Voyager

Voyager
Para otros usos de este trmino, vase Voyager (desambiguacin).
Voyager.
Se denomina Voyager a cualquiera de las dos sondas

espaciales estadounidenses enviadas a los planetas exteriores. La Voyager 1 fue lanzada
el 5 de septiembre de 1977 desde Cabo Caaveral. Pas por Jpiter en 1979 y
por Saturno en 1980. La Voyager 2 fue enviada el 20 de agosto de 1977, pasando por
Jpiter y Saturno para llegar a Urano en 1986 y Neptuno en 1989. La Voyager 2 es la
nica sonda que ha visitado esos dos planetas.
ndice
[ocultar]
1Equipamiento
2Misin
3El primer objeto humano en alcanzar el espacio interestelar
4Vase tambin
5Enlaces externos
Equipamiento[editar]
Imagen de la cubierta del disco de oro a bordo de la Voyager 1.
Ambas sondas llevan consigo un disco de oro con una seleccin de hora y media de
duracin de msica proveniente de varias partes y culturas del mundo, saludos en 55
idiomas humanos, un saludo del entonces Secretario General de las Naciones Unidas y el
ensayo Sonidos de la Tierra, que es una mezcla de sonidos caractersticos del planeta.
Tambin contiene 115 imgenes (+1 de calibracin) donde se explica en lenguaje
cientfico la localizacin del sistema solar, las unidades de medida que se utilizan,
caractersticas de la Tierra y caractersticas del cuerpo y la sociedad humana. Este disco
fue ideado por un comit cientfico presidido por el astrnomo Carl Sagan quien,
refirindose al mensaje, asegura que su objetivo principal no es el ser descifrado, por el
hecho de que su simple existencia pone de manifiesto la existencia de los humanos, as
como sus esfuerzos por contactar a otras especies inteligentes que pudiesen existir fuera
del sistema solar.
Misin[editar]
Imagen mostrando las trayectorias de los Voyager y su llegada a la heliopausa.
Actualmente las sondas Voyager estudian el ambiente del Sistema Solar Exterior,
esperando que su vida til sea suficiente para llegar a la zona denominada heliopausa.
Esta capa se debe al encuentro entre las partculas elctricas producidas por el Sol,
denominadas viento solar, con las partculas elctricas del medio interestelar. Por tanto,
las sondas Voyager se han convertido en los instrumentos artificiales ms lejanos jams
enviados por el hombre. Las naves contienen generadores elctricos nucleares que
permiten que sigan funcionando sus instrumentos cientficos. A finales de 2003 la Voyager
1 envi datos que indican que podra haber atravesado esta barrera. Estos datos estn sin
embargo en disputa. El 15 de agosto de 2006 la sonda Voyager 1 alcanz la distancia de
100 UA, esto es, se encuentra a ms de 15.000 millones de km del Sol. Actualmente,
debido a problemas de presupuesto, el proyecto es controlado por un grupo de tan slo 10
personas pertenecientes al Jet Propulsion Laboratory, y podra ser abandonado en un
futuro prximo junto con otras misiones, dejando a ambas sondas seguir su camino sin
que haya nadie que las escuche en la Tierra.
Una misin que se proyect para durar cinco aos cumpli su trigsimo aniversario en el
otoo de 2007. Los cientficos de la NASA siguen recibiendo datos de los Voyager a travs
de la red del espacio profundo DSN (Deep Space Network).
Las seales que se envan desde MDSCC (Madrid Deep Space Communications
Complex) al Voyager 1 tardan a la velocidad de la luz 14 horas y 20 minutos en llegar
hasta l y otro tanto en volver (28 horas 40 minutos en total). Y se sigue alejando.
La potencia de transmisin del Voyager 1 es inferior a los 20 vatios. Debilitada por la
distancia, llega a la tierra una seal del orden de 10-17,26 milivatios.
El primer objeto humano en alcanzar el espacio

interestelar[editar]
El 13 de septiembre de 2013, se inform por parte de la NASA que el Voyager 1 se
convirti en el primer objeto creado por el hombre en alcanzar el espacio interestelar, no
en abandonar el sistema solar, pues este se extiende hasta ms all de la nube de Oort,
que comienza a una distancia de alrededor de 2000 UA del Sol, mientras que la sonda
Voyager 2 se encuentra aproximadamente a poco ms de 112 UA del Sol.
Luego tom el rumbo de salida del sistema solar y se ha alejado ya de la Tierra hasta una
distancia de seis veces la rbita de Neptuno, el planeta ms exterior, ms de 20 000
millones de kilmetros del Sol. Ahora est en el abismo del espacio interestelar, como
dice el cintifico Richard A. Kerr a la revista Science. Aparentemente cruz la frontera el 12
de agosto de 2012. La noticia ahora es que, despus de muchos debates sobre si
efectivamente la Voyager 1 sali o no de la denominada heliosfera hace unos aos, los
nuevos datos recibidos de la sonda y los anlisis de registros anteriores de la misin
muestran que efectivamente, tal y como se anunci, fue entonces cuando esta nave de la
NASA abandon la burbuja de partculas cargadas, calientes, que rodea al sistema solar y
entr en el entorno fro y oscuro del espacio interestelar, aunque an se encuentra dentro
del mbito de la nube de Oort. Los instrumentos de la Voyager 1 envan cada da unos 160
bits de datos que se captan con las grandes antenas de la Red de Espacio Profundo
(DSN) que la agencia espacial estadounidense tiene situadas estratgicamente alrededor
del mundo, incluidas las de Robledo de Chavela (Madrid). El coste total de la misin
Voyager, con las dos naves, los lanzamientos, y todas las operaciones de control
desde 1977 hasta ahora mismo asciende a 988 millones de dlares (741 millones de
euros).
Vase tambin[editar]
Voyager 1
Voyager 2
Pioneer 10
Pioneer 11
Placa de la Pioneer
Disco de oro de las Voyager
Mensaje de Arecibo
SETI
Sonda espacial
Exploracin espacial
Anexo:Objetos creados por el hombre que ms se han alejado de la Tierra
Anexo:Misiones espaciales
Enlaces externos[editar]
Wikimedia Commons alberga contenido multimedia sobre Voyager.

Voyager. The Interstellar Mission Pgina oficial de la NASA (ingls)
Misin Voyager
BBC Crisis presupuestaria en la NASA (ingls)
La Misin Voyager Actividad educativa de Celestia
Golden Record Pgina web con el contenido del disco de oro enviado junto a la Sonda
Voyager. No se sabe a ciencia cierta lo que pasara con la sonda cuando traspase la
zona denominada Heliopausa y ni tan siquiera si se podrn realizar transmisiones.
Categoras:
Sondas espaciales
Programa Voyager
Misiones espaciales no tripuladas
Misiones espaciales en curso
Voyager program
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the space probes launched in 1977. For other uses, see Voyager.
Montage of planets and some moons the two Voyager spacecraft have visited and studied
The Voyager program is a continuing American scientific program that employs

two robotic probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, to study the outer Solar System. They were
launched in 1977 to take advantage of a favorable alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
and Neptune, and are now exploring the outer boundary of the heliosphere in interstellar
space. Although their original mission was to study only the planetary systems of Jupiter
and Saturn, Voyager 2 continued on to Uranus and Neptune, and both Voyagers are now
tasked with exploring interstellar space. Their mission has been extended three times, and
both probes continue to collect and relay useful scientific data. Neither Uranus nor Neptune
has been visited by any probe other than Voyager 2.
On August 25, 2012, data from Voyager 1 indicated that it had become the first human-
made object to enter interstellar space, traveling "further than anyone, or anything, in
history".[1] As of 2013, Voyager 1 was moving with a velocity of 17 kilometers per second
(11 mi/s) relative to the Sun.[2]
Data and photographs collected by the Voyagers' cameras, magnetometers, and other
instruments revealed previously unknown details about each of the giant planets and
their moons. Close-up images from the spacecraft charted Jupiters complex cloud forms,
winds, and storm systems and discovered volcanic activity on its moon Io. Saturns rings
were found to have enigmatic braids, kinks, and spokes and to be accompanied by myriad
"ringlets." At Uranus Voyager 2 discovered a substantial magnetic field around the planet
and 10 additional moons. Its flyby of Neptune uncovered three complete rings and six
hitherto unknown moons as well as a planetary magnetic field and complex, widely
distributed auroras. Voyager 2 is still the only spacecraft to have visited the ice giants.
The Voyager spacecraft were built at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California,
and they were funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),
which also funded their launchings from Cape Canaveral, Florida, their tracking, and
everything else concerning the space probes due the radioactive materials on board the
spacecraft.
Contents
[hide]
1History
2Spacecraft design
o 2.1Scientific instruments
o 2.2Computers and data processing
o 2.3Communications
o 2.4Power
3Voyager Interstellar Mission
o 3.1Mission details
4Telemetry
5Voyager Golden Record
6Pale Blue Dot
7In popular culture
8See also
9References
10External links
History[edit]
Trajectories and expected location of Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft in April 2007
The trajectories that enabled Voyager spacecraft to visit the outer planets and achieve velocity to
escape the Solar System
The two Voyager space probes were originally conceived as part of the Mariner program,
and they were thus initially named Mariner 11 and Mariner 12. They were then moved into
a separate program named "Mariner Jupiter-Saturn", later renamed the Voyager Program
because it was thought that the design of the two space probes had progressed sufficiently
beyond that of the Mariner family to merit a separate name.[3]
The Voyager Program was similar to the Planetary Grand Tour planned during the late
1960s and early 70s. The Grand Tour would take advantage of an alignment of the outer
planets discovered by Gary Flandro, an aerospace engineer at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory. This alignment, which occurs once every 175 years,[4] would occur in the late
1970s and make it possible to use gravitational assists to explore Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
Neptune, and Pluto. The Planetary Grand Tour was to send several pairs of probes to fly by
all the outer planets (including Pluto, then still considered a planet) along various
trajectories, including Jupiter-Saturn-Pluto and Jupiter-Uranus-Neptune. Limited funding
ended the Grand Tour program, but elements were incorporated into the Voyager Program,
which fulfilled many of the flyby objectives of the Grand Tour except a visit to Pluto.
Voyager 2 was the first to launch. Its trajectory was designed to allow flybys of Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Voyager 1 was launched after Voyager 2, but along a
shorter and faster trajectory that was designed to provide an optimal flyby of Saturn's
moon Titan,[5] which was known to be quite large and to possess a dense atmosphere. This
encounter sent Voyager 1 out of the plane of the ecliptic, ending its planetary science
mission.[6] Had Voyager 1 been unable to perform the Titan flyby, the trajectory of Voyager
2 could have been altered to explore Titan, forgoing any visit to Uranus and
Neptune.[7]Voyager 1 was not launched on a trajectory that would have allowed it to
continue to Uranus and Neptune, but could have continued from Saturn to Pluto without
exploring Titan.[8]
During the 1990s, Voyager 1 overtook the slower deep-space probes Pioneer
10 and Pioneer 11 to become the most distant human made object from Earth, a record
that it will keep for the foreseeable future. The New Horizons probe, which had a higher
launch velocity than Voyager 1, is traveling more slowly due to the extra speed Voyager
1 gained from its flybys of Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 1 and Pioneer 10 are the most
widely separated human made objects anywhere, since they are traveling in roughly
opposite directions from the Solar System.
In December 2004, Voyager 1 crossed the termination shock, where the solar wind is
slowed to subsonic speed, and entered the heliosheath, where the solar wind is
compressed and made turbulent due to interactions with the interstellar medium. On
December 10, 2007, Voyager 2 also reached the termination shock, about 1 billion miles
closer to the sun than from where Voyager 1 first crossed it, indicating that the Solar
System is asymmetrical.[9]
In 2010 Voyager 1 reported that the outward velocity of the solar wind had dropped to zero,
and scientists predicted it was nearing interstellar space.[10] In 2011, data from the Voyagers
determined that the heliosheath is not smooth, but filled with giant magnetic bubbles,
theorized to form when the magnetic field of the Sun becomes warped at the edge of the
Solar System.[11]
On 15 June 2012, scientists at NASA reported that Voyager 1 was very close to
entering interstellar space, indicated by a sharp rise in high-energy particles from outside
the Solar System.[12][13] In September 2013, NASA announced that Voyager 1 had crossed
the heliopause on August 25, 2012, making it the first spacecraft to enter interstellar
space.[14][15][16]
As of 2017 Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 continue to monitor conditions in the outer expanses
of the Solar System. The Voyager spacecraft are expected to be able to operate science
instruments through 2020, when limited power will require instruments to be deactivated
one by one. Sometime around 2025, there will no longer be sufficient power to operate any
science instruments.
Spacecraft design[edit]
Voyager spacecraft structure
The Voyager spacecraft weigh 773 kilograms. Of this, 105 kilograms are scientific
instruments.[17] The identical Voyager spacecraft use three-axis-stabilized guidance
systems that use gyroscopic and accelerometer inputs to their attitude control computers to
point their high-gain antennas towards the Earth and their scientific instruments towards
their targets, sometimes with the help of a movable instrument platform for the smaller
instruments and the electronic photography system.
The diagram at the right shows the high-gain antenna (HGA) with a 3.7 m diameter dish
attached to the hollow decagonal electronics container. There is also a spherical tank that
contains the hydrazine monopropellant fuel.
The Voyager Golden Record is attached to one of the bus sides. The angled square panel
to the right is the optical calibration target and excess heat radiator. The three radioisotope
thermoelectric generators (RTGs) are mounted end-to-end on the lower boom.
The scan platform comprises: the Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer (IRIS) (largest
camera at top right); the Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) just above the UVS; the two
Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) vidicon cameras to the left of the UVS; and the
Photopolarimeter System (PPS) under the ISS.
Only five investigation teams are still supported, though data is collected for two additional
instruments.[18] The Flight Data Subsystem (FDS) and a single eight-track digital tape
recorder (DTR) provide the data handling functions.
The FDS configures each instrument and controls instrument operations. It also collects
engineering and science data and formats the data for transmission. The DTR is used to
record high-rate Plasma Wave Subsystem (PWS) data. The data is played back every six
months.
The Imaging Science Subsystem, made up of a wide angle and a narrow angle camera, is
a modified version of the slow scan vidicon camera designs that were used in the earlier
Mariner flights. The Imaging Science Subsystem consists of two television-type cameras,
each with eight filters in a commandable Filter Wheel mounted in front of the vidicons. One
has a low resolution 200 mm focal length wide-angle lens with an aperture of f/3 (the wide
angle camera), while the other uses a higher resolution 1500 mm narrow-angle f/8.5 lens
(the narrow angle camera).
Scientific instruments[edit]
[hide]Expand
Instrument Name Abr. Description
Utilized a two-camera system (narrow-angle/wide-angle) to

provide imagery of Jupiter, Saturn and other objects along the
trajectory. More
[hide]Filters
Wide Angle Camera

Narrow Angle Camera
Filters[20]
Filters[19]
Na Wavele Spect Sensiti
Na Wavele Spect Sensiti
me ngth rum vity
me ngth rum vity
Clea 280
Clea 280
r 640 nm
r 640 nm
' ' '
280
UV
370 nm
Viol 350
(ISS et 450 nm
Imaging Science System Viol 350
)
et 450 nm
430
Blue
430 530 nm
Blue
530 nm
CH4- 536
' ' ' U 546 nm
Gre 530
Gre 530
en 640 nm
en 640 nm
Na- 588
' ' ' D 590 nm
Ora 590 Ora 590

nge 640 nm nge 640 nm
' ' ' CH4- 614

JST 624 nm
Principal investigator: Bradford Smith / University of Arizona

(PDS/PRN website)
Data: PDS/PDI data catalog, PDS/PRN data catalog
Utilized the telecommunications system of the Voyager

spacecraft to determine the physical properties of planets and
satellites (ionospheres, atmospheres, masses, gravity fields,
densities) and the amount and size distribution of material in
(RS
Radio Science System the Saturn rings and the ring dimensions. More
S)
Principal investigator: G. Tyler / Stanford University PDS/PRN
overview
Data: PDS/PPI data catalog, PDS/PRN data
catalog (VG_2803), NSSDC data archive
Investigated both global and local energy balance and

atmospheric composition. Vertical temperature profiles were
also obtained from the planets and satellites, as well as the
composition, thermal properties, and size of particles
Infrared Interferometer (IRI
in Saturn's rings. More
Spectrometer S)
Principal investigator: Rudolf Hanel / NASA Goddard Space Flight

