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NASA’s Voyager 1 and 2 are the only human-made objects to reach interstellar space.
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The two probes were launched in 1977 and may soon lose communication with Earth.
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NASA hopes to stay in touch with the probes at least until the 50th anniversary in 2027.
NASA launched in 1977 Traveler 1 and 2 for four-year assignments. For over 46 years, this duo has been producing amazing science that goes far beyond what they do. first investigative teams He could hope.
From close-up views of Jupiter to a stunning view Saturn’s ringsThe Voyager probes helped shape our understanding of the solar system. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft still visited Uranus and Neptune. They have traveled farther from Earth than any other human-made object.
The solar wind coming out of the sun and the interstellar wind returning towards it form a bubble known as the heliosphere. Voyager 1 went into space in 2012 beyond the heliosphere into interstellar space. Voyager 2 followed in 2018.
Both probes slowly drains power and will soon lose connection with Earth.
But NASA produces unique solutions keep in touch along with the two Voyagers.
“The most important thing is to keep this spacecraft operational for as long as possible,” Suzanne Dodd, NASA’s Voyager project manager, told Business Insider.
Decades of data
Early in their journey, the two spacecraft parted ways. Voyager 1 is currently 15 billion miles away from Earth, and Voyager 2 is 12 billion miles away.
As probes move further away from our planet, their data becomes more valuable. The Voyagers collect information about charged particles in interstellar space, including their energy levels, abundances and directions of their magnetic fields.
“They’re outside the effects of charged particles from our sun, and they’re literally measuring data in interstellar space and measuring how that data changes as it moves away from us,” Dodd said.
He likens it to seeing the difference between waves breaking on the shore and waves softening in the depths of the ocean.
“You never know how these waves change unless you go further out into the ocean,” he said.
Dodd said it would take another 50 years for another vehicle to reach interstellar space. That’s why the Voyagers are so valuable.
“They are doing very unique science,” he said.
NASA turns off instruments to save power
nuclear-powered Voyagers Use radioisotope thermoelectric generators that convert the heat of decaying plutonium-238 into energy. Initially, the generators provided about 450 watts of power, Dodd said.
As plutonium decays each year, generators lose about 4 watts little.
“Available power has dropped to approximately 220 watts,” Dodd said. Powering the probes’ transmitters requires approximately 200 watts. Each of its instruments can use up to 6 watts of power.
Voyager 1 currently has four instruments operating and Voyager 2 has five.
Engineers to maintain power turn off the heaters and I shut down other systems. “Knowing that we had a limited power supply, we did a lot of clever engineering to keep these devices powered on for as long as possible,” Dodd said.
“Something could fail catastrophically at any time,” he added.
There were a few near misses, for example both probes almost failed during startup and NASA when Communication with Voyager 2 was lost For a few weeks in the summer of 2023.
By 2026, NASA may have to shut down at least one of Voyager 2’s instruments.
“What we’re looking at is making the two spacecraft complementary,” Dodd said. “You can keep one instrument running on one spacecraft and turn it off on another.”
Going forward, choices about which instruments will continue to work will be more difficult. Scientists will likely continue to power those that use the least energy, Dodd said.
“And it’s also an evaluation of the science,” he said. “What is the most critical science we have?”
Even after the spacecraft lost power, they still had one more mission left
When the spacecraft loses contact with Earth, that will be the end of the mission, Dodd said.
But Dodd said the Voyagers will continue traveling for perhaps hundreds of thousands of years.
“They float through space and float around the center, floating away from us with a golden record that we hope some being somewhere in the future will find.”
Gold records are phonographs that contain images, words and music. Explaining human life to aliens. Every Voyager probe has a copy.
Meanwhile, Dodd isn’t ready to say goodbye to the Voyagers just yet.
“In our 47th year, all of the discoveries are quite remarkable,” he said.
The fact that there are two spacecraft means there’s a pretty good chance that at least one of them will be able to continue communicating for several more years, Dodd said.
“I am very optimistic that we will reach our 50th anniversary,” he said.
Read the original article on Business Insider