Published: 17th Feb, 2020
In an incredible feat of remote engineering, NASA has fixed one of the most intrepid explorers in human history. Voyager 2, currently some 11.5 billion miles from Earth, is back online and resuming its mission to collect scientific data on the solar system and the interstellar space beyond.
Context
In an incredible feat of remote engineering, NASA has fixed one of the most intrepid explorers in human history. Voyager 2, currently some 11.5 billion miles from Earth, is back online and resuming its mission to collect scientific data on the solar system and the interstellar space beyond.
What is Voyager 2?
|
Nation |
United States of America (USA) |
|
Objective(s) |
Jupiter Flyby, Saturn Flyby, Uranus Flyby, Neptune Flyby |
|
Spacecraft Mass |
1,592 pounds (721.9 kilograms) |
|
Mission Design and Management |
NASA / JPL |
|
Launch Date |
August 20, 1977 |
Understanding Interstellar Space:
- 'Inter' means between. 'Stellar' refers to stars. Interstellar space is the part of space that exists between stars.
- Scientists define the beginning of interstellar space as the place where the Sun’s constant flow of material and magnetic field stop affecting its surroundings.
- This place is called the heliopause.
What happened to the spacecraft?
- The spacecraft had run into trouble on January 28, when NASA revealed that it had unexpectedly, and for unknown reasons, shut down.
- The venerable probe failed to execute a spin maneuver as intended. As a result, two onboard systems remained on longer than planned, sucking up so much energy that Voyager 2 automatically shut off its science instruments.
- But now, Voyager 2 is back online — gathering and relaying scientific information just as before.
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