Center (PDS/PRN website)
Data: PDS/PRN data catalog, PDS/PRN expanded data
catalog (VGIRIS_0001, VGIRIS_002), NSSDC Jupiter data archive
Designed to measure atmospheric properties, and to measure

radiation. More
Ultraviolet Spectromete (UV
S)
r Principal investigator: A. Broadfoot / University of Southern
California (PDS/PRN website)
Data: PDS/PRN data catalog
Designed to investigate the magnetic fields of Jupiter and

Saturn, the solar-wind interaction with the magnetospheres of
these planets, and the interplanetary magnetic field out to the
(M solar wind boundary with the interstellar magnetic field and
Triaxial
AG) beyond, if crossed. More
Fluxgate Magnetometer
Principal investigator: Norman Ness / NASA Goddard Space Flight

Center (website)
Data: PDS/PPI data catalog, NSSDC data archive
Investigated the macroscopic properties of the plasma ions

and measures electrons in the energy range from 5 eV to 1
(PLS keV. More
PlasmaSpectrometer )
Principal investigator: John Richardson / MIT (website)
Measures the differential in energy fluxes and angular

Low Energy Charged (LEC distributions of ions, electrons and the differential in energy
Particle Instrument P) ion composition. More
Principal investigator: Stamatios Krimigis / JHU/APL / University of

Maryland (JHU/APL website / UMD website / KU website)
Data: UMD data plotting, PDS/PPI data catalog, NSSDC data archive
Determines the origin and acceleration process, life history,

and dynamic contribution of interstellar cosmic rays, the
nucleosynthesis of elements in cosmic-ray sources, the
(CR behavior of cosmic rays in the interplanetary medium, and the
Cosmic Ray System S) trapped planetary energetic-particle environment. More
Principal investigator: Edward Stone / Caltech / NASA Goddard

Space Flight Center (website)
Utilized a sweep-frequency radio receiver to study the radio-

Planetary Radio (PR emission signals from Jupiter and Saturn. More
Astronomy Investigatio A)
n Principal investigator: James Warwick / University of Colorado
Utilized a 6-inch f/1.4 Dahl-Kirkham-type Cassegrain telescope

with an analyzer wheel containing five analyzers of
0,60,120,45 and 135 degrees and filter wheel with eight
spectral bands covering 2350 to 7500A to gather information
(PP on surface texture and composition of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus
Photopolarimeter Syste
S) and Neptune and information on atmospheric scattering
m
properties and density for these planets. More
Principal investigator: Charles F. Lillie/LASP at Jupiter, Charles W.

Hord/LASP at Saturn, and Arthur Lane / JPL (PDS/PRN website)
Data: PDS/PRN data catalog and PDS Atmospheric Node
Provides continuous, sheath-independent measurements of

the electron-density profiles at Jupiter and Saturn as well as
basic information on local wave-particle interaction, useful in
(PW
studying the magnetospheres. More
Plasma Wave System S)
Principal investigator: Donald Gurnett / University of Iowa
(website)
Data: PDS/PPI data catalog
Computers and data processing[edit]

There are three different computer types on the Voyager spacecraft, two of each kind,
sometimes used for redundancy. They are proprietary, custom-built computers built from
CMOS and TTL medium scale integrated circuits and discrete components. Total number
of words among the six computers is about 32K. Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have identical
computer systems.[21][22]
The Computer Command System (CCS), the central controller of the spacecraft, is two 18-
bit word, interrupt type processors with 4096 words each of plated wire, non-volatile
memory. During most of the Voyager mission the two CCS computers on each spacecraft
were used non-redundantly to increase the command and processing capability of the
spacecraft. The CCS is nearly identical to the system flown on the Viking spacecraft.[23]
The Flight Data System (FDS) is two 16-bit word machines with modular memories and
8198 words each.
The Attitude and Articulation Control System (AACS) is two 18-bit word machines with
4096 words each.
Unlike the other on-board instruments, the operation of the cameras for visible light is not
autonomous, but rather it is controlled by an imaging parameter table contained in one of
the on-board digital computers, the Flight Data Subsystem (FDS). More recent space
probes, since about 1990, usually have completely autonomous cameras.
The computer command subsystem (CCS) controls the cameras. The CCS contains
fixed computer programs such as command decoding, fault detection, and correction
routines, antenna pointing routines, and spacecraft sequencing routines. This computer is
an improved version of the one that was used in the Viking orbiter.[24] The hardware in both
custom-built CCS subsystems in the Voyagers is identical. There is only a minor software
modification for one of them that has a scientific subsystem that the other lacks.
The Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem (AACS) controls the spacecraft orientation
(its attitude). It keeps the high-gain antenna pointing towards the Earth, controls attitude
changes, and points the scan platform. The custom-built AACS systems on both craft are
identical.
It has been erroneously reported [25] on the Internet that the Voyager space probes were
controlled by a version of the RCA 1802 (RCA CDP1802 "COSMAC" microprocessor), but
such claims are not supported by the primary design documents. The CDP1802
microprocessor was used later in the Galileo space probe, which was designed and built
years later. The digital control electronics of the Voyagers were not based on a
microprocessor integrated circuit chip.
Communications[edit]
The uplink communications are executed via S-band microwave communications.
The downlink communications are carried out by an X-band microwave transmitter on
board the spacecraft, with an S-band transmitter as a back-up. All long-range
communications to and from the two Voyagers have been carried out using their 3.7-meter
high-gain antennas.
Because of the inverse-square law in radio communications, the digital data rates used in
the downlinks from the Voyagers have been continually decreasing the farther that they get
from the Earth. For example, the data rate used from Jupiter was about 115,000 bits per
second. That was halved at the distance of Saturn, and it has gone down continually since
then.[26] Some measures were taken on the ground along the way to reduce the effects of
the inverse-square law. In between 1982 and 1985, the diameters of the three
main parabolic dish antennas of the Deep Space Network was increased from 64 m to
70 m, dramatically increasing their areas for gathering weak microwave signals.
Then between 1986 and 1989, new techniques were brought into play to combine the
signals from multiple antennas on the ground into one, more powerful signal, in a kind of
an antenna array. This was done at Goldstone, California, Canberra, and Madrid using the
additional dish antennas available there. Also, in Australia, the Parkes Radio
Telescope was brought into the array in time for the fly-by of Neptune in 1989. In the United
States, the Very Large Array in New Mexico was brought into temporary use along with the
antennas of the Deep Space Network at Goldstone. Using this new technology of antenna
arrays helped to compensate for the immense radio distance from Neptune to the Earth.
Power[edit]
Radioisotope thermoelectric generators for the Voyager program
Electrical power is supplied by three MHW-RTG radioisotope thermoelectric

generators (RTGs). They are powered by plutonium-238 (distinct from the Pu-239 isotope
used in nuclear weapons) and provided approximately 470 W at 30 volts DC when the
spacecraft was launched. Plutonium-238 decays with a half-life of 87.74 years,[27] so RTGs
using Pu-238 will lose a factor of 10.5(1/87.74) = 0.79% of their power output per year.
In 2011, 34 years after launch, such an RTG would inherently produce 470 W 2(34/87.74)
359 W, about 76% of its initial power. Additionally, the thermocouples that
convert heat into electricity also degrade, reducing available power below this calculated
level.
By 7 October 2011 the power generated by Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 had dropped to
267.9 W and 269.2 W respectively, about 57% of the power at launch. The level of power
output was better than pre-launch predictions based on a conservative thermocouple
degradation model. As the electrical power decreases, spacecraft loads must be turned off,
eliminating some capabilities.
Voyager Interstellar Mission[edit]

The Voyager primary mission was completed in 1989, with the close flyby of Neptune
by Voyager 2. The Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM) is a mission extension, which began
when the two spacecraft had already been in flight for over 12 years.[28]The Heliophysics
Division of the NASA Science Mission Directorate conducted a Heliophysics Senior Review
in 2008. The panel found that the VIM "is a mission that is absolutely imperative to
continue" and that VIM "funding near the optimal level and increased DSN (Deep Space
Network) support is warranted."[29]
The main objective of the VIM is to extend the exploration of the Solar System beyond the
outer planets to the outer limit and if possible even beyond. The Voyagers continue to
search for the heliopause boundary which is the outer limit of the Sun's magnetic field.
Passing through the heliopause boundary will allow the spacecraft to make measurements
of the interstellar fields, particles and waves unaffected by the solar wind.
The entire Voyager 2 scan platform, including all of the platform instruments, was powered
down in 1998. All platform instruments on Voyager 1, except for the ultraviolet spectrometer
(UVS)[30] have been powered down.
The Voyager 1 scan platform was scheduled to go off-line in late 2000, but has been left on
to investigate UV emission from the upwind direction. UVS data are still captured, but
scans are no longer possible.[31]
Gyro operations will end in 2016 for Voyager 2 and 2017 for Voyager 1. Gyro operations
are used to rotate the probe 360 degrees six times per year to measure the magnetic
field of the spacecraft, which is then subtracted from the magnetometer science data.
This diagram about the heliosphere was released on June 28, 2013 and incorporates results from the
Voyager spacecraft.[32]
Humanity's Farthest Journey
The two spacecraft continue to operate, with some loss in subsystem redundancy, but
retain the capability of returning scientific data from a full complement of Voyager
Interstellar Mission (VIM) science instruments.
Both spacecraft also have adequate electrical power and attitude control propellant to
continue operating until around 2025, after which there may not be available electrical
power to support science instrument operation. At that time, science data return and
spacecraft operations will cease.[33]
Mission details[edit]
By the start of VIM, Voyager 1 was at a distance of 40 AU from the Earth while Voyager
2 was at 31 AU.[34] VIM is broken down into three distinct phases: termination
shock, heliosheath exploration, interstellar exploration phase. The spacecraft began VIM in
an environment controlled by the Sun's magnetic field with the plasma particles being
dominated by those contained in the expanding supersonic solar wind. This is the
characteristic environment of the termination shock phase. At some distance from the Sun,
the supersonic solar wind will be held back from further expansion by the interstellar wind.
The first feature encountered by a spacecraft as a result of this interstellar wind/solar wind
interaction was the termination shock where the solar wind slows from supersonic to
subsonic speed and large changes in plasma flow direction and magnetic field orientation
occur.
Voyager 1 completed the phase of termination shock in December 2004 at a distance of
94 AU while Voyager 2 completed it in August 2007 at a distance of 84 AU. After entering
into the heliosheath the spacecraft are in an area that is dominated by the Sun's magnetic
field and solar wind particles. The thickness of the heliosheath is not known clearly so the
time required to traverse this space is not quite clear. Scientists estimate this space to be
tens of AU thick and that it could take several years to cross. After passing through
the heliosheath the two Voyagers will begin the phase of interstellar exploration. The outer
boundary of the heliosheath is called the heliopause which is where the spacecraft are
headed now. This is the region where the Sun's influence begins to decrease and the
interstellar space can be detected. The heliopause has never been reached by any
spacecraft so far and the Voyagers may be the first spacecraft to reach it.
Currently, Voyager 1 is escaping the solar system at the speed of 3.6 AU per year,
while Voyager 2's speed is about 3.3 AU per year. The Voyager spacecraft will eventually
go on to the stars. In about 40,000 years, Voyager 1 will be within 1.6 light years of AC+79
3888, which is a star in the constellation of Camelopardalis. In 40,000 years Voyager 2 will
be within 1.7 light years from star Ross 248 and in 296,000 years it will pass within 4.6 light
years of Sirius which is the brightest star in the night sky.[1] The main objective of the
Voyager Interstellar Mission is interstellar exploration.
Telemetry[edit]
The telemetry comes to the telemetry modulation unit (TMU) separately as a "low-rate" 40-
bit-per-second (bit/s) channel and a "high-rate" channel.
Low rate telemetry is routed through the TMU such that it can only be downlinked as
uncoded bits (in other words there is no error correction). At high rate, one of a set of rates
between 10 bit/s and 115.2 kbit/s is downlinked as coded symbols.
The TMU encodes the high rate data stream with a convolutional code having constraint
length of 7 with a symbol rate equal to twice the bit rate (k=7, r=1/2)
Voyager telemetry operates at these transmission rates:
7200, 1400 bit/s tape recorder playbacks

600 bit/s real-time fields, particles, and waves; full UVS; engineering
160 bit/s real-time fields, particles, and waves; UVS subset; engineering
40 bit/s real-time engineering data, no science data.
Note: At 160 and 600 bit/s different data types are interleaved.
The Voyager craft have three different telemetry formats:
High rate
CR-5T (ISA 35395) Science [1], note that this can contain some engineering data.
FD-12 higher accuracy (and time resolution) Engineering data, note that some science
data may also be encoded.
Low rate
EL-40 Engineering [2], note that this format can contain some science data, but not all
systems represented.
This is an abbreviated format, with data truncation for some subsystems.
It is understood that there is substantial overlap of EL-40 and CR-5T (ISA 35395) telemetry,
but the simpler EL-40 data does not have the resolution of the CR-5T telemetry. At least
when it comes to representing available electricity to subsystems, EL-40 only transmits in
integer incrementsso similar behaviors are expected elsewhere.
Memory dumps are available in both engineering formats. These routine diagnostic
procedures have detected and corrected intermittent memory bit flip problems, as well as
detecting the permanent bit flip problem that caused a two-week data loss event mid-2010.
Voyager Golden Record[edit]

Main article: Voyager Golden Record
The cover of the golden record
Both craft carry with them a 12-inch golden phonograph record that contains pictures and
sounds of Earth along with symbolic directions on the cover for playing the record and data
detailing the location of our planet.[13] The record is intended as a combination of a time
capsule and an interstellar message to any civilization, alien or far-future human, that may
recover either of the Voyagers. The contents of this record were selected by a committee
that included Timothy Ferris[13] and was chaired by Carl Sagan.
Pale Blue Dot[edit]

Seen from 6 billion kilometers (3.7 billion miles), Earth appears as a "pale blue dot" (the blueish-white
speck approximately halfway down the brown band to the right).
Main article: Pale Blue Dot

The Voyager program's discoveries during the primary phase of its mission, including
never-before-seen close-up color photos of the major planets, were regularly documented
by both print and electronic media outlets. Among the best-known of these is an image of
the Earth as a Pale Blue Dot, taken in 1990 by Voyager 1, and popularized by Carl
Sagan with the quote:
"Consider again that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love,
everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived
out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions,
ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward,
every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in
love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals,
every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in
the history of our species lived there on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam".
In popular culture[edit]
Voyager One, from Space: 1999.
The Space: 1999 episode "Voyager's Return" featured two fictional 1985 space probes,
called "Voyager One" and "Voyager Two" (not "1" and "2"). This episode was aired two
years prior to the launch of the real Voyager crafts. The plot hinges upon the
dangerous radioactive engines of the probes, which bears a passing similarity to the
radioisotope decay engines on the real Voyager vessels.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture featured a fictional Voyager probe, Voyager 6, making
contact with a planet of living machines and returning to earth to fulfill the machine
entity's interpretation of its mission. In the film, the probe is referred to as "V'Ger", due
to the letters "O", "Y" and "A" and the number "6" being obscured on its nameplate.
Starman features a scout from an alien race who comes to visit Earth after their race
encounters Voyager 2 and listens to the Golden Record.
In the 2012 anime Humanity Has Declined, the character Oyage ("O-taro") was
featured in "Episode 6: The Fairies Homecoming (Part 2)". Oyage is revealed to be a
deep space probe (originally named "Voyager") that gained humanoid form. The
episode dwells on Voyager's fear of leaving the Solar system.
In 1994, Voyager 1 and 2 were shown in X-files season 2,episode 1 (little green man).
It was shown as a way of communication with extraterrestrials but the program was
cancelled when no results were produced.
See also[edit]
Spaceflight portal
Interstellar probe
Timeline of Solar System exploration
Pioneer program
Planetary Grand Tour
Family Portrait
Tom Krimigis, PI for the LECP
Voyager 1
Voyager
Modelo de ingeniera de una de las sondas Voyager
Informacin general
Organizacin NASA/JPL
Contratos principales Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Estado Activo
Sobrevuelo Jpiter
Saturno
Fecha del sobrevuelo 5 de marzo de 1979

