The Voyager 1 spacecraft, launched in 1977, crossed the heliopause — the boundary where the Sun's solar wind gives way to interstellar plasma — in 2012. Despite traveling at roughly 38,000 miles per hour, Voyager 1 will not reach the vicinity of any other star for at least another 40,000 years. Its instruments continue to transmit data, though signals now require more than 22 hours to reach Earth.
Which choice most logically completes the text? The passage most strongly suggests that _______
- A
interstellar space contains few obstacles to spacecraft travel
- B
Voyager 1 will eventually return to the solar system
- Ccheck_circle
the distances between stars are vast even relative to spacecraft moving at high speeds
- D
current spacecraft propulsion has reached its theoretical maximum
Explanation
A spacecraft moving at 38,000 mph still needing 40,000 years to approach another star supports B. A is unsupported; C contradicts the trajectory; D is not addressed.