- Scientific American reports that NASA is shutting down its Voyager sensor systems this year.
- Investigations falter after 45 years – the move is a way to keep it going until 2030.
- Voyager 1 and 2 were launched in 1977 which put it further than any other object made by humans.
The epic interstellar voyages of NASA’s acclaimed Voyager probes are set to end as the agency begins shutting down its systems, Scientific American reported.
The probe was launched 45 years ago, in 1977, and has pushed the boundaries of space exploration ever since. They are further from Earth than any other man-made object, a record likely to remain unbroken for decades.
The decision to reduce power on the sensors aims to extend their life by a few more years, and move them to around 2030, according to Scientific American.
“We gave a 10x guarantee on monotonous things,” Ralph McNutt, a physicist at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory, told the outlet, referring to initial expectations that their mission would last four years.
The The sensors are powered by radioactive plutoniumwhich kept small computers running on board for decades.
Power in the system is decreasing by about 4 watts per year, according to Scientific American, which requires lower energy use.
“If all goes really well, maybe we can extend the missions to 2030. It just depends on strength. That’s the point,” said Spilker.
Saturn’s rings appear in false colors in an image taken by the Voyager probe on August 23, 1981.
NASA
The primary purpose of the probes was To fly alongside Jupiter and Saturn, which is a task they will accomplish soon. Then they kept going, sending back images of our solar system and radioactive home readings from deep space.
In 1990, Voyager 1 acquired The iconic Pale Blue Dot complex Image, a view of Earth taken 3.7 billion miles from our sun.
The Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of Earth taken on February 14, 1990 by NASA’s Voyager 1 at a distance of 3.7 billion miles. This is a reissue in 2020.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
The most striking images captured by the probes are shown in the video below.
In 1998, Voyager 1 became the The furthest man-made object in space – 6.5 billion miles from Earth.
The probes are now 12 and 14.5 billion miles from Earth and are still going, According to live tracking from NASA.
This goes beyond what is generally considered the limit of our solar system. Voyager 1 reached ‘interstellar space’ in 2012And the Voyager 2 in 2018, The first human being to do so in history.
Hard-wired electronic devices have stood the test of time very well, despite their antiquity.
Primitive computers onboard sensors don’t require much power. All data collected by devices on Voyager is stored in An eight-track tape was recorded and sent back to Earth using a machine that consumes the same amount of energy as a refrigerator lamp, according to Scientific American.
They have “less memory than the key that unlocks your car door,” Linda Spilker, a planetary scientist from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told Scientific American.
Data from the mission is stored on this eight-track machine, which will be cutting edge at the time of launch.
NASA/JPL
With power on the ship dwindling, NASA will have to decide which devices will get power.
After 2030, Voyager will likely lose its ability to communicate with Earth. But this does not necessarily mean that its mission will be finished.
that they Both hold a “golden record”, 12 inch gold-plated log holds ground information.
this is includes 115 images, Greetings in 55 different languagesAnd the Sounds including wind, rain and human heartbeatAnd the 90 minutes of music.
NASA’s Gold Record, aboard the Voyager probes.
NASA / Inside
It will be about 20,000 more years before the probes pass by the nearest star, Proxima Centauri, with this time capsule of human life per Scientific American.