Professor Brian Cox warns that human spacecraft could soon be all that remains of 'our increasingly dim-witted civilisation' as he hails NASA's fixed 47-year-old Voyager 1 probe - and says why we're yet to hear from aliens
- In posts on X, the legendary physicist suggests humanity may be too stupid
- READ MORE: Why haven't aliens contacted us? Scientists reveal their theories
Many scientists have a view on why we haven't heard from aliens yet.
Now, legendary English physicist Professor Brian Cox has shared a compelling new theory.
In a typically witty post on X, Professor Cox said civilizations are 'inevitably crushed shortly after inventing the internet'.
He also revealed he thinks 'it won’t be long before our spacecraft are the only thing that remains of our increasingly dim-witted civilisation'.
Professor Cox was being trolled after hailing NASA's Voyager 1 probe, which is fully functioning for the first time since November.
In response to trolls on X, Professor Brian Cox has shared his newest theory about why we haven't heard from aliens
In a typically witty post on X, Professor Cox said civilizations are 'inevitably crushed shortly after inventing the internet'
After NASA announced Voyager 1 had been fixed, Professor Cox posted: 'It never ceases to amaze me that a spacecraft launched in 1977 can be fixed remotely from Earth.'
Someone replied: 'Meanwhile, the printer that's 3 feet from my laptop won't connect.'
Another said: 'Maybe the aliens kind enough to give it a jumpstart out there.'
Some conspiracy theorists joined in, with one saying 'as if people actually believe this is real'.
Taking to X again the academic then posted: 'Honestly - a few of the replies to this little tribute to engineering excellence exhibit a level of stupidity that suggests to me that it won’t be long before our spacecraft are the only thing that remains of our increasingly dim-witted civilisation.
Professor Cox also mentioned the Fermi Paradox – the apparent contradiction between the lack of evidence for extra-terrestrial civilizations and various high estimates for their probability.
'Until recently my guess has been that the answer to the Fermi Paradox might be found in biology – complex biological systems are rare,' he said.
'I’m increasingly of the view that the reason for The Great Silence is that civilisations are inevitably crushed by the weight of n*****ds shortly after inventing the internet.'
'Maybe the aliens gave it a jumpstart?': Cox was humorously trolled for hailing the ageing Voyager 1 space probe
While Voyager 1 is more than 15 billion miles away from Earth, someone replied that 'the printer that's 3 feet from my laptop won't connect'
'They switched it off and on again': Voyager 1 was launched in September 1977 and has been suffering technical glitches
Professor Cox mentioned the Fermi Paradox - the apparent contradiction between the lack of evidence for extra-terrestrial civilizations and various high estimates for their probability (file photo)
Voyager 1 – the most distant human-made object in existence – has been sending back data from interstellar space for nearly 50 years after being launched in 1977.
It is famous for returning one of the most revered astronomical images of all time – Pale Blue Dot, showing our planet as a spec of dust in the vastness of space.
However, in November, a glitch occurred that made the spacecraft's data about its environment and the health of its own systems unintelligible to the NASA scientists monitoring it.
The team partially resolved the issue in April when they prompted the spacecraft to begin returning engineering data, including information about the health and status of the spacecraft.
The following month, two of its four science instruments were fixed after the team sent commands to it, more than 15 billion miles away.
The two other instruments required some additional work, but now they are also returning usable science data, NASA said in a statement last week.
Voyager 1 was the first human-made object to leave our solar system and enter the space between stars. Its identical twin, Voyager 2, is 12.6 billion miles (20 billion kilometers) away and is also still functional
Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, stopped sending back understandable data in November 2023 but has been fixed
Jupiter, taken from Voyager 1 at around 12 million miles (20 million kilometres) away in 1979
Voyager 1 is more than 15 billion miles away from Earth, while its sister probe Voyager 2 is more than 12 billion miles away.
Both Voyagers launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida in 1977 – with Voyager 2 departing a month earlier than 1.
They were built to last five years but they have far exceeded that, having been travelling for 47 years as of this summer.
Both spacecraft flew past Jupiter and Saturn, while Voyager 2 also flew past Uranus and Neptune.
THE BACKGROUND TO NASA'S HISTORIC VOYAGER MISSION
The Voyager spacecraft were built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, which continues to operate both.
NASA launched the Voyager 1 spacecraft on September 5 1977, and the Voyager 2 on August 20 1977.
Each spacecraft carries a golden record on board – a record that includes sounds, pictures and messages of Earth.
Continuing on their more than 37-year journey since their 1977 launches, they each are much farther away from Earth and the sun than Pluto.
In August 2012, Voyager 1 made the historic entry into interstellar space, the region between stars, filled with material ejected by the death of nearby stars millions of years ago.
Humanity's farthest and longest-live spacecraft, Voyager 1 and 2, have been travelling through space for more than 44 years. NASA launched the Voyager 1 spacecraft on September 5 1977, and the Voyager 2 on August 20 1977
This archival photo shows engineers working on the Voyager 2 spacecraft on March 23, 1977. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have flown by all four outer planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
Voyager 2 entered interstellar space on November 5, 2018.
Both spacecraft are still sending scientific information about their surroundings through the Deep Space Network, or DSN.
The primary mission was the exploration of Jupiter and Saturn.
The mission was extended after making a string of discoveries there — such as active volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io and the intricacies of Saturn's rings.
Voyager 2 went on to explore Uranus and Neptune and is still the only spacecraft to have visited those outer planets.
The adventurers' current mission, the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM), will explore the outermost edge of the Sun's domain — and beyond.
Source: NASA