12 de noviembre de 1980
Fecha de lanzamiento 5 de septiembre de 1977, 12:56:00 UTC
Vehculo de lanzamiento Titan IIIE
Sitio de lanzamiento Cabo Caaveral LC-41
Vida til transcurren 39 aos, 9 meses y 4 das
Aplicacin Sonda interplanetaria e interestelar
Masa 721,9 kg
Potencia 420 W
NSSDC ID 1977-084A
Sitio web voyager.jpl.nasa.gov
[editar datos en Wikidata]

Jpiter visto desde la Voyager 1.
La Voyager 1 es una sonda espacial robtica de 722 kilogramos, lanzada el 5 de

septiembre de 1977, desde Cabo Caaveral, Florida. Sigue operativa en la actualidad,
prosiguiendo su misin extendida que es localizar y estudiar los lmites del sistema solar,
incluyendo el cinturn de Kuiper y ms all, as como explorar el espacio interestelar
inmediato, hasta fin de misin. El 25 de agosto de 2012, a poco ms de 19 000 millones de
kilmetros del Sol o 122 UA, la sonda deja atrs la heliopausa, siendo la primera en
alcanzar el espacio interestelar.1 Su misin original era visitar Jpiter y Saturno. Fue la
primera sonda en proporcionar imgenes detalladas de los satlites de esos planetas.2 A
una distancia de 135 unidades astronmicas (20 195 730 000 km) del Sol, en junio de
2016,3 es la nave espacial ms alejada de la Tierra y la nica en el espacio interestelar,
pero an sin salir del sistema solar, quedndole unos 300 aos aprox. para entrar a
la nube de Oort.
La Voyager 1 es actualmente el objeto hecho por el humano ms alejado de la Tierra,
viajando a una velocidad relativa de la Tierra y el Sol mayor que la de ninguna otra sonda
espacial. A pesar de que su hermana Voyager 2 fue lanzada 16 das antes, la Voyager 2
nunca rebasar a Voyager 1. Ni tampoco la misin New Horizons a Plutn, a pesar de que
fue lanzada de la Tierra a una velocidad superior que las dos Voyager, ya que durante el
curso de su viaje, la velocidad de la Voyager 1 fue incrementada debido a tirones
gravitacionales asistidos. La actual velocidad de New Horizons es mayor que la del
Voyager 1 pero cuando New Horizons llegue a la misma distancia del Sol de la que la
Voyager 1 est ahora, la velocidad ser de 13 km/s a diferencia de la del Voyager 1 que es
de 17 km/s.2
Voyager 1 tiene una trayectoria hiperblica, y ha alcanzado velocidad de escape, lo que
significa que su rbita no regresar al sistema solar interior. Junto con la Pioneer
10, Pioneer 11, Voyager 2 y la New Horizons, Voyager 1 es una sonda interestelar.
Ambas sondas han sobrepasado su tiempo de vida calculado en un principio. Cada sonda
obtiene su energa elctrica de tres RTGs, (Generador termoelctrico de radioistopos) de
los cuales se espera que estn generando suficiente energa para que las sondas estn en
comunicacin con la Tierra hasta por lo menos el ao 2025.2
ndice
[ocultar]
1Planificacin y lanzamiento
2Desarrollo de la misin
o 2.1Jpiter
o 2.2Saturno
o 2.3En los lmites del sistema solar
3Misin interestelar
4Vase
5Referencias
6Enlaces externos
Planificacin y lanzamiento[editar]
Trayectoria de las Voyager.
Lanzamiento de la Voyager 1.
La sonda fue lanzada el 5 de septiembre de 1977 desde el Centro Espacial Kennedy de la

NASA en Cabo Caaveral a bordo de un cohete Titan IIIE.
Un defecto de quemado de combustible de la segunda fase del cohete hizo, en principio,
temer a los tcnicos que la sonda no llegase a Jpiter. Sin embargo, la fase
superior Centauro permiti compensar este defecto.
A pesar de haber sido lanzada despus de su gemela Voyager 2, la Voyager 1 alcanz
Jupiter dos meses antes que su compaera,4 y, siguiendo una trayectoria ms rpida, lleg
nueve meses antes a Saturno.5
Desarrollo de la misin[editar]
La atmsfera de Jpiter fotografiada desde la Voyager 1.
Jpiter[editar]
Imagen de la actividad volcnica de o.
Voyager 1 realiz sus primeras fotografas de Jpiter en enero de 1979 y alcanz su

mximo acercamiento el 5 de marzo de 1979 a una distancia de 278 000 km. En su misin
a Jpiter realiz 19 000 fotografas, en un periodo que dur hasta abril.4
Debido a la mxima resolucin permitida por tal acercamiento, la mayor parte de las
observaciones acerca de los satlites, anillos, campo magntico y condiciones de
radiacin de Jpiter fueron tomadas en un periodo de 48 horas alrededor de dicho
acercamiento.
Para fotografiar el planeta Jpiter, la NASA opt por el Sistema Bicolor Simplificado del
inventor mexicano Guillermo Gonzlez Camarena, que era ms simple en cuanto a
electrnica que el sistema norteamericano NTSC, para una misin a tan larga distancia.
Se acerc a 18 640 km del satlite Io de Jpiter y pudo observar por primera vez actividad
volcnica fuera de la Tierra, algo que pas inadvertido para las Pioneer 10 y 11. El
descubrimiento fue realizado por la ingeniera de navegacin Linda A. Morabito durante un
examen de una fotografa varias horas despus del sobrevuelo.4
Saturno[editar]
Acelerada por el campo gravitatorio de Jpiter, alcanz Saturno el 12 de
noviembre de 1980, acercndose a una distancia de 124 200 km. En esta ocasin
descubri estructuras complejas en el sistema de anillos del planeta y consigui datos de
la atmsfera de Saturno y de su mayor satlite natural, Titn, de la que pas a menos de
6500 km.5 Debido al descubrimiento de atmsfera en este satlite, los controladores de la
misin decidieron que la Voyager 1 hiciera una mayor aproximacin a esta luna,
sacrificando as las siguientes etapas de su viaje: Urano y Neptuno, que fueron visitadas
por su gemela Voyager 2.
Este segundo acercamiento a Titan aument el impulso gravitatorio de la sonda, alejndola
del plano de la eclptica y poniendo fin a su misin planetaria.
La Tierra y la Luna fotografiadas por la Voyager 1 el 18 de septiembre de 1977. La imagen fue
procesada para equilibrar la luminosidad de ambos cuerpos.
En los lmites del sistema solar[editar]

El 17 de febrero de 1998 a las 23:10 (hora europea), la Voyager 1 se encontraba a
10 400 000 000 km de la Tierra, rcord establecido 10 aos antes por la sonda Pioneer 10.
En septiembre de 2004, la Voyager 1 alcanz una distancia de 14 000 millones de
kilmetros (93,2 UA, 8700 millones de millas o 13 horas luz) del Sol y es por lo tanto el
objeto ms lejano construido por el humano. El 15 de agosto de 2006 la sonda Voyager 1
alcanz la distancia con respecto al Sol de 100 UA, esto es, casi 15 000 millones de km.
Se aleja con una velocidad de 3,6 unidades astronmicas (29 minutos-luz) por ao del Sol,
lo que corresponde a 17 km/s. Medidas exactas apuntan a que la velocidad disminuye muy
lentamente de forma imprevista. Las causas de este frenado son objeto de diversas
controversias.
En una declaracin de prensa, el 24 de mayo de 2005 la NASA declar que la Voyager 1
haba alcanzado como primer objeto construido por el humano, la zona llamada frente de
choque de terminacin, y continuar viajando por la regin conocida como heliofunda, la
ltima frontera del sistema solar, prxima a la heliopausa.
Un punto azul plido (Pale Blue Dot). Puede observarse la Tierra como un punto de luz situado en la
parte central de la imagen. La fotografa fue tomada por el Voyager 1 en febrero de 1990 a una
distancia de seis mil millones de kilmetros de la Tierra.
Al viajar muy distante del Sol, para su funcionamiento la Voyager 1 recibe su energa de
tres generadores termoelctricos de radioistopos (RTG), que convierten el calor de la
desintegracin radiactiva del plutonio en electricidad, en lugar de los paneles
solares utilizados en otras muchas sondas para viajes interplanetarios. Se estim que la
energa generada por esta pila nuclear bastara para alimentar los principales sistemas
hasta el ao 2025. Los datos de degradacin del RTG muestran que se ha conservado en
mejor estado de lo previsto, por lo que la duracin debera ser mayor.[1]
La Voyager 1 lleva consigo en su viaje espacial uno de los dos discos con sonidos de la
Tierra Sound of Earth.
El 31 de marzo de 2006, operadores de radio amateur del AMSAT en Alemania, rastrearon
y recibieron ondas de radio provenientes del Voyager 1 usando una antena parablica de
20 m (66 pies) en la ciudad de Bochum, con una tcnica de integracin larga. Los datos
fueron comparados y verificados contra los datos de la estacin en Madrid, Espaa de
la Red del espacio profundo. Se cree que este es el primer intento exitoso de localizacin
del Voyager 1 por aficionados.
En mayo del 2008, el Voyager 1 estaba en 12.45 declinacin y a 17.125 horas de
ascensin recta, en direccin de la constelacin de Ofiuco.6
Misin interestelar[editar]
Posicin de las sondas interestelares lanzadas desde la Tierra. Voyager I no ser adelantada por
ninguna sonda lanzada hasta ahora.
Ambas sondas Voyager tendrn suficiente energa para operar hasta el ao 2025.7
AO-DA Trmino de sus funciones cientficas
Se apaga el Subsistema de Plasma (PLS). En 2007-013 se apaga el calentador de este

2007-032
instrumento.
2008-015 Apagado del experimento de Radioastronoma Planetaria (PRA)
~FIN 2010 Apagado de la plataforma de escaneado y las observaciones UV
~2015* Terminan las operaciones con la cinta de datos (DTR)

~2016 Terminan las operaciones con los giroscopios
~2020 Se inicia el apagado selectivo de instrumentos
* Las operaciones con la cinta de datos estn sujetas a la capacidad de recibir datos a 1,4 kbps a travs de la DSN (Red de
espacio profundo), pudiendo alargarse en caso de usar una futura red con ms sensibilidad.
** No antes de esta fecha.
El 7 de julio de 2009 la Voyager 1 estaba a 109,71 UA (16 414 millones de kilmetros) del
Sol, cuando cruz el frente de choque de terminacin entrando en la Heliofunda, la zona
terminal entre el sistema solar y el Espacio Interestelar, una vasta rea donde la influencia
del Sol cede ante las radiaciones de otros cuerpos lejanos de la galaxia. A esta distancia,
las seales del Voyager 1 tardaban ms de catorce horas en alcanzar el centro de control
en el Jet Propulsion Laboratory en La Caada Flintridge, California.
Desde el 8 de abril de 2011, a 17 490 millones de kilmetros del Sol,8 detect un cambio
en el flujo de partculas por la cercana del fin de la heliosfera, que resulta ser ovalada. Los
cientficos saben que es as debido a la forma en que se comportaba el viento solar al
paso de la Voyager.
Esta corriente de partculas cargadas forma una burbuja alrededor nuestro sistema solar
conocido como la heliosfera. El viento se desplaza a velocidad "supersnica" hasta que
cruza con una onda de choque llamado choque de terminacin.
A este punto, el viento disminuye drsticamente su velocidad y se calienta en una regin
llamada la heliopausa. La Voyager ya determin que la velocidad del viento en su
ubicacin presente se ha reducido a cero. Esto significa que Voyager ya alcanz la regin
donde el viento solar empieza a dar vuelta sobre s mismo mientras se estrella contra las
partculas del espacio interestelar.
El 14 de junio de 2012 la NASA anunci que la Voyager 1 ha informado de un marcado
aumento en la deteccin de partculas cargadas del espacio interestelar, que normalmente
son desviadas por los vientos solares dentro de la heliosfera. Esto es considerado como el
borde del sistema solar a una distancia de 120,07 UA (17 860 millones de kilmetros) de la
Tierra, ya la sonda comienza a entrar en el espacio interestelar.9
El 12 de septiembre de 2013 los cientficos de la NASA alcanzaron un consenso
basndose en las observaciones que mostraron una brusca disminucin de electrones por
metro cbico desde el 25 de agosto de 2012, cuando sta se redujo hasta 0,08 electrones,
quedando dentro de las estimaciones que los modelos actuales predicen para ms all del
sistema solar, que estara entre 0,05 y 0,22 electrones por metro cbico. De esta manera,
la Voyager 1 se convierte en el primer objeto creado por el humano en superar la
heliopausa y adentrarse en el espacio interestelar.10
Ahora a 20 606 millones de km (137,747 UA, o sea, 38h14min horas-luz de la Tierra) (23
de febrero de 2017), la sonda se dirige al centro de nuestra galaxia, la Va Lctea, dejando
el espacio dominado por la influencia de nuestro Sol desde el 25 de agosto de 2012 y
entrando as en el espacio entre las estrellas - el espacio interestelar.11
Voyager 1
For other uses, see Voyager 1 (disambiguation).

