby for a U.S. spacecraft. Future probes will orbit their target planets: Magellan at Venus, Galilee at Jupiter and the Mars Observer.
And with no one planning a mission to Pluto, Neptune is the last unexplored planet that will be visited by a spacecraft from Earth in the foreseeable future.
"It's almost like being on a ship of discovery like Marco Polo, Magellan and Columbus," saidJurrie van der Woude, a JPL spokesman. "For most
Only a few days and a few million miles remain until 10:59 p.m. tomorrow, when Voyager makes its closest approach to Neptune by skimming 3,000 miles above the planet's cloudtops — much closer than its encounters with Jupiter in 1979, Saturn in 1981 and Uranus in 1986.
As of 11 a.m. Monday, Voyager 2 was 2.743 billion miles from Earth and 3.211 million miles from Neptune, approaching the planet at 42,310 mph. Since it was launched in 1977, Voyager 2 has traveled a curving path totaling 4.4 billion miles.
With a final course correction Monday morning, NASA engineers put Voyager 2 on its precise trajectory for the Neptune flyby.
KU students have a major impact on the economy of Lawrence. According to a market study taken in 1986, students spend more than $4 million a month on food, clothing, entertainment and other expenses..
KU students spending big
Source: Belden Research Associates, Oct-Nov 1986
big bucks
Each month, students will purchase more than 4,400 pairs of new shoes. This adds up to more than 44,000 pairs of shoes purchased annually.*
1)TCBY
All of the pleasure none of the guilt.
2)GORDON'S SHOES
Featuring Minnetonka Moccassins and Red Wing Shoes and Boots.
3a)THE FITNESS FACTORY Aerobics studio. 3b)NATURE'S BEST Health Foods.
4) LASTING IMPRESSIONS Fine clothing for men and women.
5) HERB'S STUDIO Offering professional portraits for KU students since 1966.
7) SUNFLOWER DRIVING SCHOOL State approved driver training.
6) SERVI-TRONICS Quality Audio/Video products and Lawrence's largest selection of video rentals.
8)GODFATHER'S PIZZA
Try two medium cheese pizzas for $10.99.
9) MALL'S BARBER SHOP Men's and women's haircuts
10) A CUT ABOVE Mention ad and receive $4.00 off any service.
11)RADIO SHACK
Stop by and pick up your free 1990 catalogue.
12) ROYAL PEKING Famous Peking cuisine.
13) WESTLAKE HARDWARE Lawrence's most complete hardware store.
14) DOUGLAS COUNTY BANK We're in position for your future.
15)SO FRO
Everything for do it yourself costume party wear.
16) PANCHO'S Mexican delight.
17)PET WORLD
Offering full lines of pet supplies.