Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today to honor the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, located in California's 27th Congressional District, and pay tribute to for the enormous success of the Voyager Mission. On September 7, 2002, JPL will celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Voyager Mission--one of America's most successful space exploration endeavors.
In the summer of 1977, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory launched twin spacecrafts, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 on a mission to conduct close-up studies of Jupiter and Saturn, Saturn's rings and the larger moons of the two planets. In order to accomplish this mission, the spacecraft were built to last five years, but as the mission went on, and with the successful achievement of all of its objectives, the additional studies of the two outermost giant planets, Uranus and Neptune, proved possible. Thus, their two planet mission became four and their five year lifetime expectancy has stretched to 25 years and more.
At the final completion of their mission, Voyager I and 2 will have explored all the giant outer planets of our solar system, 48 of their moons, and the unique systems of rings and magnetic fields those planets possess. Currently, the two Voyagers are headed towards the outer boundary of the solar system at a speed that would move them from New York to Los Angeles in less than four minutes. They are in search of the heliopause--the region where the Sun's influence gives way to interstellar space. The hetiopause has never been reached by any spacecraft; the Voyagers may be the first to pass through this region, which is thought to exist somewhere from 5 to 14 billion miles from the Sun.
The accomplishments of the Voyager Mission are a testament to 25 years of excellence by the staff at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. From the scientists that worked on the mission in 1977 to today's mission specialists, JPL staff has shepherded Voyager to the farthest reaches of our solar system and in the process Voyager has unlocked mysteries that have revolutionized the science of planetary astronomy.
I ask all Members to please join me in congratulating the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on the 25th Anniversary of the Voyager Mission. It stands as a shining example of American ingenuity and our commitment to exploring and understanding the far reaches of our solar system.