What is the difference between Voyager 1 and Voyager 2?
From the NASA Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, Voyager 2 was launched first, on August 20, 1977; Voyager 1 was launched on a faster, shorter trajectory on September 5, 1977. Voyager 2 was aimed to fly by Saturn at a point that would automatically send the spacecraft in the direction of Uranus.
What are Voyager 1 and 2 doing now?
Where are Voyager 1 and 2 today? Voyager 1 is the furthest away but is still within the region dominated by the Sun and its solar wind and is still considered to be within the solar system. Both spacecraft have, however, passed the farthest known planets within our solar system – when Voyager 2 passed Neptune in 1989.
What did Voyager 1 and 2 discover?
Planetary Tour Between them, Voyager 1 and 2 explored all the giant planets of our outer solar system, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune; 48 of their moons; and the unique system of rings and magnetic fields those planets possess. Closest approach to Neptune occurred on August 25, 1989 by Voyager 2.
What is the purpose of Voyager 1?
The goal of the new mission is to extend NASA’s exploration of the solar system beyond the neighborhood of the outer planets to the outer limits of the Sun’s sphere of influence, and possibly beyond.
Why did Voyager 1 not go to Uranus?
Pioneer 11 was launched out of the ecliptic plane by its Saturn encounter, that made it impossible to visit Uranus or Neptune. But it’s possible a different trajectory would have given the opportunity to visit Uranus or Neptune. Budget pressures may have played a role in not scheduling more flybys.
What are Voyager 2 accomplishments?
Voyager 2 was the first human-made object to fly past Uranus. At Uranus, Voyager 2 discovered 10 new moons and two new rings. Voyager 2 was the first human-made object to fly by Neptune. At Neptune, Voyager 2 discovered five moons, four rings, and a “Great Dark Spot.”
Is Voyager 1 returning to Earth?
The probe is well into the fourth decade of its mission, and it hasn’t come near a planet since it flew past Saturn in 1980. But even as it drifts farther and farther from a dimming sun, it’s still sending information back to Earth, as scientists recently reported in The Astrophysical Journal.
How much power does Voyager 1 have left?
As of February 21, 2022, Voyager 1 has 70.37% of the plutonium-238 that it had at launch. By 2050, it will have 56.5% left, far too little to keep it functional.
How long will Voyager 1 battery last?
Voyager 1 is expected to keep working until 2025 when it will finally run out of power. None of this would be possible without the spacecraft’s three batteries filled with plutonium-238. In fact, Most of what humanity knows about the outer planets came back to Earth on plutonium power.
What will happen when Voyager 1 runs out of power?
If the Voyagers (or any other spacecraft) loses its computer, its guidance system, or its internal heaters then it will start to drift in space and be lost. It’s transmitter and receiver can be shut off to save power and then have that power saved in batteries so that they can operate occasionally.
How far are Voyager 1 and 2 from the Sun?
Voyager 2 is about 14.2 billion kilometers (8.8 billion miles) away from the sun on a southward trajectory, on the same side of the solar system as Voyager 1. Pioneer 11 is about 12.4 billion kilometers (7.8 billion miles) away from the sun. New Horizons is about 3 billion kilometers (2 billion miles) away from the sun, on its way to Pluto.
Why was Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 launched?
Firsts. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to study all four of the solar system’s giant planets at close range.
Who launched Voyager 1 and 2?
Voyager 1 is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977, as part of the Voyager program to study the outer Solar System and interstellar space beyond the Sun’s heliosphere.Launched 16 days after its twin, Voyager 2, Voyager 1 has been operating for 44 years, 3 months and 27 days as of January 1, 2022 UTC, and still communicates with the Deep Space Network to receive routine commands
Can Voyager 1 and 2 ever return?
Will Voyager 1 and 2 ever return to Earth again? No, Voyager 1 & 2 are too far to return to Earth next year, even at the maximum speed that have reached (but have no fuel to achieve that again). Further, they took advantage of certain planetary alignments to ‘slingshot’ in order to gain additional velocity.