The Sun's influence extends well beyond the orbit of its planets, so we launched spacecraft like the Voyager 1 and 2 probes and NASA's various solar orbiters to study the Sun's effects on the rest of the solar system. Voyagers 1 and 2 are on a one-way trip, sent forth to study ...
While NASA has sent two probes out past our heliosphere—Voyager 1 and 2—there’s still a lot we don’t know about the protective shield around the Solar System. A proposed Interstellar Probe Mission could send a spacecraft to investigate these long-standing mysteries, and a new study ana...
Space How Voyager Works Environmental Science How Dyson Spheres Work Science Dictionary How Asteroids Work Advertisement How Satellites Work By: Gary Brown & William Harris Sputnik III on display at a Soviet exhibit in less exciting times. The satellite launched on May 15, 1958, and remained...
20, 1977. Voyager 1 launched on Sept. 5, 1977. Why is the numbering reversed? Once en route to the outer planets, Voyager 1 passed by Voyager 2 and reached Jupiter first. NASA thought the public would be confused if Voyager 2 started reporting back first, so the numbering doesn't ...
In the autumn of 2023, one of the primitive computers on Voyager 1 suddenly stopped sending back readable data. The basic signals were still coming through, which meant that JPL could still communicate with the space craft allowing them to interrogate the onboard systems. Many of the original ...
Launched in 1977, the two Voyager probes were the first probes to collect images of the four outer giants of the Solar System. Voyager 2 is still the only probe to visit Uranus and Neptune, taking these eerie photos of the two, respectively:22 ...
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft launched in 2021 and will eventually make it to Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids where it’ll explore the rocky location for clues onhow our solar system formed. Recommended Videos Its journey to get there is a complex one as it needs to utilize Earth’s gravity to “sl...
Pioneer 11made the trip in 606 days, but like its predecessor, it was simply passing through the system on its way to the Outer planets. Similarly, theVoyager 1and2probes, which were also passing through the system, took 546 days and 688 days, respectively. For direct missions, like the...
NuclearAuxiliaryPower(SNAP)unitswereusedespeciallyforprobesthattravel farenoughfromtheSunthatsolarpanelsarenolongerviable.Assuchtheyare usedwithPioneer10,Pioneer11,Voyager1,Voyager2,Galileo,Ulysses, CassiniandNewHorizons.Inaddition,RTGswereusedtopowerthetwoViking ...
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft launched in 2021 and will eventually make it to Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids where it’ll explore the rocky location for clues onhow our solar system formed. Recommended Videos Its journey to get there is a complex one as it needs to utilize Earth’s gravity to “sl...