Voyager 2, a pioneer successful outer star strategy exploration, near Earth for interstellar abstraction 49 years ago, connected August 20, 1977.
The twin of Voyager 1, which near Earth only a fewer weeks after, is the only spacecraft to sojourn each 4 of the star system's outer state giants — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
The Voyager probes were primitively sent connected a four-year ngo to circuit the star system, but they exceeded expectations and are still going astir half a period later. That makes them NASA's longest-lived mission, costing the agency much than $865 million.
The 2 probes person had their adjacent stock of interstellar roadworthy bumps, which person only been exacerbated arsenic the probes age. In 2022, Voyager 1 started sending garbled information from extracurricular the star system. NASA yet figured retired that 1 of its computers had gone dormant years earlier.
Voyager 2 fell into limbo successful 2023, losing interaction pinch NASA aft personification sent a incorrect command. The agency detected a faint signal from Voyager days later aft blasting a "shout" crossed the cosmos to get the probe to constituent its antennae backmost to Earth and resume communication.
Come November 2026, Voyager 1 will beryllium 16 cardinal miles — aliases 1 light-day — distant from Earth. Voyager 2, meanwhile, will beryllium much than 13.2 cardinal miles from Earth, walking done interstellar abstraction — the abstraction betwixt stars — astatine 34,000 mph comparative to the Sun.
While some probes are losing astir 4 watts of powerfulness each year, NASA continues to make efforts to support them exploring.
In August, the agency announced it substituted immoderate devices connected Voyager 2 pinch "lower-power alternatives while ensuring the spacecraft remains lukewarm capable to operate." This, it said, should support the probe's instruments running for astatine slightest different year. NASA plans to make the aforesaid alteration for Voyager 1.
To observe Voyager 2's 49th birthday, present are 23 photos that show its history and what some probes person seen among the cosmos.
Voyager 2 launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station successful Florida successful August 1977.
The Voyager ngo included 2 probes — Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 — which NASA launched successful 1977 wrong a fewer weeks of each other. Voyager 1 launched connected September 5, 1977.
NASA took advantage of a uncommon satellite alignment to turbocharge the journeys into space. Voyager 1 overtook its copy soon aft launch, acknowledgment to a faster formation path.
The Voyager probes transportation 11 different technological instruments to study planetary bodies, magnetic fields, and particles.
This annotated image shows the various parts and instruments of NASA's Voyager abstraction probe.
The Voyager probes were designed to sojourn Jupiter and Saturn.
Voyager 2's ngo saw each 4 state giants.
This is what Voyager 1 saw connected its attack to Jupiter.
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 reached Jupiter successful 1979.
As they flew by the planet, they took astir 50,000 pictures of Jupiter. These blew distant scientists, arsenic the value of the pictures was overmuch amended than those taken from Earth, according to NASA.
These snaps taught scientists important facts astir the planet's atmosphere, magnetic forces, and earth science that would person been difficult to decipher otherwise.
The probes discovered 2 caller moons orbiting Jupiter: Thebe and Metis.
Jupiter has complete 100 known moons; its main 4 are Ganymede, Io, Europa, and Callisto.
They besides spotted a bladed ringing astir Jupiter.
The probe captured this image arsenic it was looking backmost astatine the planet, backlit by the Sun.
Voyager 1 discovered volcanoes astatine the aboveground of Io, 1 of Jupiter's moons.
Io is the astir volcanically progressive assemblage successful the star system.
Next stop: Saturn.
In 1980 and 1981, the probes reached Saturn. The flyby gave scientists unprecedented penetration into the planet's ringing structure, atmosphere, and moons.
Voyager snapped Saturn's rings successful much item than ever before.
Photos showed secrets that Enceladus, the sixth-biggest of Saturn's astir 300 moons, had to offer.
Saturn, snapped arsenic the probe flew away, was shown successful a caller light.
By 1986, Voyager 2 had made it to Uranus.
By 1986, Voyager 1 had vanished its expansive circuit of the star strategy and flew retired toward interstellar space. But Voyager 2 kept connected exploring our nearest planets, passing 50,600 miles distant from Uranus successful January 1986.
Voyager 2 discovered 2 other rings astir Uranus, revealing the satellite had astatine slightest 11, not 9.
Voyager 2 besides spotted 10 antecedently unseen moons astir Uranus.
Voyager 2 was the first spacecraft to observe Neptune from a adjacent distance.
In 1989, 12 years aft its launch, Voyager 2 passed wrong 3,000 miles of Neptune.
Voyager 2 was the first spacecraft to walk by Neptune.
Voyager 2 took this image of Triton's unsmooth face.
It captured Triton, Neptune's largest moon, successful unprecedented detail.
It besides snapped Triton's confederate hemisphere.
As it flew by, Voyager 2 discovered 4 of Neptune's rings.
As its parting gift, Voyager 2 took this beautiful image of ray grazing Neptune's southbound pole.
Since it wouldn't travel crossed different satellite connected its ongoing journey, NASA switched disconnected its cameras aft its flyby of Neptune to conserve power for different instruments.
Voyager 1 had 1 past instrumentality up its sleeve.
As its past photographic hurrah successful 1990, Voyager 1 took 60 images of the star strategy from 4 cardinal miles away.
It gave america the Earth's furthest selfie, dubbed the "pale bluish dot."
This remains the longest-range selfie: a image of the Earth taken by a human-made probe from 4 cardinal miles away.
After this picture, NASA switched disconnected Voyager 1's cameras to prevention energy. NASA could move the probes' cameras backmost on, but it is not a privilege for the mission.
Beyond the star system
Though the probes are nary longer sending pictures, they proceed to nonstop important accusation astir space.
In 2012, Voyager 1 became the first human-made instrumentality to transverse into interstellar space by crossing the bound betwixt our star strategy and the remainder of the universe, called the heliopause.
Voyager 2 was second, crossing that period successful 2018. The probe revealed that location was yet another layer extracurricular our heliosphere.
The probes support sending backmost measurements from interstellar space, for illustration weird hums apt coming from vibrations successful the electrically charged state betwixt stars.
Even aft their instruments are switched off, the probes' ngo continues.
Even aft each their instruments go quiet, their ngo will transportation on.
As they drift off, they will still beryllium carrying a golden record that carries important accusation astir humanity. If intelligent extraterrestrial life exists, they could usage that accusation to scope retired to us.
This article was primitively published connected June 6, 2022, and is being updated pinch the latest developments astir Voyager 1 and 2. It was past updated successful August 2026.
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