Voyager 1
Voyager 1, artist's impression
Mission type Outer planetary, heliosphere, and interstellar medium
exploration
Operator NASA / JPL
COSPAR ID 1977-084A[1]
SATCAT no. 10321[2]
Website voyager.jpl.nasa.gov
Mission duration 39 years, 9 months and 4 days elapsed
Planetary mission: 3 years, 3 months, 9 days
Interstellar mission: 36 years, 5 months and 26 days elapsed
(continuing)
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Launch mass 825.5 kg (1,820 lb)
Power 420 W
Start of mission
Launch date September 5, 1977, 12:56:00 UTC
(39 years, 9 months and 4 days)
Rocket Titan IIIE
Launch site Cape Canaveral LC-41
Flyby of Jupiter
Closest approach March 5, 1979
Distance 349,000 km (217,000 mi)
Flyby of Saturn
Closest approach November 12, 1980
Distance 124,000 km (77,000 mi)
Flyby of Titan (Atmosphere study)
Closest approach November 12, 1980
Distance 6,490 km (4,030 mi)
Flagship
Viking 2
Voyager 2
Voyager 1 is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977. Part of the Voyager
program to study the outer Solar System, Voyager 1 launched 16 days after its
twin, Voyager 2. Having operated for 39 years, 9 months and 4 days as of today (June 9,
2017), the spacecraft still communicates with the Deep Space Network to receive routine
commands and return data. At a distance of 138 AU (2.061010 km) from the Sun as of
March 2017,[3] it is the farthest spacecraft from Earth as well as the farthest man-made
object. It is also the most distant object in the solar system whose specific location is
known, even farther than Eris (96 AU) and V774104 (~103 AU).
The probe's primary mission objectives included flybys of Jupiter, Saturn, and Saturn's
large moon, Titan. While the spacecraft's course could have been altered to include
a Pluto encounter by forgoing the Titan flyby, exploration of the moon, which was known to
have a substantial atmosphere, took priority.[4][5][6] It studied the weather, magnetic fields,
and rings of the two planets and was the first probe to provide detailed images of
their moons.
After completing its primary mission with the flyby of Saturn on November 20,
1980, Voyager 1 began an extended mission to explore the regions and boundaries of the
outer heliosphere. On August 25, 2012, Voyager 1 crossed the heliopause to become the
first spacecraft to enter interstellar space and study the interstellar medium.[7] Voyager 1's
extended mission is expected to continue until around 2025, when its radioisotope
thermoelectric generators will no longer supply enough electric power to operate any of its
scientific instruments.
Contents
[hide]
1Mission background
o 1.1History
o 1.2Spacecraft components
1.2.1Communication system
1.2.2Power
1.2.3Computers
1.2.4Scientific instruments
2Mission profile
o 2.1Timeline of travel
o 2.2Launch and trajectory
o 2.3Flyby of Jupiter
o 2.4Flyby of Saturn
3Exit from the heliosphere
o 3.1Termination shock
o 3.2Heliosheath
o 3.3Heliopause
4Interstellar medium
5Future of the probe
6Golden record
7See also
8References
9External links
Mission background[edit]
History[edit]
In the 1960s, a Grand Tour to study the outer planets was proposed which prompted NASA
to begin work on a mission in the early 1970s.[8] Information gathered by the Pioneer
10 spacecraft helped Voyager's engineers design Voyager to cope more effectively with the
intense radiation environment around Jupiter.[9]
Initially, Voyager 1 was planned as "Mariner 11" of the Mariner program. Due to budget
cuts, the mission was scaled back to be a flyby of Jupiter and Saturn and renamed the
Mariner Jupiter-Saturn probes. As the program progressed, the name was later changed to
Voyager, since the probe designs began to differ greatly from previous Mariner missions.[10]
Spacecraft components[edit]
Main article: Voyager program Spacecraft design
The 3.7 m (12 ft) diameter high gain dish antenna used on the Voyager craft
Voyager 1 was constructed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.[11][12][13] It has

16 hydrazine thrusters, three-axis stabilization gyroscopes, and referencing instruments to
keep the probe's radio antenna pointed toward Earth. Collectively, these instruments are
part of the Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem (AACS), along with redundant units
of most instruments and 8 backup thrusters. The spacecraft also included 11 scientific
instruments to study celestial objects such as planets as it travels through space.[14]
Communication system[edit]
The radio communication system of Voyager 1 was designed to be used up to and beyond
the limits of the Solar System. The communication system includes a 3.7-meter
(12 ft) diameter parabolic dish high-gain antenna to send and receive radio waves via the
three Deep Space Network stations on the Earth.[15] The craft normally transmits data to
Earth over Deep Space Network Channel 18, using a frequency of either 2.3 GHz or
8.4 GHz, while signals from Earth to Voyager are broadcast at 2.1 GHz.[16]
When Voyager 1 is unable to communicate directly with the Earth, its digital tape recorder
(DTR) can record about 64 kilobytes of data for transmission at another time.[17] Signals
from Voyager 1 take over 19 hours to reach Earth.[3]
Power[edit]
Voyager 1 has three radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) mounted on a boom.
Each MHW-RTG contains 24 pressed plutonium-238 oxide spheres.[18]The RTGs generated
about 470 W of electric power at the time of launch, with the remainder being dissipated as
waste heat.[19] The power output of the RTGs declines over time (due to the 87.7-year half-
life of the fuel and degradation of the thermocouples), but the craft's RTGs will continue to
support some of its operations until 2025.[14][18]
Diagram of RTG fuel container, showing the plutonium-238 oxide spheres

Diagram of RTG shell, showing the power-producing silicon-germanium thermocouples
Model of an RTG unit

As of June 9, 2017, Voyager 1 has 73.03% of the plutonium-238 that it had at launch. By
2050, it will have 56.5% left.
Computers[edit]
Unlike the other onboard instruments, the operation of the cameras for visible light is not
autonomous, but rather it is controlled by an imaging parameter table contained in one of
the on-board digital computers, the Flight Data Subsystem (FDS). Since the 1990s, space
probes usually have completely autonomous cameras.[20]
The computer command subsystem (CCS) controls the cameras. The CCS contains fixed
computer programs such as command decoding, fault detection and correction routines,
antenna pointing routines, and spacecraft sequencing routines. This computer is an
improved version of the one that was used in the 1970s Viking orbiters.[21] The hardware in
both custom-built CCS subsystems in the Voyagers is identical. There is only a minor
software modification for one of them that has a scientific subsystem that the other
lacks.[citation needed]
The Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem (AACS) controls the spacecraft orientation
(its attitude). It keeps the high-gain antenna pointing towards the Earth, controls attitude
changes, and points the scan platform. The custom-built AACS systems on both Voyagers
are the same.[22][23]
Main article: Voyager program

Utilized a two-camera system (narrow-angle/wide-angle) to
trajectory. More
[hide]Filters
Narrow Angle Camera Wide Angle Camera Filters[25]

Filters[24] Nam Wavele Spectr Sensiti
Nam Wavele Spectr Sensiti e ngth um vity
e ngth um vity
Clea 280
Clea 280 r 640 nm
r 640 nm
' ' '
280
UV
370 nm Viol 350
et 450 nm
Viol 350
Imaging Science System
(ISS) et 450 nm 430
(disabled) Blue
530 nm
430
Blue
530 nm CH4- 536
U 546 nm
' ' '
Gree 530
Gree 530 n 640 nm
n 640 nm
Na- 588
' ' ' D 590 nm
Oran 590
Oran 590
ge 640 nm
ge 640 nm
CH4- 614
' ' ' JST 624 nm
Principal investigator: Bradford Smith / University of

Arizona (PDS/PRN website)
Utilized the telecommunications system of the Voyager

spacecraft to determine the physical properties of planets and
satellites (ionospheres, atmospheres, masses, gravity fields,
Radio Science System (RSS densities) and the amount and size distribution of material in
(disabled) ) Saturn's rings and the ring dimensions. More

overview
Data: PDS/PPI data catalog, PDS/PRN data catalog (VG_2803), NSSDC
data archive
Investigates both global and local energy balance and

atmospheric composition. Vertical temperature profiles are also
obtained from the planets and satellites as well as the
Infrared InterferometerS composition, thermal properties, and size of particles in Saturn's
(IRI
pectrometer rings. More
S)
(disabled)
Principal investigator: Rudolf Hanel / NASA Goddard Space Flight
catalog (VGIRIS_0001, VGIRIS_002), NSSDC Jupiter data archive

radiation. More
Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UV
S)
(disabled) Principal investigator: A. Broadfoot / University of Southern California
(PDS/PRN website)
Designed to investigate the magnetic fields of Jupiter and Saturn,

the interaction of the solar wind with the magnetospheres of
these planets, and the magnetic field of interplanetary space out
Triaxial (MA to the boundary between the solar wind and the magnetic field
Fluxgate Magnetometer G) of interstellar space. More
(active)
Principal investigator: Norman F. Ness / NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center (website)
Investigates the microscopic properties of the plasma ions and

measures electrons in the energy range from 5 eV to 1
PlasmaSpectrometer (PLS keV. More
(defective) )

distributions of ions, electrons and the differential in energy ion
Low Energy Charged (LEC composition. More
Particle Instrument P)
(active) Principal investigator: Stamatios Krimigis / JHU / APL / University of
Determines the origin and acceleration process, life history, and

dynamic contribution of interstellar cosmic rays, the
nucleosynthesis of elements in cosmic-ray sources, the behavior
(CR of cosmic rays in the interplanetary medium, and the trapped
Cosmic Ray System
(active) S) planetary energetic-particle environment. More
Principal investigator: Edward Stone / Caltech / NASA Goddard Space

Flight Center (website)
Utilizes a sweep-frequency radio receiver to study the radio-
Planetary Radio (PR emission signals from Jupiter and Saturn. More
Astronomy Investigation A)
(disabled) Principal investigator: James Warwick / University of Colorado
Utilized a telescope with a polarizer to gather information on

surface texture and composition of Jupiter and Saturn and
Photopolarimeter Syste (PPS information on atmospheric scattering properties and density for
m ) both planets. More
(defective)
Principal investigator: Arthur Lane / JPL (PDS/PRN website)
Provides continuous, sheath-independent measurements of the

electron-density profiles at Jupiter and Saturn as well as basic
Plasma Wave System (PW information on local waveparticle interaction, useful in studying
(active) S) the magnetospheres. More
Principal investigator: Donald Gurnett / University of Iowa (website)

For more details on the Voyager space probes' identical instrument packages, see the
separate article on the overall Voyager Program.
Images of the spacecraft
Voyager 1 in a space
simulator chamber
Gold-Plated Record is attached
to Voyager 1
Edward C. Stone, former director of

NASA JPL, standing in front of
a Voyager spacecraft model
Location of the scientific

instruments indicated in a diagram
Media related to the Voyager spacecraft at Wikimedia Commons
Mission profile[edit]
Timeline of travel[edit]
Date Event
1977-09-05 Spacecraft launched at 12:56:00 UTC.
1977-12-10 Entered asteroid belt.
1977-12-19 Voyager 1 overtakes Voyager 2. (see diagram)

1978-09-08 Exited asteroid belt.
Start Jupiter observation phase.
1979-01-06
[show]Time Event
Start Saturn observation phase.
1980-08-22
[show]Time Event
1980-12-14 Begin extended mission.
Extended mission
1990- Final images of the Voyager program acquired by Voyager 1 to create the Solar
02-14 System Family Portrait.
Voyager 1 overtakes Pioneer 10 as the most distant spacecraft from the Sun, at
1998-
69.419 AU. Voyager 1 is moving away from the Sun at over 1 AU per year faster
02-17
than Pioneer 10.
2004-
Passed the termination shock at 94 AU and entered the heliosheath.
12-17
2007-
Terminated plasma subsystem operations.
02-02
2007-
Terminated plasma subsystem heater.
04-11
2008-
Terminated planetary radio astronomy experiment operations.
01-16
2012-
Crossed the heliopause at 121 AU and entered interstellar space.
08-25
2014-
Further confirmation probe is in interstellar space.
07-07
Launch and trajectory[edit]
Voyager 1 lifted off with a Titan IIIE
The Voyager 1 probe was launched on September 5, 1977, from Launch Complex 41 at
the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, aboard a Titan IIIE launch vehicle. The Voyager
2 probe had been launched two weeks earlier, on August 20, 1977. Despite being launched
later, Voyager 1 reached both Jupiter[26] and Saturn sooner, following a shorter trajectory.[27]
Flyby of Jupiter[edit]
Main article: Exploration of Jupiter
Voyager 1 began photographing Jupiter in January 1979. Its closest approach to Jupiter
was on March 5, 1979, at a distance of about 349,000 kilometers (217,000 miles) from the
planet's center.[26] Because of the greater photographic resolution allowed by a closer
approach, most observations of the moons, rings, magnetic fields, and the radiation
belt environment of the Jovian system were made during the 48-hour period that bracketed
the closest approach. Voyager 1 finished photographing the Jovian system in April 1979.
Discovery of active volcanic activity on the moon Io was probably the greatest surprise. It
was the first time active volcanoes had been seen on another body in the Solar System. It
appears that activity on Io affects the entire Jovian system. Io appears to be the primary
source of matter that pervades the Jovian magnetosphere the region of space that
surrounds the planet influenced by the planet's strong magnetic field. Sulfur, oxygen,
and sodium, apparently erupted by Io's volcanoes and sputtered off the surface by impact
of high-energy particles, were detected at the outer edge of the magnetosphere of
Jupiter.[26]
The two Voyager space probes made a number of important discoveries about Jupiter, its
satellites, its radiation belts, and its never-before-seen planetary rings.

Voyager 1 time-lapse movie of Jupiter approach (Link to full size video)
Jupiter's Great Red Spot, an anticyclonic storm larger than Earth, as seen from Voyager 1
View of sulfur-rich lava flows radiating from the volcano Ra Patera on Io

The eruption plume of the volcano Loki rises 160 km (100 mi) over the limb of Io
Europa's lineated but uncratered face, evidence of currently active geology, at a distance of
2.8 million km.
Ganymede's tectonically disrupted surface, marked with bright impact sites, from 253,000 km.
Media related to the Voyager 1 Jupiter encounter at Wikimedia Commons
Flyby of Saturn[edit]
Main article: Exploration of Saturn
The gravitational assist trajectories at Jupiter were successfully carried out by both
Voyagers, and the two spacecraft went on to visit Saturn and its system of moons and
rings. Voyager 1 encountered Saturn in November 1980, with the closest approach on
November 12, 1980, when the space probe came within 124,000 kilometers (77,000 mi) of
Saturn's cloud-tops. The space probe's cameras detected complex structures in the rings of
Saturn, and its remote sensing instruments studied the atmospheres of Saturn and its giant
moon Titan.[28]
Voyager 1 found that about seven percent of the volume of Saturn's upper atmosphere
is helium (compared with 11 percent of Jupiter's atmosphere), while almost all the rest
is hydrogen. Since Saturn's internal helium abundance was expected to be the same as
Jupiter's and the Sun's, the lower abundance of helium in the upper atmosphere may imply
that the heavier helium may be slowly sinking through Saturn's hydrogen; that might explain
the excess heat that Saturn radiates over energy it receives from the Sun. Winds blow at
high speeds in Saturn. Near the equator, the Voyagers measured winds about 500 m/s
(1,100 mph). The wind blows mostly in an easterly direction.[27]
The Voyagers found aurora-like ultraviolet emissions of hydrogen at mid-latitudes in the
atmosphere, and auroras at polar latitudes (above 65 degrees). The high-level auroral
activity may lead to formation of complex hydrocarbon molecules that are carried toward
the equator. The mid-latitude auroras, which occur only in sunlit regions, remain a puzzle,
since bombardment by electrons and ions, known to cause auroras on Earth, occurs
primarily at high latitudes. Both Voyagers measured the rotation of Saturn (the length of a
day) at 10 hours, 39 minutes, 24 seconds.[28]
Voyager 1's mission included a flyby of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, which had long been
known to have an atmosphere. Images taken by Pioneer 11 in 1979 had indicated the
atmosphere was substantial and complex, further increasing interest. The Titan flyby
occurred as the spacecraft entered the system to avoid any possibility of damage closer to
Saturn compromising observations, and approached to within 6,400 km (4,000 mi), passing
behind Titan as seen from Earth and the Sun. Voyager's measurement of the atmosphere's
effect on sunlight, and Earth-based measurement of its effect on the probe's radio signal,
were used to determine the atmosphere's composition, density, and pressure. Titan's mass
was also measured by observing its effect on the probe's trajectory. Thick haze prevented
any visual observation of the surface, but the measurement of the atmosphere's
composition, temperature, and pressure led to speculation that lakes of liquid hydrocarbons
could exist on the surface.[29]
Because observations of Titan were considered vital, the trajectory chosen for Voyager
1 was designed around the optimum Titan flyby, which took it below the south pole of
Saturn and out of the plane of the ecliptic, ending its planetary science
mission.[30] Had Voyager 1 failed or been unable to observe Titan, Voyager 2's trajectory
would have been altered to incorporate the Titan flyby,[29]:94 precluding any visit to Uranus
and Neptune.[4] The trajectory Voyager 1 was launched into would not have allowed it to
continue on to Uranus and Neptune,[30]:155 but could have been altered to avoid a Titan flyby
and travel from Saturn to Pluto, arriving in 1986.[6]
Crescent Saturn from 5.3 million km, four days after closest approach

Voyager 1 image of Saturn's narrow, twisted and braided F Ring.
Mimas at a range of 425,000 km; the crater Herschel is at upper right
Tethys, with its giant rift valley Ithaca Chasma, from 1.2 million km.

