The “twin” spacecraft Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 continue to explore space 45 years after their launch from Earth and 22 billion km from the planet.
Traveler 2 launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex (USA) on August 20, 1977, and its twin, Traveler 1 was released about 2 weeks later. While Voyager 1 focused on Jupiter and Saturn, Voyager 2 visited both planets and added Uranus and Neptune. Voyager 2 is also humanity’s only tool for exploring these two planets in the 20th century.
In November 2018, NASA announced that the spacecraft had crossed the outer edge of the solar system, and Voyager 1 had crossed that boundary since 2012.
Voyager 1 and 2 explore “interstellar space“, the space between different star systems. From the NASA Eyes on the Solar System app, viewers can follow the orbits of ships, which are updated every 5 minutes. Distance and speed are updated in real time.
Tools that still work after 45 years
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are currently about 23 billion km from Earth. Because Voyager 2 is a backup plan for Voyager 1.2, the ship has the same design and has 10 science tools. To date, each ship has four of the tools in service.
This is a replica of 2 Voyager space probes launched in 1977.
Experimental model, displayed in a space simulation chamber at the NASA laboratory in 1976. It is a replica of 2 Voyager space probes launched in 1977. (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech).
The first is the Cosmic Ray Subsystem (CRS)., a search engine for high-energy particles, which often appear in the intense radiation fields surrounding certain planets like Jupiter. These particles pass through the CRS and leave an indication that they have passed.
This tool provides information on the energy content, origin, acceleration and dynamics of cosmic rays in the galaxy, and helps to understand the nuclear fusion of elements in the cosmic ray source. ϹRS is the tool that helped Voyagers measure the charge of particles in the magnetospheres of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
Low Energy Charged Particle (LECP) is that the tool can be visualized as a piece of wood, and the particles it registers are like bullets. The faster the ball travels, the deeper it penetrates the wood, and the LECCP reveals the speed of the particles. The number of “bullet holes” over time indicates the number of particles present from the solar wind and planets, while the direction of the bullets printed on the wood indicates the direction in which the particles are moving.
Simulate Voyager 2 via NASA’s real-time live tracking app.
Simulate Voyager 2 via NASA’s real-time live tracking app. (Photo: NAA).
Magnetometer (MAG), whose main job is to measure changes in the Sun’s magnetic field over distance and time, to determine if each planet has a magnetic field and how their moons interact with these fields.
Finally, the Earth, Radio Astronomy (PRA) and Laser Wave System (PWS) kits with antennas form a V-shape. ƤWS covers the frequency range from 10 Hz to 56 kHz, while the PRA receiver has 2 frequency bands , from 20.4 kHz to 1300 kHz and from 2.3 MHz to 40.5 MHz.
What did 2 Voyager ships do?
NASA once expected the 2 Voyager missions to last 5 years, now they have been operating for 45 years and continue to collect valuable scientific data in the most distant places in space humans have ever reached.
Two spacecraft have shown how interstellar space interacts with the solar wind, the stream of charged particles released by the Sun. Voyager also provided data on the heliosphere, a protective bubble around the solar system.
The heliosphere is created by the solar wind and is shaped by the conditions of interstellar space. The boundary of the solar system – where the solar wind ends and interstellar space begins – is called score.
Each NASA Voyager probe is equipped with three radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RAGs), as shown in the image. The RTG powers the spacecraft by converting the heat generated by the decay of plutonium-238 into electricity. (Photo: ƝASA/JPL-Caltech).
NASA said The Voyager spacecraft provided researchers with new information about interstellar space. For example, they discovered that cosmic rays outside the heliosphere are about three times more powerful than those inside the heliosphere.
Scientists combined Voyager observations with data from more recent missions “to get a more complete picture of the Sun and how the heliosphere interacts with interstellar space”says ƝASA.
Nicola Fox, director of the Solar Physics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC, said Voyager has provided insight into the Sun’s influence throughout our star system.
Each Voyager ship is powered by a thermoelectric systems containing plutonium. As the lutonium decomposes, the amount of heat released decreases and ships lose energy. To compensate for this, NASA said it turned off all unnecessary systems, including heaters that protect devices from the harsh cold of the space environment.
But the space agency reports that while the heaters have been off since 2019, some instruments are still active. NASA scientists still don’t know why Voyager continues to operate at temperatures far below those originally designed to withstand them.
“After 45 years of continuous space exploration, Voyager 1 and 2 are still providing humanity with observations of uncharted territories.”said Linda Spiker, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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The “twin” spacecraft Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 continue to explore space 45 years after their launch from Earth and 22 billion km from the planet.&…
