The Voyager spacecraft will be shutting down soon. How did they influence science?

In 1977, the NASA aerospace agencylaunched the Voyager mission, which consists of two spacecraft of the same name. The scientific probes Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were designed to study the outer planets of the solar system. They successfully completed their main tasks and reached Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. After that, they flew out of the solar system and at the moment are the most distant objects from the Earth created by man. In addition to scientific instruments, Voyager 1 carries a gold plate with a message to possibly existing aliens. It contains information about the location of the Earth, as well as images and sounds. Recently it became known that the devices are running out of energy - after 45 years of work, it's time to say goodbye to them.

Voyager 1 space probe

Content

1 Completion of the Voyager mission
2 Best photos of Voyagers
3 Interesting facts about Voyagers
4 Memory of the Voyager mission

Completion of the Voyager mission

Reports that the aerospace agencyNASA may lose contact with the Voyager spacecraft, they have appeared before. In 2005, they wanted to end the mission forcibly to save $4 million. Most likely, some other solution was found, because after this statement, the research probes continued their work. And in 2021, there were reports that the vehicles were running out of fuel. To save money, the project leaders turned off unnecessary parts of the Voyagers and hoped that they would be able to extend their life until 2027 - then they would have turned exactly 50 years old. However, a new Scientific American report hints that the Voyagers will not live to see their anniversary.

Voyager mission could end as early as 2025

Calculations show that even with strong savingsenergy, spacecraft will be able to work up to a maximum of 2025. They will still fly in space, but will not communicate with the Earth. It is known that the Voyager spacecraft travel at a speed of 17 kilometers per second and, therefore, every year they move away from us by 3.5 astronomical units. In a few years, we will not know exactly where the vehicles are. What is known is that Voyager 1 is farther from us than Voyager 2. Perhaps someday they will reach the habitat of an alien civilization and it will learn about our existence. Or it may be that the devices will be destroyed by asteroids or other space objects.

Remarkably, Voyager 2 was the first probe to be launched into space- he set off on August 20, 1977. The Voyager 1 spacecraft left our planet on September 5, 1977, but overtook its twin due to its increased speed. There is a separate article about its speed.

The best photos of Voyagers

For almost half a century of spacecraft operationVoyager made many scientific discoveries. It was only thanks to these twins that we were able to see distant planets like Jupiter, Saturn and so on for the first time. The first images were small and not of good quality, but they made a big impression on scientists and the whole world - at the end of the 20th century it was the best way to look at the distant regions of the solar system. Over time, the pictures became more and more interesting.

Color image of Saturn's rings, taken in 1981

The Great Red Spot on Jupiter, taken in 1979

Color image of the Great Dark Spot on Neptune

Much attention was paid to the missionmoons. For example, once the Voyager 2 probe managed to photograph Saturn's moon Enceladus. In addition to this, the device found that its exact size in diameter is 513 kilometers. The data sent by the device surprised scientists by the fact that most of the craters on the surface of Enceladus were erased over time. Ten years after this discovery, another apparatus, Cassini, learned that under the surface of Enceladus there could be a huge ocean up to 100 kilometers deep.

Voyager 2 image of Enceladus

Traces of meteor impacts on the surface of Ganymede, Jupiter's largest moon

Neptune's moon, Triton

Voyager Golden Record

Here's what's been happening to Voyagers over the past few years:

in 2013, the Voyager 1 probe left the solar system;
in 2015, it became possible to listen to the “Golden Record” of the device online;
in 2016, a replica of the Golden Record became available for purchase;
in 2017, it became known that Voyagers could pose a danger to humanity;
in the same year, Voyager 1's engines restarted after 37 years of inactivity;
In 2018, the Voyager 2 probe entered interstellar space.
in 2020, Voyager 2 resumed operation after a mysterious failure

I recommend paying special attention to the article "What happened to Voyager in the last 42 years in space?" my colleague Lyubov Sokovikova.

Memory of the Voyager mission

Without any exaggeration, Voyager is one of thethe most important space missions in the history of NASA. This opinion can be reached not only because they told a lot of interesting things about the distant planets of the solar system, but also because they went beyond its limits. Recently, scientists have suggested that they can make humanity immortal. You can read about these philosophical reflections here.

In fact, Voyagers can actually make people immortal... sort of...

At one time, space lovers were very sad forabout the termination of the Opportunity rover in 2019. The mission was canceled due to the fact that after a dust storm, he stopped receiving energy from his solar panels and could not get in touch. The last words of the device were “My battery is running out. The darkness is thickening”, which touched the souls of people very much. The research apparatus was perceived by everyone with great love, and much creativity was devoted to its death.