Fractured 'wispy terrain' on Dione's trailing hemisphere.
The icy surface of Rhea is nearly saturated with impact craters.
Titan's thick haze layer is shown in this enhanced Voyager 1 image.

Layers of haze, composed of complex organic compounds, covering Saturn's satellite Titan.
Media related to the Voyager 1 Saturn encounter at Wikimedia Commons
Exit from the heliosphere[edit]
The Family Portrait of the Solar System acquired by Voyager 1
On February 14, 1990, Voyager 1 took the first ever "family portrait" of the Solar System as
seen from outside,[31] which includes the image of planet Earth known as Pale Blue Dot.
Soon afterwards its cameras were deactivated to conserve power and computer resources
for other equipment. The camera software has been removed from the spacecraft, so it
would now be complex to get them working again. Earth-side software and computers for
reading the images are also no longer available.[4]
The Pale Blue Dot image showing Earth from 6 billion kilometers appearing as a tiny dot (the blueish-
white speck approximately halfway down the brown band to the right) within the darkness of deep
space
On February 17, 1998, Voyager 1 reached a distance of 69 AU from the Sun and
overtook Pioneer 10 as the most distant spacecraft from Earth.[32][33] Travelling at about 17
kilometers per second (11 mi/s)[34] it has the fastest heliocentric recession speed of any
spacecraft.[35]
As Voyager 1 headed for interstellar space, its instruments continued to study the Solar
System. Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists used the plasma wave experiments
aboard Voyager 1 and 2 to look for the heliopause, the boundary at which the solar
wind transitions into the interstellar medium.[36] As of 2013, the probe was moving with a
relative velocity to the Sun of about 17030 m/s.[37] With the velocity the probe is currently
maintaining, Voyager 1 is traveling about 325 million miles per year (520 million kilometers
per year),[38] or approximately half a light-year per ten millennia.
Termination shock[edit]
Close flybys of gas giants gave gravity assists to both Voyagers
Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory think that Voyager
1 entered the termination shock in February 2003.[39] This marks the point where the solar
wind slows down to subsonic speeds. Some other scientists expressed doubt, discussed in
the journal Nature of November 6, 2003.[40] The issue would not be resolved until other data
became available, since Voyager 1's solar-wind detector ceased functioning in 1990. This
failure meant that termination shock detection would have to be inferred from the data from
the other instruments on board.[41][42][43]
In May 2005, a NASA press release said that the consensus was that Voyager 1 was then
in the heliosheath.[44] In a scientific session at the American Geophysical Union meeting
in New Orleans on the morning of May 25, 2005, Dr. Ed Stone presented evidence that the
craft crossed the termination shock in late 2004.[45] This event is estimated to have occurred
on December 15, 2004 at a distance of 94 AU from the Sun.[45][46]
Heliosheath[edit]
On March 31, 2006, amateur radio operators from AMSAT in Germany tracked and
received radio waves from Voyager 1 using the 20-meter (66 ft) dish at Bochum with a long
integration technique. Retrieved data was checked and verified against data from the Deep
Space Network station at Madrid, Spain.[47] This seems to be the first such amateur tracking
of Voyager 1.[47]
It was confirmed on December 13, 2010 that Voyager 1 had passed the reach of the radial
outward flow of the solar wind, as measured by the Low Energy Charged Particle device. It
is suspected that solar wind at this distance turns sideways because of interstellar wind
pushing against the heliosphere. Since June 2010, detection of solar wind had been
consistently at zero, providing conclusive evidence of the event.[48][49][50] On this date, the
spacecraft was approximately 116 AU or 10.8 billion miles (17.3 billion kilometers) from the
Sun.[51]
Voyager 1 was commanded to change its orientation to measure the sideways motion of
the solar wind at that location in space on March 2011. A test roll done in February had
confirmed the spacecraft's ability to maneuver and reorient itself. The course of the
spacecraft was not changed. It rotated 70 degrees counterclockwise with respect to Earth
to detect the solar wind. This was the first time the spacecraft had done any major
maneuvering since the Family Portrait photograph of the planets was taken in 1990. After
the first roll the spacecraft had no problem in reorienting itself with Alpha Centauri, Voyager
1's guide star, and it resumed sending transmissions back to Earth. Voyager 1 was
expected to enter interstellar space "at any time". Voyager 2 was still detecting outward
flow of solar wind at that point but it was estimated that in the following months or years it
would experience the same conditions as Voyager 1.[52][53]
The spacecraft was reported at 12.44 declination and 17.163 hours right ascension, and at
an ecliptic latitude of 34.9 (the ecliptic latitude changes very slowly), placing it in the
constellation Ophiuchus as observed from the Earth on May 21, 2011.[4]
On December 1, 2011, it was announced that Voyager 1 had detected the first Lyman-
alpha radiation originating from the Milky Way galaxy. Lyman-alpha radiation had
previously been detected from other galaxies, but because of interference from the Sun,
the radiation from the Milky Way was not detectable.[54]
NASA announced on December 5, 2011 that Voyager 1 had entered a new region referred
to as a "cosmic purgatory". Within this stagnation region, charged particles streaming from
the Sun slow and turn inward, and the Solar System's magnetic field is doubled in strength
as interstellar space appears to be applying pressure. Energetic particles originating in the
Solar System decline by nearly half, while the detection of high-energy electrons from
outside increases 100-fold. The inner edge of the stagnation region is located
approximately 113 AU from the Sun.[55][56]
Heliopause[edit]
Plot showing a dramatic increase in the rate of cosmic ray particle detection by the Voyager
1 spacecraft (October 2011 through October 2012)
Plot showing a dramatic decrease in the rate of solar wind particle detection by Voyager 1 (October
2011 through October 2012)
NASA announced in June 2012 that the probe was detecting changes in the environment
that were suspected to correlate with arrival at the heliopause.[57] Voyager 1 had reported a
marked increase in its detection of charged particles from interstellar space, which are
normally deflected by the solar winds within the heliosphere from the Sun. The craft thus
began to enter the interstellar medium at the edge of the Solar System.[58]
Voyager 1 became the first spacecraft to cross the heliopause in August 2012, then at a
distance of 121 AU from the Sun, although this was not confirmed for another
year.[59][60][61][62][63]
As of September 2012, sunlight took 16.89 hours to get to Voyager 1 which was at a
distance of 121 AU. The apparent magnitude of the Sun from the spacecraft was 16.3
(less than 30 times the brightness of the full moon).[64] The spacecraft was traveling at
17.043 km/s (10.590 mi/s) relative to the Sun. It would need about 17,565 years at this
speed to travel a light-year.[64] To compare, Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun, is
about 4.2 light-years (2.65105 AU) distant. Were the spacecraft traveling in the direction of
that star, 73,775 years would pass before Voyager 1 reaches it. (Voyager 1 is heading in
the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus.[64])
In late 2012, researchers reported that particle data from the spacecraft suggested that the
probe had passed through the heliopause. Measurements from the spacecraft revealed a
steady rise since May in collisions with high energy particles (above 70 MeV), which are
thought to be cosmic rays emanating from supernova explosions far beyond the Solar
System, with a sharp increase in these collisions in late August. At the same time, in late
August, there was a dramatic drop in collisions with low-energy particles, which are thought
to originate from the Sun.[65] Ed Roelof, space scientist at Johns Hopkins University and
principal investigator for the Low-Energy Charged Particle instrument on the spacecraft
declared that "Most scientists involved with Voyager 1 would agree that [these two criteria]
have been sufficiently satisfied."[65] However, the last criterion for officially declaring
that Voyager 1 had crossed the boundary, the expected change in magnetic field direction
(from that of the Sun to that of the interstellar field beyond), had not been observed (the
field had changed direction by only 2 degrees[60]), which suggested to some that the nature
of the edge of the heliosphere had been misjudged. On December 3, 2012, Voyager project
scientist Ed Stone of the California Institute of Technology said, "Voyager has discovered a
new region of the heliosphere that we had not realized was there. We're still inside,
apparently. But the magnetic field now is connected to the outside. So it's like a highway
letting particles in and out."[66] The magnetic field in this region was 10 times more intense
than Voyager 1 encountered before the termination shock. It was expected to be the last
barrier before the spacecraft exited the Solar System completely and entered interstellar
space.[67][68][69]
In March 2013, it was announced that Voyager 1 might have become the first spacecraft to
enter interstellar space, having detected a marked change in the plasma environment on
August 25, 2012. However, until September 12, 2013, it was still an open question as to
whether the new region was interstellar space or an unknown region of the Solar System.
At that time, the former alternative was officially confirmed.[70] [71]
In 2013 Voyager 1 was exiting the solar system at a speed of about 3.6 AU per year,
while Voyager 2 is going slower, leaving the solar system at 3.3 AU per year.[72]Each
year Voyager 1 increases its lead over Voyager 2.
Voyager 1 reached a distance of 135 AU from the Sun on May 18, 2016.[3] By December
10, 2016 that had increased to about 137 AU from the Sun, and at that time Voyager 2 was
112.99 AU from the Sun.[3]
Its progress can be monitored at NASA website (see: External links).[3]
Voyager 1 and the other probes that are in or on their way to interstellar space
Interstellar medium[edit]
On September 12, 2013, NASA officially confirmed that Voyager 1 had reached
the interstellar medium in August 2012 as previously observed, with a generally accepted
date of August 25, 2012, the date durable changes in the density of energetic particles
were first detected.[61][62][63] By this point most space scientists had abandoned the
hypothesis that a change in magnetic field direction must accompany crossing of the
heliopause;[62] a new model of the heliopause predicted that no such change would be
found.[73] A key finding that persuaded many scientists that the heliopause had been
crossed was an indirect measurement of an 80-fold increase in electron density, based on
the frequency of plasma oscillations observed beginning on April 9, 2013,[62] triggered by
a solar outburst that had occurred in March 2012[59] (electron density is expected to be two
orders of magnitude higher outside the heliopause than within).[61] Weaker sets of
oscillations measured in October and November 2012[71][74] provided additional data. An
indirect measurement was required because Voyager 1's plasma spectrometer had
stopped working in 1980.[63] In September 2013, NASA released audio renditions of these
plasma waves. The recordings represent the first sounds to be captured in interstellar
space.[75]
While Voyager 1 is commonly spoken of as having left the Solar System simultaneously
with having left the heliosphere, the two are not the same. The Solar System is usually
defined as the vastly larger region of space populated by bodies that orbit the Sun. The
craft is presently less than one seventh the distance to the aphelion of Sedna, and it has
not yet entered the Oort cloud, the source region of long-period comets, regarded by
astronomers as the outermost zone of the Solar System.[60][71]
Future of the probe[edit]
Image of Voyager 1's radio signal on February 21, 2013[76]

Voyager 1 will reach the Oort cloud in about 300 years[77][78] and take about 30,000 years to
pass through it.[60][71] Though it is not heading towards any particular star, in about 40,000
years, it will pass within 1.6 light-years of the star Gliese 445, which is at present in
the constellation Camelopardalis.[79] That star is generally moving towards the Solar
System at about 119 km/s (430,000 km/h; 270,000 mph).[79] NASA says that
"The Voyagers are destinedperhaps eternallyto wander the Milky Way."[80]
Provided Voyager 1 does not collide with anything and is not retrieved, the New
Horizons space probe will never pass it, despite being launched from Earth at a faster
speed than either Voyager spacecraft. New Horizons is traveling at about 15 km/s, 2 km/s
slower than Voyager 1, and is still slowing down. When New Horizons reaches the same
distance from the Sun as Voyager 1 is now, its speed will be about 13 km/s (8 mi/s).[81]
Year End of specific capabilities as a result of the available electrical power limitations[82]
2007 Termination of plasma subsystem (PLS)
2008 Power off Planetary Radio Astronomy Experiment (PRA)
2015 Terminate scan platform and Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) observations
2017
Termination of gyroscopic operations
approx
Termination of Data Tape Recorder (DTR) operations (limited by ability to capture

2018
1.4 kbit/s data using a 70 m/34 m antenna array. This is the minimum rate at which the
approx
DTR can read-out data.)
Start shutdown of science instruments (as of October 18, 2010 the order is undecided
2020 but the Low-Energy Charged Particles, Cosmic Ray Subsystem, Magnetometer, and
Plasma Wave Subsystem instruments are expected to still be operating)[83]
2025
Will no longer be able to power any single instrument.
2030
Golden record[edit]
Voyager Golden Record
Each Voyager space probe carries a gold-plated audio-visual disc in the event that the
spacecraft is ever found by intelligent life forms from other planetary systems.[84] The disc
carries photos of the Earth and its lifeforms, a range of scientific information, spoken
greetings from people such as the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the
President of the United States and a medley, "Sounds of Earth," that includes the sounds of
whales, a baby crying, waves breaking on a shore, and a collection of music, including
works by Mozart, Blind Willie Johnson, Chuck Berry, and Valya Balkanska. Other Eastern
and Western classics are included, as well as various performances of indigenous music
from around the world. The record also contains greetings in 55 different languages.[85]
Voyager 2
Voyager 2
Representacin artstica de una de las sondas Voyager
Informacin general
Organizacin NASA
Estado Activo
Fecha de lanzamiento 20 de agosto de 1977

