When Neil Armstrong made the first human footprint on the surface of the moon, his famous words, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” sent chills of anticipation down the spines of people around the globe. The space race had begun.

Now, some 20 years later, we have the amazing photos of Neptune with its equally amazing moon, Triton. Now we know more about our solar system than ever before, and our children will have a veritable universe of knowledge about our orbiting neighbors.

All of this excitement has come from the work of assorted geniuses on earth, and a small camera mounted on a satellite called Voyager II traveling through space at breakneck speed. The inanimate probe has proven to be one of the most successful tools of space exploration we have ever encountered.

The common myth of space exploration rests on the public’s belief that man needs to leave our atmosphere to explore the outer reaches. This idea is just that—a myth.

The success story of the Voyager II mission, which could last for another 20 years, far outweighs any such success experienced by the U.S. shuttle program. Most importantly, no one has died on the Voyager mission.

Space exploration should continue, but more concentration should be placed on the unmanned projects and less on the manned spaceflights. The Voyager II success and the lengthy amount of time the probe has spent in space are indications that the idea of manned space flight is not the best way to explore our galaxies.