NASA’s oldest spacecraft is currently in its 45th year. The Voyager 1 probe, which was launched on September 5, 1977, continues to roam deep space in search of interesting observations beyond Earth.
Its longevity surprised scientists since no one knew it would exist for very long.
Interestingly, it has become an instrument of discovery of interstellar space – an effective symbol of endless projects in space.
NASA Voyager 1 records 45 years of space exploration
(Photo: NASA)
NASA’s iconic Voyager 1 probe has accomplished an extraordinary feat in space in its 45th year.
The space agency has operated Voyager 1 for nearly 50 years. Indeed, it’s getting closer to five decades of existence, but it’s still a powerful spacecraft that scientists use to unravel an alien planet.
According Espace.com, the probe is located more than 23.5 billion kilometers from the planet. To easily imagine how far it is from Earth, multiply the distance from the sun by 157.
According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) assistant project scientist Linda Spilker, the 45th anniversary of Voyager is important to recognize because of its importance in providing “uncharted territory observations”.
Just last week, Tech Times reported that NASA was able to fix the Voyager 1 issue on the AACS module. The space agency has guaranteed that the public will no longer have to worry about this mess.
The team got rid of the problem, but they still don’t know the reason for the sudden tripping of the switch.
Voyager 1 explored Jupiter and Saturn
By the time Voyager took off in 1977, it had immediately achieved a surprising goal, reaching Jupiter a year later.
Even then, the NASA spacecraft succeeded in showing the composition of Jupiter more closely. He captured the planet’s moons and the volcanic activity within them.
Then he took a look at Saturn and its natural satellite, the largest of them all, which is Titan. Meanwhile, its Voyager 2 counterpart, has crossed different paths exploring the terrain of Neptune and Uranus.
In 1998, NASA declared Voyager 1 to be “the most distant man-made object” during that year.
After more than a decade, the spacecraft began to dive deeper into interstellar space. This time he managed to cross the heliosphere.
“This is the first time we have been able to directly study how a star, our sun, interacts with particles and magnetic fields outside our heliosphere,” Spilker added.
Related article: NASA’s Deep Space Voyager probes are going to be disabled! Here’s why they’re closed
Voyager 1 will continue to unravel unlimited space
Voyager 1 has become a valuable aid for experts who wish to observe the universe in its smallest details. As such, it helped them establish theories about planets and looked closely at the relationship between stars.
According to JPL’s Voyager project manager, Suzanne Dodd, the probe has been a memorable tool that has sparked inspiration among engineers and scientists.
No one knows when Voyager 1 will come to a halt, but as it journeys through space, one thing is certain: future missions hold even more surprises for scientists endlessly curious about planets and other cosmic entities.
Read also : NASA Voyager 1 transmits sketchy data and engineers are confused
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Written by Joseph Henry
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