Aplicacin Sonda interplanetaria e interestelar
Elementos orbitales
Tipo de rbita Interestelar
[editar datos en Wikidata]
La sonda espacial Voyager 2 fue lanzada el 20 de agosto de 1977 desde Cabo Caaveral,
en un cohete Titn-Centauro. Es idntica a su sonda hermana, la Voyager 1. Ambas
sondas haban sido concebidas inicialmente como parte del programa Mariner con los
nombres de Mariner 11 y Mariner 12, respectivamente.
A diferencia de su predecesora, la Voyager 2 adopt una trayectoria diferente en su
encuentro con Saturno, sacrificando la cercana a Titn, pero adoptando un mayor impulso
gravitacional en su viaje hacia Urano y Neptuno. La sonda alcanz su mayor cercana con
estos planetas en los aos 1986 y 1989, respectivamente.
A pesar de que muchos de sus instrumentos se encuentran fuera de servicio, an contina
inspeccionando los alrededores del sistema solar. A la velocidad de 14,8 km/s, tardar
unos 193 000 aos en alcanzar la estrella Ross 248, de la que pasar a una distancia de
1,7 aos luz.
Situada a una distancia de 106,6 UA (1,5951010 km) el 2 de noviembre de 2014,1 se ha
convertido en uno de los objetos ms distantes que ha creado el hombre.
El 10 de diciembre de 2007 descubri que el sistema solar no tiene una forma esfrica,
sino ovalada, debido al campo magntico interestelar del espacio profundo.2
ndice
[ocultar]
1Planificacin y lanzamiento
2Desarrollo de la misin
o 2.1Jpiter
o 2.2Saturno
o 2.3Urano
o 2.4Neptuno
3Futuro de la sonda
4Vase tambin
5Referencias
6Enlaces externos
Planificacin y lanzamiento[editar]
Trayectoria de la Voyager 2.
Lanzamiento de la Voyager 2.
La sonda Voyager 2 fue lanzada con el fin de aprovechar las posiciones de Jpiter y
Saturno, as como la entonces reciente tcnica de asistencia gravitatoria. De esta forma,
una misma misin podra visitar varios planetas con el ahorro que ello supona.
La Voyager 2 fue lanzada el 20 de agosto de 1977 desde el Centro Espacial Kennedy de la
NASA en Cabo Caaveral a bordo de un cohete Titan IIIE.
El personal de tierra estuvo tan concentrado en un problema ocurrido durante el
lanzamiento de su gemela, la Voyager 1, que olvid enviar a la Voyager 2 un cdigo de
activacin de su antena de alta ganancia. Por suerte, el personal pudo contactar con la
sonda a travs de la antena de baja ganancia y activarlo.
Desarrollo de la misin[editar]
Jpiter[editar]
El mximo acercamiento a Jpiter tuvo lugar el 9 de julio de 1979, a 570 000 kilmetros
sobre las nubes de las capas altas de la atmsfera del planeta.
Aunque los astrnomos haban estudiado Jpiter desde telescopios en la Tierra desde
haca siglos, los cientficos se sorprendieron de los descubrimientos realizados por la
sonda.
Las cmaras de la nave revelaron una atmsfera de hidrgeno y helio cuyas nubes
presentaban una dinmica mucho ms compleja de lo que haban imaginado
anteriormente. La sonda descubri tambin que el planeta emita mucha ms energa de la
que reciba del Sol, lo que podra justificar una actividad atmosfrica tan intensa que
permita la existencia de fenmenos como la Gran Mancha Roja.
La existencia de vulcanismo en o (luna) fue, probablemente, uno de los descubrimientos
ms inesperados de la misin realizada con anterioridad por la Voyager 1 unos meses
antes. En conjunto, las dos sondas registraron ms de nueve erupciones, y hay evidencias
de que hubo ms en el intervalo de tiempo comprendido entre ambas visitas.
La Voyager 1 haba descubierto en la luna Europa largas series de estras que los
cientficos haban interpretado como fallas procedentes de procesos tectnicos. Sin
embargo, las imgenes de mayor resolucin enviadas por la Voyager 2 revelaron que se
trataba de fracturas en una capa de hielo que cubre un ocano interior.
Saturno fotografiado por la Voyager 2
La sonda descubri que el satlite Ganmedes, la mayor luna del sistema solar,
presentaba dos tipos bien diferenciados de terreno, uno cubierto de crteres y otro
estriado, sugiriendo que la costra helada de esta luna pudiera haber sufrido fenmenos
tectnicos.
Calisto presentaba una corteza de hielo muy antigua con muchos crteres y anillos
remanentes de grandes impactos. Los mayores crteres aparentemente haban sido
borrados por el flujo de la corteza de hielo a lo largo de los tiempos geolgicos. No hay
relieves topogrficos aparentes de estos inmensos impactos, salvo una coloracin
diferente y los restos de anillos concntricos.
Se descubri un pequeo anillo alrededor del planeta, as como los
satlites Adrastea, Metis y Tebe.
Saturno[editar]
El mximo acercamiento de la sonda a Saturno tuvo lugar el 25 de agosto de 1981,
cuando la sonda investig las capas superiores de la atmsfera del planeta.
Sus mediciones revelaron que en los mximos niveles de presin (7 kilopascales) la
temperatura era de 70 Kelvin (-203 C). El polo podra estar 10 K ms fro, si bien esto
podra ser estacional.
Tras sobrevolar Saturno, la plataforma de la cmara de la Voyager 2 se bloque, poniendo
en peligro los planes de continuar la misin hacia Urano y Neptuno. Haba 3 aos hasta
llegar a Urano, por lo que hubo tiempo de sobra para estudiar, entender y resolver el
problema. Finalmente, luego de pruebas exhaustivas, se entendi que la causa era el
escaso lubricante que llegaba. Se solucion haciendo que nunca girara a su velocidad
mxima, (1 grado por segundo) sino solo a una velocidad de 0,333 grados por segundo, o
0,083 grados por segundo. De esa forma la plataforma pudo seguir siendo utilizada.3
Urano fotografiado a una distancia de 18 millones de kilmetros.
Urano[editar]
El mximo acercamiento a Urano tuvo lugar el 24 de enero de 1986 a 81 500 km de las
capas ms altas de la atmsfera.
La Voyager 2 descubri 10 lunas antes desconocidas, estudi la atmsfera del planeta,
resultado de la inclinacin del eje de rotacin (97,77) e investig el sistema de anillos.
La luna Miranda result ser uno de los cuerpos ms sorprendentes. La Voyager 2
descubri al sobrevolarla caones de 20 km de profundidad y una mezcla de superficies
nuevas y viejas. Las cinco mayores lunas parecieron ser agregados de roca y hielo, como
las lunas de Saturno.
El anlisis de los anillos revel que eran diferentes de los de Jpiter y Saturno, pudiendo
ser relativamente recientes.
La Voyager 2 descubri uno de los efectos ms sorprendentes de la inclinacin del
planeta: el campo magntico est inclinado 60 respecto al eje de rotacin planetario. El
campo magntico es arrastrado por la rotacin del planeta siguiendo un movimiento de
sacacorchos.
No se conoca la existencia de campo magntico en el planeta antes de la llegada de la
sonda. Su intensidad es semejante a la del campo magntico de la Tierra, y su orientacin
hace pensar que se forma a profundidades en las que el agua puede actuar como
conductor.
La sonda descubri, asimismo, que Urano es un tipo de planeta gigante muy diferente de
Jpiter y Saturno. Su atmsfera no est formada por hidrgeno y helio, sino
por metano y amonaco. El planeta es de menor tamao que Jpiter y Saturno, y los
investigadores sospechan que en su interior puede haber ocanos de agua y hielo.
Neptuno y la mayor de sus lunas, Tritn -abajo, centro, pequea-, en una imagen tomada por la
Voyager 2 en 1989.
Neptuno[editar]
La mxima aproximacin a Neptuno tuvo lugar el 25 de agosto de 1989. Al ser el ltimo
gran planeta que la sonda visitara, se decidi hacer un vuelo cercano a la luna Tritn, de
forma similar a como la Voyager 1 sobrevol Titn.
La sonda descubri que el planeta tena en su atmsfera una gran mancha oscura, si bien
sta podra haber desaparecido ms tarde, segn muestran las imgenes del telescopio
Hubble. Originalmente se pens que podra ser una gran nube, aunque posteriormente se
postul que era un agujero en la capa de nubes que cubren el planeta.
Pese a encontrarse en los lmites exteriores del sistema solar, donde la radiacin solar es
ms dbil, Neptuno desafi a los cientficos mostrando unos fuertes vientos. Una posible
explicacin es que, cuanta menos luz solar se reciba, menos energa habr para alterar los
vientos.
Futuro de la sonda[editar]
Desde que su misin planetaria terminara, la Voyager 2 ha pasado a ser una sonda
interestelar que la NASA piensa utilizar para medir las condiciones ms all de
la heliosfera.
Al igual que su gemela la Voyager 1, en 2007 cruz el frente de choque de terminacin.
El 4 de noviembre de 2011, el personal de la Red del Espacio Profundo de la NASA envi
comandos a la Voyager 2 para activar el propulsor de reserva que controla la direccin de
la nave espacial. Dicha estrategia permiti a esta nave reducir la cantidad de energa
necesaria para operar usando propulsores no usados anteriormente, y al reducir el
consumo de energa, su vida til se podra alargar incluso otra dcada. La nave transmiti
los resultados de la maniobra el 13 de noviembre de 2011 y se recibieron en la Tierra el
14, un da ms tarde.4
Se espera que la Voyager 2 siga transmitiendo mensajes de radio por lo menos hasta el
ao 2025.5
Voyager 2
Voyager 2
Voyager 2, artist's impression
Mission type Planetary exploration
Operator NASA / JPL[1]
COSPAR ID 1977-076A[2]
SATCAT no. 10271[3]
Website voyager.jpl.nasa.gov
Mission duration 39 years, 9 months and 20 days elapsed
Planetary mission: 12 years, 1 month, 12 days
Interstellar mission: 27 years, 8 months and 7 days elapsed
(continuing)
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Launch mass 825.5 kilograms (1,820 lb)
Power 420 watts
Start of mission
Launch date August 20, 1977, 14:29:00 UTC
Rocket Titan IIIE
Launch site Cape Canaveral LC-41
Flyby of Jupiter
Closest approach July 9, 1979, 22:29:00 UTC
Distance 570,000 kilometers (350,000 mi)
Flyby of Saturn
Closest approach August 25, 1981, 03:24:05 UTC
Distance 101,000 km (63,000 mi)
Flyby of Uranus
Closest approach January 24, 1986, 17:59:47 UTC
Flyby of Neptune
Closest approach August 25, 1989, 03:56:36 UTC
Flagship
Voyager 1
Galileo
Voyager 2 is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, to study the outer
planets. Part of the Voyager program, it was launched 16 days before its twin, Voyager 1,
on a trajectory that took longer to reach Jupiter and Saturn but enabled further encounters
with Uranus and Neptune.[4] It is the only spacecraft to have visited either of the ice giants.
Its primary mission ended with the exploration of the Neptunian system on October 2, 1989,
after having visited the Uranian system in 1986, the Saturnian system in 1981, and
the Jovian system in 1979. Voyager 2 is now in its extended mission to study the outer
reaches of the Solar System and has been operating for 39 years, 9 months and 20 days. It
remains in contact through the Deep Space Network.[5]
At a distance of 114 AU (1.711010 km) from the Sun as of April 5th, 2017,[6] Voyager 2 is
one of the most distant human-made objects, along with Voyager 1, New Horizons, Pioneer
10 and Pioneer 11. The probe was moving at a velocity of 15.4 km/s (55,000 km/h) relative
to the Sun as of December 2014 and is traveling through the heliosheath.[6][7] Upon
reaching interstellar space, Voyager 2 is expected to provide the first direct measurements
of the density and temperature of the interstellar plasma.[8]
Contents
[hide]
1Mission background
o 1.1History
o 1.2Spacecraft design
1.2.1Communications
1.2.2Power
1.2.3Scientific instruments
2Mission profile
3Launch and trajectory
o 3.1Encounter with Jupiter
o 3.2Encounter with Saturn
o 3.3Encounter with Uranus
o 3.4Encounter with Neptune
4Interstellar mission
5Future of the probe
6Golden record
7See also
8References
9Further reading
10External links
Mission background[edit]
History[edit]
In the early 1960s, it was realized that a coincidental alignment of the outer planets would
occur in the late 1970s and enable a single probe to visit Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
and Neptune by taking advantage of the then-new technique of gravity
assists. NASA began work on a Grand Tour, which evolved into a massive project involving
two groups of two probes each, with one group visiting Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto and the
other Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune. The spacecraft would be designed with redundant
systems to ensure survival through the entire tour. By 1972 the mission was scaled back
and replaced with two Mariner-derived spacecraft, the Mariner Jupiter-Saturn probes. To
keep apparent lifetime program costs low, the mission would include only flybys of Jupiter
and Saturn, but keep the Grand Tour option open.[4]:263 As the program progressed, the
name was changed to Voyager.[9]
The primary mission of Voyager 1 was to explore Jupiter, Saturn, and Saturn's
moon, Titan. Voyager 2 was also to explore Jupiter and Saturn, but on a trajectory that
would have option of continuing on to Uranus and Neptune, or being redirected to Titan as
a backup for Voyager 1. Upon successful completion of Voyager 1's objectives, Voyager
2 would get a mission extension to send the probe on towards Uranus and Neptune.[4]
Spacecraft design[edit]
Constructed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Voyager 2 included
16 hydrazine thrusters, three-axis stabilization, gyroscopes and celestial referencing
instruments (Sun sensor/Canopus Star Tracker) to maintain pointing of the high-gain
antenna toward Earth. Collectively these instruments are part of the Attitude and
Articulation Control Subsystem (AACS) along with redundant units of most instruments and
8 backup thrusters. The spacecraft also included 11 scientific instruments to study celestial
objects as it traveled through space.[10]
Communications[edit]
Built with the intent for eventual interstellar travel, Voyager 2 included a large, 3.7 m (12 ft)
parabolic, high-gain antenna (see diagram) to transceive data via the Deep Space
Network on the Earth. Communications are conducted over the S-band (about 13 cm
wavelength) and X-band (about 3.6 cm wavelength) providing data rates as high as 115.2
kilobits per second at the distance of Jupiter, and then ever-decreasing as the distance
increased, because of the inverse-square law. When the spacecraft is unable to
communicate with Earth, the Digital Tape Recorder (DTR) can record about 64 kilobytes of
data for transmission at another time.[11]
Power[edit]
The spacecraft was built with 3 Multihundred-Watt radioisotope thermoelectric
generators (MHW RTG). Each RTG includes 24 pressed plutonium oxide spheres and
provides enough heat to generate approximately 157 watts of power at launch. Collectively,
the RTGs supply the spacecraft with 470 watts at launch and will allow operations to
continue until at least 2020.[10][12][13]
RTG diagram 1
RTG diagram 1

RTG unit
Main article: Voyager program
Utilizes a two-camera system (narrow-angle/wide-angle) to

trajectory. More
[hide]Filters
Narrow Angle Camera Wide Angle Camera

Filters[14] Filters[15]
Na Wavele Spectr Sensiti Na Wavele Spectr Sensiti
me ngth um vity me ngth um vity
280 nm 280 nm
Clea Clea

r r
640 nm 640 nm
Imaging Science 280 nm ' ' '
System (ISS) UV
(disabled) 370 nm 350 nm
Viol

350 nm et
Viol 450 nm

et 430 nm
450 nm
Blue
430 nm
530 nm
Blue
530 nm 536 nm
CH4

' ' ' -U
546 nm
530 nm 530 nm
Gree Gree

n n
640 nm 640 nm
' ' ' 588 nm
Na-

D
590 nm 590 nm
Ora
Ora 590 nm
nge
640 nm nge
' ' ' 640 nm
614 nm
CH4

-JST
624 nm
Principal investigator: Bradford Smith / University of Arizona

(PDS/PRN website)
Utilized the telecommunications system of the Voyager spacecraft

to determine the physical properties of planets and satellites
(ionospheres, atmospheres, masses, gravity fields, densities) and
the amount and size distribution of material in Saturn's rings and
Radio Science System (RSS the ring dimensions. More
(disabled) )
overview
Data: PDS/PPI data catalog, PDS/PRN data
catalog (VG_2803), NSSDC Saturn data archive
Investigates both global and local energy balance and atmospheric

composition. Vertical temperature profiles are also obtained from
the planets and satellites as well as the composition, thermal
Infrared Interferometer properties, and size of particles in Saturn's rings. More
(IRI
Spectrometer S)
(disabled) Principal investigator: Rudolf Hanel / NASA Goddard Space Flight
catalog (VGIRIS_0001, VGIRIS_002)

radiation. More
Ultraviolet Spectromete (UV
r
(disabled)
S) Principal investigator: A. Broadfoot / University of Southern
California (PDS/PRN website)
Designed to investigate the magnetic fields of Jupiter and Saturn,

the solar-wind interaction with the magnetospheres of these
planets, and the interplanetary magnetic field out to the solar wind
Triaxial boundary with the interstellar magnetic field and beyond, if
(MA crossed. More
Fluxgate Magnetometer G)
(active)
Principal investigator: Norman Ness / NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center (website)
Investigates the macroscopic properties of the plasma ions and

measures electrons in the energy range from 5 eV to 1 keV. More
PlasmaSpectrometer (PLS
(active) )

Low Energy Charged distributions of ions, electrons and the differential in energy ion
(LE composition. More
Particle Instrument CP)
(active)
Principal investigator: Stamatios Krimigis / JHU/APL / University of
Determines the origin and acceleration process, life history, and

dynamic contribution of interstellar cosmic rays, the
nucleosynthesis of elements in cosmic-ray sources, the behavior
of cosmic rays in the interplanetary medium, and the trapped
Cosmic Ray System (CR planetary energetic-particle environment. More
(active) S)
Principal investigator: Edward Stone / Caltech / NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center (website)
Data: NSSDC data archive
Utilizes a sweep-frequency radio receiver to study the radio-

emission signals from Jupiter and Saturn. More Voyager: Sounds
Planetary Radio Of The Cosmos, the Album made from Voyager's PRA Instrument
Astronomy Investigatio (PR Recordings
n A)
(disabled)
Principal investigator: James Warwick / University of Colorado
Utilized a telescope with a polarizer to gather information on

surface texture and composition of Jupiter and Saturn and
Photopolarimeter Syste information on atmospheric scattering properties and density for
(PPS both planets. More
m )
(disabled)
Principal investigator: Arthur Lane / JPL (PDS/PRN website)
Provides continuous, sheath-independent measurements of the

electron-density profiles at Jupiter and Saturn as well as basic
information on local wave-particle interaction, useful in studying
Plasma Wave System (PW the magnetospheres. More
(partially disabled) S)
Principal investigator: Donald Gurnett / University of Iowa (website)
For more details on the Voyager space probes' identical instrument packages, see the
separate article on the overall Voyager Program.
Images of the spacecraft
Voyager spacecraft diagram.

