I SEEM to recall Captain Kirk called space the final frontier. As with most things he was right although not as right as Spock who was never wrong.

It still is the final frontier and will remain so until the end of time.

From the scientist virtually imploding at the mathematics of infinity to the small child looking up in wonder at the night sky, it is the unknown that enthrals.

For all of humankind’s advancement, thirst for understanding, rationalisations and science, space remains the gigantic question mark that simply tells us: you don’t know everything.

The child’s question to his father while looking up at the stars remains the big one: what happens if you keep going up?

And the father’s spluttering non answer remains the default response. Even, although more eloquently, from Stephen Hawking.

In the gap between knowledge and infinity, gods are summoned up, superstitions and myths grow.

The mystery of it all is why we are still fascinated by Chichester astronaut Tim Peake’s adventures on the space station and why we will be avidly watching next Friday when he becomes the first Brit to spacewalk.

It’s why young Marcus Reed’s lovely picture of Saturn and rings taken from his Seaford garden went viral.

But these are the equivalent of a trip to the cornershop.

Let’s take ourselves on that child’s journey to the stars.

Wave at Tim as we speed past, marvel at the beauty of Saturn but keep going.

How far could we get?

Well we could try Interstellar Space, the edge of the galaxy, say about 20 billion kilometres from the earth.

Somewhere out there right now is Voyager 1, a little spacecraft the size of a Nissan Micra.

On board are two discs of information, songs, pictures of humans and welcomes in different languages should Voyager stumble across life forms.

Given it was launched in 1977, I suspect even aliens would chortle at the sideburns and flares not to mention the progressive rock.

This tiny marvel is driven by a computer no more powerful than today’s laptops and ever since has been sending back little beep, beep, beeps of vital information for scientists.

Those messages now take 24 hours to reach the US space agency Nasa, so far away is she.

Voyager 2 is not far behind and together these sisters have braved meteor storms and galactic winds on their uncomplaining, never-ending voyage – the furthest journey from earth ever.

Soon the scientists at Nasa, who appear to love the Voyagers as they do their children, will receive no more beeps for the power will have finally drained away.

The fate of the little craft will be unknown, except that they will still be 40,000 years away from the nearest star.

That the greatest mystery of all will swallow them up ensures generations of children in the future will still look up in wonder.

Perhaps that’s how it should be.

The Argus:

Ok what was Amazon’s best-selling audio equipment over the Christmas period?

It wasn’t an iPod or the latest headphones. It was a turntable.

You know, the ones that play vinyl records.

Oh and guess how many of those HMV sold over the same period? One every minute.

It’s amazing and heart warming, isn’t it.

I’m a great believer in societal corrections.

We went headlong into new music technology, talked sniffily about obsolescence and became slaves to the new mega corporations.

But then a few rebels decided to opt out of the herd mentality and a trickle of the counter revolution has become a flow.

What’s happening with the vinyl resurgence is that many people want to cherish music, not just download it indiscriminately.

Lovingly take it out of its sleeve and make an effort to put in on.

Hell – maybe even listen with friends.

The lesson is that not everything has to be reduced on to a Kindle or an MP3.

Next episode? The return of the bookshelves.