Voyager in transport to a solar thermal test
chamber.
Gold-Plated Record is attached

toVoyager.
Voyager 2 awaiting payload entry into

a Titan IIIE/Centaur rocket.
Media related to the Voyager spacecraft at Wikimedia Commons
Mission profile[edit]
Timeline of travel
Date Event
1977-08-20 Spacecraft launched at 14:29:00 UTC.
1977-12-10 Entered asteroid belt.
1977-12-19 Voyager 1 overtakes Voyager 2. (see diagram)
1978-06 Primary radio receiver fails. Remainder of mission flown using backup.
1978-10-21 Exited asteroid belt
Start Jupiter observation phase
1979-04-25
[show]Time Event
Start Saturn observation phase.
1981-06-05
[show]Time Event
Start Uranus observation phase.
1985-11-04
[show]Time Event
1987-08-20 10 years of continuous flight and operation at 14:29:00 UTC.
Start Neptune observation phase.
1989-06-05
[show]Time Event
1989-10-02 Begin Voyager Interstellar Mission.
Interstellar phase[16][17][18]
Final images of the Voyager Program acquired by Voyager 1 to create
1990-02-14
the Solar System "Family Portrait".
1998-11-13 Terminate scan platform and UV observations.
2007-09-06 Terminate data tape recorder operations.
2008-02-22 Terminate planetary radio astronomy experiment operations.
2011-11-07 Switch to backup thrusters to conserve power[19]
Launch and trajectory[edit]

The Voyager 2 probe was launched on August 20, 1977, by NASA from Space Launch
Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a Titan IIIE/Centaur launch vehicle. Two
weeks later, the twin Voyager 1 probe would be launched on September 5, 1977.
However, Voyager 1 would reach both Jupiter and Saturn sooner, as Voyager 2 had been
launched into a longer, more circular trajectory.
Voyager 2 launch on August 20, 1977 with a Titan IIIE/Centaur.

Trajectory of Voyager 2 primary mission.
Plot of Voyager 2's heliocentric velocity against its distance from the Sun, illustrating the use of
gravity assists to accelerate the spacecraft by Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. To
observe Triton, Voyager 2 passed over Neptune's north pole, resulting in an acceleration out of
the plane of the ecliptic, and, as a result, a reduced velocity relative to the Sun. [20]
Encounter with Jupiter[edit]
Main article: Exploration of Jupiter
Voyager 2's closest approach to Jupiter occurred on July 9, 1979. It came within
570,000 km (350,000 mi) of the planet's cloud tops.[21] It discovered a few rings around
Jupiter, as well as volcanic activity on the moon Io.
The Great Red Spot was revealed as a complex storm moving in a counterclockwise
direction. An array of other smaller storms and eddies were found throughout the banded
clouds.
Discovery of active volcanism on Io was easily the greatest unexpected discovery at
Jupiter. It was the first time active volcanoes had been seen on another body in the Solar
System. Together, the Voyagers observed the eruption of nine volcanoes on Io, and there
is evidence that other eruptions occurred between the two Voyager fly-bys.
The moon Europa displayed a large number of intersecting linear features in the low-
resolution photos from Voyager 1. At first, scientists believed the features might be deep
cracks, caused by crustal rifting or tectonic processes. The closer high-resolution photos
from Voyager 2, however, left scientists puzzled: The features were so lacking in
topographic relief that as one scientist described them, they "might have been painted on
with a felt marker." Europa is internally active due to tidal heating at a level about one-tenth
that of Io. Europa is thought to have a thin crust (less than 30 km (19 mi) thick) of water ice,
possibly floating on a 50-kilometer-deep (30 mile) ocean.
Two new, small satellites, Adrastea and Metis, were found orbiting just outside the ring. A
third new satellite, Thebe, was discovered between the orbits of Amalthea and Io.
The Great Red Spot photographed during
the Voyager 2 flyby of Jupiter.
A transit of Io across Jupiter, July 9, 1979.
Eruption of a volcano on Io, photographed

by Voyager 2.
A color mosaic of Europa.
A color mosaic of Ganymede.
Callisto photographed at a distance of

1 million kilometers.
One faint ring of Jupiterphotographed
during the flyby.
Atmospheric eruptive event onJupiter.
Media related to the Voyager 2 Jupiter encounter at Wikimedia Commons
Encounter with Saturn[edit]

Main article: Exploration of Saturn
The closest approach to Saturn occurred on August 26, 1981.[22]
While passing behind Saturn (as viewed from Earth), Voyager 2 probed Saturn's upper
atmosphere with its radio link to gather information on atmospheric temperature and
density profiles. Voyager 2 found that at the uppermost pressure levels
(seven kilopascals of pressure), Saturn's temperature was 70 kelvins (203 C), while at
the deepest levels measured (120 kilopascals) the temperature increased to 143 K
(130 C). The north pole was found to be 10 kelvins cooler, although this may be seasonal
(see also Saturn Oppositions).
After the fly-by of Saturn, the camera platform of Voyager 2 locked up briefly, putting plans
to officially extend the mission to Uranus and Neptune in jeopardy. The mission's engineers
were able to fix the problem (caused by an overuse that temporarily depleted its lubricant),
and the Voyager 2 probe was given the go-ahead to explore the Uranian system.
Voyager 2 Saturn approach view.

North, polar region of Saturn imaged in
orange and UV filters.
Color image of Enceladus showing terrain

of widely varying ages.
Cratered surface of Tethys at 594,000 km.

Atmosphere of Titan imaged from
2.3 million km.
Titan occultation of the Sun from

0.9 million km.
Two-toned Iapetus, August 22, 1981.
"Spoke" features observed in therings of

Saturn.
Media related to the Voyager 2 Saturn encounter at Wikimedia Commons
Encounter with Uranus[edit]

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Main article: Exploration of Uranus
The closest approach to Uranus occurred on January 24, 1986, when Voyager 2 came
within 81,500 kilometers (50,600 mi) of the planet's cloud tops. Voyager 2 also discovered
the
moons Cordelia, Ophelia, Bianca, Cressida, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Belinda,
Perdita and Puck; studied the planet's unique atmosphere, caused by its axial tilt of 97.8;
and examined the Uranian ring system.
Uranus is the third largest (Neptune has a larger mass, but a smaller volume) planet in the
Solar System. It orbits the Sun at a distance of about 2.8 billion kilometers (1.7 billion
miles), and it completes one orbit every 84 Earth years. The length of a day on Uranus as
measured by Voyager 2 is 17 hours, 14 minutes. Uranus is unique among the planets in
that its axial tilt is about 90, meaning that its axis is roughly parallel with, not perpendicular
to, the plane of the ecliptic. This extremely large tilt of its axis is thought to be the result of a
collision between the accumulating planet Uranus with another planet-sized body early in
the history of the Solar System. Given the unusual orientation of its axis, with the polar
regions of Uranus exposed for periods of many years to either continuous sunlight or
darkness, planetary scientists were not at all sure what to expect when observing Uranus.
Voyager 2 found that one of the most striking effects of the sideways orientation of Uranus
is the effect on the tail of the planetary magnetic field. This is itself tilted about 60 from the
Uranian axis of rotation. The planet's magneto tail was shown to be twisted by the rotation
of Uranus into a long corkscrew shape following the planet. The presence of a significant
magnetic field for Uranus was not at all known until Voyager 2's arrival.
The radiation belts of Uranus were found to be of an intensity similar to those of Saturn.
The intensity of radiation within the Uranian belts is such that irradiation would "quickly"
darken within 100,000 years any methane that is trapped in the icy surfaces of the
inner moons and ring particles. This kind of darkening might have contributed to the
darkened surfaces of the moons and the ring particles, which are almost uniformly dark
gray in color.
A high layer of haze was detected around the sunlit pole of Uranus. This area was also
found to radiate large amounts of ultraviolet light, a phenomenon that is called "dayglow."
The average atmospheric temperature is about 60 K (350F/213C). Surprisingly, the
illuminated and dark poles, and most of the planet, exhibit nearly the same temperatures at
the cloud tops.
The Uranian moon Miranda, the innermost of the five large moons, was discovered to be
one of the strangest bodies yet seen in the Solar System. Detailed images from Voyager
2's flyby of Miranda showed huge canyons made from geological faults as deep as 20
kilometers (12 mi), terraced layers, and a mixture of old and young surfaces.
One hypothesis suggests that Miranda might consist of a reaggregation of material
following an earlier event when Miranda was shattered into pieces by a violent impact.
All nine of the previously known Uranian rings were studied by the instruments of Voyager
2. These measurements showed that the Uranian rings are distinctly different from those at
Jupiter and Saturn. The Uranian ring system might be relatively young, and it did not form
at the same time that Uranus did. The particles that make up the rings might be the
remnants of a moon that was broken up by either a high-velocity impact or torn up by tidal
effects.
Uranus as viewed by Voyager 2
Departing image of crescent Uranus.
Fractured surface of Miranda.
Ariel as imaged from 130,000 km.

Color composite of Titania from
500,000 km.
Umbriel (moon) imaged from

550,000 km.
Oberon (computer generated image).

The Rings of Uranus imaged
byVoyager 2.
Media related to the Voyager 2 Uranus encounter at Wikimedia Commons
Encounter with Neptune[edit]

Main article: Exploration of Neptune
Voyager 2's closest approach to Neptune occurred on August 25, 1989.[23][24] Because this
was the last planet of the Solar System that Voyager 2 could visit, the Chief Project
Scientist, his staff members, and the flight controllers decided to also perform a close fly-by
of Triton, the larger of Neptune's two originally known moons, so as to gather as much
information on Neptune and Triton as possible, regardless of Voyager 2's departure angle
from the planet. This was just like the case of Voyager 1's encounters with Saturn and its
massive moon Titan.
Through repeated computerized test simulations of trajectories through the Neptunian
system conducted in advance, flight controllers determined the best way to route Voyager
2 through the Neptune-Triton system. Since the plane of the orbit of Triton is tilted
significantly with respect to the plane of the ecliptic, through mid-course
corrections, Voyager 2 was directed into a path about three thousand miles above the north
pole of Neptune.[25] At that time, Triton was behind and below (south of) Neptune (at an
angle of about 25 degrees below the ecliptic), close to the apoapsis of its elliptical orbit.
The gravitational pull of Neptune bent the trajectory of Voyager 2 down in the direction of
Triton. In less than 24 hours, Voyager 2 traversed the distance between Neptune and
Triton, and then observed Triton's northern hemisphere as it passed over its north pole.
The net and final effect on Voyager 2 was to bend its trajectory south below the plane of
the ecliptic by about 30 degrees. Voyager 2 is on this path permanently, and hence, it is
exploring space south of the plane of the ecliptic, measuring magnetic fields, charged
particles, etc., there, and sending the measurements back to the Earth via telemetry.
While in the neighborhood of Neptune, Voyager 2 discovered the "Great Dark Spot", which
has since disappeared, according to observations by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Originally thought to be a large cloud itself, the "Great Dark Spot" was later hypothesized to
be a hole in the visible cloud deck of Neptune.
With the decision of the International Astronomical Union to reclassify Pluto as a "dwarf
planet" in 2006, the flyby of Neptune by Voyager 2 in 1989 became the point when every
known planet in the Solar System had been visited at least once by a space probe.
Voyager 2 image of Neptune.
Neptune and Triton three days afterVoyager

2 flyby.
Despina as imaged from Voyager 2.

Cratered surface of Larissa.
Dark surface of Proteus.
Color mosaic of Voyager 2 Triton.
Cirrus clouds imaged above

gaseousNeptune.
Rings of Neptune taken in occultationfrom
280,000 km.
Media related to the Voyager 2 Neptune encounter at Wikimedia Commons
Interstellar mission[edit]
Once its planetary mission was over, Voyager 2 was described as working on an
interstellar mission, which NASA is using to find out what the Solar System is like beyond
the heliosphere. Voyager 2 is currently transmitting scientific data at about 160 bits per
second. Information about continuing telemetry exchanges with Voyager 2 is available from
Voyager Weekly Reports.[26]
Map showing location and trajectories of the Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, and Voyager
2 spacecraft, as of April 4, 2007.
On November 29, 2006, a telemetered command to Voyager 2 was incorrectly decoded by

its on-board computerin a random erroras a command to turn on the electrical heaters
of the spacecraft's magnetometer. These heaters remained turned on until December 4,
2006, and during that time, there was a resulting high temperature above 130 C (266 F),
significantly higher than the magnetometers were designed to endure, and a sensor rotated
away from the correct orientation. As of this date it had not been possible to fully diagnose
and correct for the damage caused to Voyager 2's magnetometer, although efforts to do so
were proceeding.[27]
On August 30, 2007, Voyager 2 passed the termination shock and then entered into
the heliosheath, approximately 1 billion miles (1.6 billion km) closer to the Sun
than Voyager 1 did.[28] This is due to the interstellar magnetic field of deep space. The
southern hemisphere of the Solar System's heliosphere is being pushed in.[29]
On April 22, 2010, Voyager 2 encountered scientific data format problems.[30] On May 17,
2010, JPL engineers revealed that a flipped bit in an on-board computer had caused the
issue, and scheduled a bit reset for May 19.[31]
On May 23, 2010, Voyager 2 resumed sending science data from deep space after
engineers fixed the flipped bit.[32] Currently research is being made into marking the area of
memory with the flipped bit off limits or disallowing its use. The Low-Energy Charged
Particle Instrument is currently operational, and data from this instrument
concerning charged particles is being transmitted to Earth. This data permits
measurements of the heliosheath and termination shock. There has also been a
modification to the on-board flight software to delay turning off the AP Branch 2 backup
heater for one year. It was scheduled to go off February 2, 2011 (DOY 033, 2011033).
Simulated view of the position of Voyager 2 as of February 8, 2012 showing spacecraft trajectory
since launch
On July 25, 2012, Voyager 2 was traveling at 15.447 km/s relative to the Sun at about
99.13 astronomical units (1.48301010 km) from the Sun,[6] at 55.29 declination and
19.888 h right ascension, and also at an ecliptic latitude of 34.0 degrees, placing it in the
constellation Telescopium as observed from Earth.[33] This location places it deep in
the scattered disc, and traveling outward at roughly 3.264 AU per year. It is more than twice
as far from the Sun as Pluto, and far beyond the perihelion of 90377 Sedna, but not yet
beyond the outer limits of the orbit of the dwarf planet Eris.
On September 9, 2012, Voyager 2 was 99.077 AU (1.482171010 km; 9.2098109 mi) from
the Earth and 99.504 AU (1.488561010 km; 9.2495109 mi) from the Sun; and traveling at
15.436 km/s (34,530 mph) (relative to the Sun) and traveling outward at about 3.256 AU
per year.[34] Sunlight takes 13.73 hours to get to Voyager 2. The brightness of the Sun from
the spacecraft is magnitude -16.7.[34] Voyager 2 is heading in the direction of the
constellation Telescopium.[34] (To compare, Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun, is
about 4.2 light-years (or 2.65105 AU) distant. Voyager 2's current relative velocity to the
Sun is 15.436 km/s (55,570 km/h; 34,530 mph). This calculates as 3.254 AU per year,
about 10% slower than Voyager 1. At this velocity, 81,438 years would pass
before Voyager 2 reaches the nearest star, Proxima Centauri, were the spacecraft traveling
in the direction of that star. (Voyager 2 will need about 19,390 years at its current velocity to
travel a complete light year)
On November 7, 2012, Voyager 2 reached 100 AU from the sun, making it the third human
made object to reach 100 AU. Voyager 1 was 122 AU from the Sun, and Pioneer 10 is
presumed to be at 107 AU. While Pioneer has ceased communications, both of
the Voyager spacecraft are performing well and are still communicating.
The current position of Voyagers as of early 2013. Note the vast distances condensed into an
exponential scale: Earth is 1 astronomical unit (AU) from the Sun; Saturn is nine times further out,
and the Heliopause is more than 100 times further out than Earth. Neptune is 30.1 AU from the Sun;
thus the edge of interstellar space is more than three times further out than the last planet.
In 2013 Voyager 1 was escaping the solar system at a speed of about 3.6 AU per year,
while Voyager 2 was only escaping at 3.3 AU per year.[35] (Each year Voyager 1 increases
its lead over Voyager 2)
By April 5th, 2017 Voyager 2 was at a distance of 114 AU (1.711010 km) from the
Sun.[6] There is a variation in distance from Earth caused by the Earth's revolution around
the Sun relative to Voyager 2.[6]
Future of the probe[edit]

It was originally thought that Voyager 2 would enter interstellar space in early 2016, with its
plasma spectrometer providing the first direct measurements of the density and
temperature of the interstellar plasma.[36]
However, the spacecraft may instead reach interstellar space sometime in either late 2019
or early 2020, when it will reach a similar distance from the Sun as Voyager 1 did when it
crossed into interstellar space back in 2012. Voyager 2 is not headed toward any particular
star, although in roughly 40,000 years it should pass 1.7 light-years from the star Ross
248.[37] And if undisturbed for 296,000 years, Voyager 2 should pass by the star Sirius at a
distance of 4.3 light-years. Voyager 2 is expected to keep transmitting weak radio
messages until at least 2025, over 48 years after it was launched.[38]
End of specific capabilities as a result of the available electrical power

Year
limitations[39]
1998 Terminate scan platform and UVS observations
Termination of Digital Tape Recorder (DTR) operations (It was no longer needed
2007 due to a failure on the High Waveform Receiver on the Plasma Wave
Subsystem (PWS) on June 30, 2002.[40])
2008 Power off Planetary Radio Astronomy Experiment (PRA)

2016 approx Termination of gyroscopic operations
2020 approx Initiate instrument power sharing
2025 or slightly
Can no longer power any single instrument
afterwards
Golden record[edit]
Voyager Golden Record

Each Voyager space probe carries a gold-plated audio-visual disc in the event that either
spacecraft is ever found by intelligent life-forms from other planetary systems.[41] The discs
carry photos of the Earth and its lifeforms, a range of scientific information, spoken
greetings from the people (e.g. the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the
President of the United States, and the children of the Planet Earth) and a medley, "Sounds
of Earth", that includes the sounds of whales, a baby crying, waves breaking on a shore,
and a collection of music, including works by Mozart, Blind Willie Johnson, Chuck Berry's
"Johnny B. Goode", Valya Balkanska and other Eastern and Western classics and ethnic
performers.[42] (see also Music in space)
See also[edit]
Spaceflight portal
Solar System portal
Family Portrait
List of artificial objects escaping from the Solar System
List of missions to the outer planets
New Horizons
Pioneer 10
Pioneer 11
Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes
Voyager 1
References[edit]
1. Jump up^ "VOYAGER:Mission Information". NASA. 1989. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
2. Jump up^ "Voyager 2". US National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved 25
August 2013.
3. Jump up^ "VOYAGER 2". N2YO. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
4. ^ Jump up to:a b c Butrica, Andrew. From Engineering Science to Big Science. p. 267.
Retrieved 2015-09-04. Despite the name change, Voyager remained in many ways the
Grand Tour concept, though certainly not the Grand T
THE MISSION
OVERVIEW | SCIENCE | SPACECRAFT
Mission Overview
Interstellar Mission.
The twin Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft are exploring where nothing from Earth has flown
before. Continuing on their more-than-39-year journey since their 1977 launches, they
each are much farther away from Earth and the sun than Pluto. In August 2012,
Voyager 1 made the historic entry into interstellar space, the region between stars,
filled with material ejected by the death of nearby stars millions of years ago. Scientists
hope to learn more about this region when Voyager 2, in the heliosheath" -- the
outermost layer of the heliosphere where the solar wind is slowed by the pressure of
interstellar medium -- also reaches interstellar space. Both spacecraft are still sending
scientific information about their surroundings through the Deep Space Network, or
DSN.
The primary mission was the exploration of Jupiter and Saturn. After making a string of
discoveries there -- such as active volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io and intricacies of
Saturn's rings -- the mission was extended. Voyager 2 went on to explore Uranus and
Neptune, and is still the only spacecraft to have visited those outer planets. The
adventurers' current mission, the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM), will explore the
outermost edge of the Sun's domain. And beyond.
Interstellar Mission
Interstellar Mission. larger image
Mission Objective
The mission objective of the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM) is to extend the NASA
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. This extended
mission is continuing to characterize the outer solar system environment and search for
the heliopause boundary, the outer limits of the Sun's magnetic field and outward flow
of the solar wind. Penetration of the heliopause boundary between the solar wind and
the interstellar medium will allow measurements to be made of the interstellar fields,
particles and waves unaffected by the solar wind.
Mission Characteristic
The VIM is an extension of the Voyager primary mission that was completed in 1989
with the close flyby of Neptune by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. Neptune was the final
outer planet visited by a Voyager spacecraft. Voyager 1 completed its planned close
flybys of the Jupiter and Saturn planetary systems while Voyager 2, in addition to its
own close flybys of Jupiter and Saturn, completed close flybys of the remaining two gas
giants, Uranus and Neptune.
Interstellar Mission. larger image
At the start of the VIM, the two Voyager spacecraft had been in flight for over 12 years
having been launched in August (Voyager 2) and September (Voyager 1), 1977.
Voyager 1 was at a distance of approximately 40 AU (Astronomical Unit - mean
distance of Earth from the Sun, 150 million kilometers) from the Sun, and Voyager 2
was at a distance of approximately 31 AU.
It is appropriate to consider the VIM as three distinct phases: the termination shock,
heliosheath exploration, and interstellar exploration phases. The two Voyager
spacecraft began the VIM operating in an environment controlled by the Sun's
magnetic field with the plasma particles being dominated by those contained in the
expanding supersonic solar wind. This is the characteristic environment of the
termination shock phase. At some distance from the Sun, the supersonic solar wind is
held back from further expansion by the interstellar wind. The first feature encountered
by a spacecraft as a result of this interstellar wind/solar wind interaction was the
termination shock where the solar wind slows from supersonic to subsonic speed and
large changes in plasma flow direction and magnetic field orientation occur.
As of February 2017, Voyager 1 was at a distance of 20.6 Billion Kilometers (138 AU)
from the sun and Voyager 2 at a distance of 17 Billion kilometers (114 AU).
Voyager 1 is escaping the solar system at a speed of about 3.6 AU per year, 35
degrees out of the ecliptic plane to the north, in the general direction of the Solar Apex
(the direction of the Sun's motion relative to nearby stars). Voyager 2 is also escaping
the solar system at a speed of about 3.3 AU per year, 48 degrees out of the ecliptic
plane to the south.
Passage through the termination shock ended the termination shock phase and began
the heliosheath exploration phase. Voyager 1 crossed the termination shock at 94 AU
in December 2004 and Voyager 2 crossed at 84 AU in August 2007. Since passage
through the termination shock, the spacecraft has been operating in the heliosheath
environment which is still dominated by the Sun's magnetic field and particles
contained in the solar wind. The heliosheath exploration phase ends with passage
through the heliopause which is the outer extent of the Sun's magnetic field and solar
wind. The thickness of the heliosheath is uncertain and could be tens of AU thick taking
several years to traverse. Passage through the heliopause begins the interstellar
exploration phase with the spacecraft operating in an interstellar wind dominated
environment. This interstellar exploration is the ultimate goal of the Voyager Interstellar
Mission.
Both Voyagers are headed towards the outer boundary of the solar system in search of
the heliopause, the region where the Sun's influence wanes and the beginning of
interstellar space can be sensed. The heliopause has never been reached by any
spacecraft; the Voyagers may be the first to pass through this region, which is thought
to exist somewhere from 8 to 14 billion miles from the Sun. This is where the million-
mile-per-hour solar winds slows to about 250,000 miles per hourthe first indication
that the wind is nearing the heliopause. The Voyagers should cross the heliopause 10
to 20 years after reaching the termination shock. The Voyagers have enough electrical
power and thruster fuel to operate at least until 2020. By that time, Voyager 1 will be
13.8 billion miles (22.1 billion KM) from the Sun and Voyager 2 will be 11.4 billion miles
(18.4 billion KM) away. Eventually, the Voyagers will pass other stars. In about 40,000
years, Voyager 1 will drift within 1.6 light-years (9.3 trillion miles) of AC+79 3888, a star
in the constellation of Camelopardalis which is heading toward the constellation
Ophiuchus. In about 40,000 years, Voyager 2 will pass 1.7 light-years (9.7 trillion
miles) from the star Ross 248 and in about 296,000 years, it will pass 4.3 light-years
(25 trillion miles) from Sirius, the brightest star in the sky . The Voyagers are
destinedperhaps eternallyto wander the Milky Way.
THE GOLDEN RECORD
What is the Golden Record?
The Golden Record. view more information larger image
Pioneers 10 and 11, which preceded Voyager, both carried small metal plaques
identifying their time and place of origin for the benefit of any other spacefarers that
might find them in the distant future. With this example before them, NASA placed a
more ambitious message aboard Voyager 1 and 2-a kind of time capsule, intended to
communicate a story of our world to extraterrestrials. The Voyager message is carried
by a phonograph record-a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk containing sounds and
images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth.
The contents of the record were selected for NASA by a committee chaired by Carl
Sagan of Cornell University, et. al. Dr. Sagan and his associates assembled 115
images and a variety of natural sounds, such as those made by surf, wind and thunder,
birds, whales, and other animals. To this they added musical selections from different
cultures and eras, and spoken greetings from Earth-people in fifty-five languages, and
printed messages from President Carter and U.N. Secretary General Waldheim. Each
record is encased in a protective aluminum jacket, together with a cartridge and a
needle. Instructions, in symbolic language, explain the origin of the spacecraft and
indicate how the record is to be played. The 115 images are encoded in analog form.
The remainder of the record is in audio, designed to be played at 16-2/3 revolutions per
minute. It contains the spoken greetings, beginning with Akkadian, which was spoken
in Sumer about six thousand years ago, and ending with Wu, a modern Chinese
dialect. Following the section on the sounds of Earth, there is an eclectic 90-minute
selection of music, including both Eastern and Western classics and a variety of ethnic
music. Once the Voyager spacecraft leave the solar system (by 1990, both will be
beyond the orbit of Pluto), they will find themselves in empty space. It will be forty
thousand years before they make a close approach to any other planetary system. As
Carl Sagan has noted, "The spacecraft will be encountered and the record played only
if there are advanced spacefaring civilizations in interstellar space. But the launching of
this bottle into the cosmic ocean says something very hopeful about life on this planet."
The definitive work about the Voyager record is "Murmurs of Earth" by Executive
Director, Carl Sagan, Technical Director, Frank Drake, Creative Director, Ann Druyan,
Producer, Timothy Ferris, Designer, Jon Lomberg, and Greetings Organizer, Linda
Salzman. Basically, this book is the story behind the creation of the record, and
includes a full list of everything on the record. "Murmurs of Earth", originally published
in 1978, was reissued in 1992 by Warner News Media with a CD-ROM that replicates
the Voyager record. Unfortunately, this book is now out of print, but it is worth the effort
to try and find a used copy or browse through a library copy.

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Voyager

Para otros usos de este trmino, vase Voyager (desambiguacin).

Se denomina Voyager a cualquiera de las dos sondas

Imagen de la cubierta del disco de oro a bordo de la Voyager 1.

Imagen mostrando las trayectorias de los Voyager y su llegada a la heliopausa.

El primer objeto humano en alcanzar el espacio

Wikimedia Commons alberga contenido multimedia sobre Voyager.

The Voyager program is a continuing American scientific program that employs

Instrument Name Abr. Description

Utilized a two-camera system (narrow-angle/wide-angle) to

Wide Angle Camera

Ora 590 Ora 590

' ' ' CH4- 614

Principal investigator: Bradford Smith / University of Arizona

Utilized the telecommunications system of the Voyager

Investigated both global and local energy balance and

Principal investigator: Rudolf Hanel / NASA Goddard Space Flight

Designed to measure atmospheric properties, and to measure

Designed to investigate the magnetic fields of Jupiter and

Principal investigator: Norman Ness / NASA Goddard Space Flight

Investigated the macroscopic properties of the plasma ions

Measures the differential in energy fluxes and angular

Principal investigator: Stamatios Krimigis / JHU/APL / University of

Determines the origin and acceleration process, life history,

Principal investigator: Edward Stone / Caltech / NASA Goddard

Utilized a sweep-frequency radio receiver to study the radio-

Utilized a 6-inch f/1.4 Dahl-Kirkham-type Cassegrain telescope

Principal investigator: Charles F. Lillie/LASP at Jupiter, Charles W.

Provides continuous, sheath-independent measurements of

Computers and data processing[edit]

Radioisotope thermoelectric generators for the Voyager program

Electrical power is supplied by three MHW-RTG radioisotope thermoelectric

Voyager Interstellar Mission[edit]

Humanity's Farthest Journey

7200, 1400 bit/s tape recorder playbacks

Voyager Golden Record[edit]

The cover of the golden record

Pale Blue Dot[edit]

Main article: Pale Blue Dot

Voyager One, from Space: 1999.

Modelo de ingeniera de una de las sondas Voyager

Contratos principales Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Fecha del sobrevuelo 5 de marzo de 1979

Fecha de lanzamiento 5 de septiembre de 1977, 12:56:00 UTC

Vehculo de lanzamiento Titan IIIE

Sitio de lanzamiento Cabo Caaveral LC-41

Vida til transcurren 39 aos, 9 meses y 4 das

Aplicacin Sonda interplanetaria e interestelar

Sitio web voyager.jpl.nasa.gov

[editar datos en Wikidata]

La Voyager 1 es una sonda espacial robtica de 722 kilogramos, lanzada el 5 de

Trayectoria de las Voyager.

La sonda fue lanzada el 5 de septiembre de 1977 desde el Centro Espacial Kennedy de la

Imagen de la actividad volcnica de o.

Voyager 1 realiz sus primeras fotografas de Jpiter en enero de 1979 y alcanz su

En los lmites del sistema solar[editar]

AO-DA Trmino de sus funciones cientficas

Se apaga el Subsistema de Plasma (PLS). En 2007-013 se apaga el calentador de este

2008-015 Apagado del experimento de Radioastronoma Planetaria (PRA)

~FIN 2010 Apagado de la plataforma de escaneado y las observaciones UV

~2015* Terminan las operaciones con la cinta de datos (DTR)

~2020 Se inicia el apagado selectivo de instrumentos

For other uses, see Voyager 1 (disambiguation).

Voyager 1, artist's impression