{"id":12388,"date":"2024-11-04T18:06:44","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T22:06:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/still-kickin-since-the-70s-nasas-voyager-mission-keeps-exploring\/"},"modified":"2024-11-04T18:06:44","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T22:06:44","slug":"still-kickin-since-the-70s-nasas-voyager-mission-keeps-exploring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/still-kickin-since-the-70s-nasas-voyager-mission-keeps-exploring\/","title":{"rendered":"Still Kickin\u2019 Since the \u201970s: NASA\u2019s Voyager Mission Keeps Exploring"},"content":{"rendered":"

Still Kickin\u2019 Since the \u201970s: NASA\u2019s Voyager Mission Keeps Exploring<\/h2>\n

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\"Engineers<\/a><\/figure>
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This archival photo shows engineers working on NASA\u2019s Voyager 2 spacecraft on March 23, 1977.<\/div>\n
NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

NASA\u2019s Voyager mission launched in the 1970s. Today, it\u2019s making history as it conducts new science. But how are two spacecraft from the \u201970s not just surviving, but thriving farther out in space than any other spacecraft has been before?<\/p>\n

A Little Mission Background<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Voyager is a NASA mission made up of two different spacecraft, Voyager 1 and 2, which launched to space on Sept. 5, 1977, and Aug. 20, 1977, respectively. In the decades following launch, the pair took a grand tour of our solar system, studying Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune \u2014 one of NASA\u2019s earliest efforts to explore the secrets of the universe. These twin probes later became the first spacecraft to operate in interstellar space \u2014 space outside the heliosphere, the bubble of solar wind and magnetic fields emanating from the Sun. Voyager 1 was the first to enter interstellar space in 2012, followed by Voyager 2 in 2018.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today, Voyager continues not just because it can, but because it still has work to do studying interstellar space, the heliosphere, and how the two interact. \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t be doing Voyager if it wasn\u2019t taking science data,\u201d said Suzanne Dodd, the mission\u2019s current project manager and the director for the Interplanetary Network at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.<\/p>\n

But across billions of miles and decades of groundbreaking scientific exploration, this trailblazing interstellar journey has not been without its trials. So, what\u2019s the Voyager secret to success?\u00a0<\/p>\n

In short: preparation and creativity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"John<\/a><\/figure>
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As NASA\u2019s two Voyager spacecraft travel out into deep space, they carry a small American flag and a Golden Record packed with pictures and sounds \u2014 mementos of our home planet. This picture shows John Casani, Voyager project manager in 1977, holding a small Dacron flag that was folded and sewed into the thermal blankets of the Voyager spacecraft before they launched 36 years ago. Below him lie the Golden Record (left) and its cover (right). In the background stands Voyager 2 before it headed to the launch pad. The picture was taken at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 4, 1977.<\/div>\n
NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

We Designed Them Not to Fail<\/strong><\/h3>\n

According to John Casani, Voyager project manager from 1975 to launch in 1977, \u201cwe didn\u2019t design them to last 30 years or 40 years, we designed them not to fail.\u201d<\/p>\n

One key driver of the mission\u2019s longevity is redundancy. Voyager\u2019s components weren\u2019t just engineered with care, they were also made in duplicate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Dodd, Voyager \u201cwas designed with nearly everything redundant. Having two spacecraft \u2014 right there is a redundancy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe didn\u2019t design them to last 30 years or 40 years, we designed them not to fail.\u201d<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\"John<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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John Casani<\/p>\n

Voyager Project Manager, 1975-1977<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A Cutting-Edge Power Source<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The twin Voyager spacecraft can also credit their longevity to their long-lasting power source.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Each spacecraft is equipped with three radioisotope thermoelectric generators. These nuclear \u201cbatteries\u201d were developed originally by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the Atoms for Peace program enacted by President Eisenhower in 1955. Compared to other power options at the time \u2014 like solar power, which doesn\u2019t have the reach to work beyond Jupiter \u2014 these generators have allowed Voyager to go much farther into space.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Each of NASA\u2019s Voyager probes are equipped with three radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), including the one shown here at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The RTGs provide power for the spacecraft by converting the heat generated by the decay of plutonium-238 into electricity.<\/p>\n

Launched in 1977, the Voyager mission is managed for NASA by the agency\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California.<\/p><\/div>\n

NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Voyager\u2019s generators continue to take the mission farther than any before, but they also continue to generate less power each year, with\u00a0instruments needing to be shut off<\/a>\u00a0over time to conserve power.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Creative Solutions\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As a mission that has operated at the farthest edges of the heliosphere and beyond, Voyager has endured its fair share of challenges. With the spacecraft now in interstellar space running on software and hardware from the 1970s, Voyager\u2019s problems require creative solutions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Retired mission personnel who worked on Voyager in its earliest days have even come back out of retirement to collaborate with new mission personnel to not just fix big problems but to pass on important mission know-how to the next generation of scientists and engineers.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom where I sit as a project manager, it\u2019s really very exciting to see young engineers be excited to work on Voyager. To take on the challenges of an old mission and to work side by side with some of the masters, the people that built the spacecraft,\u201d Dodd said. \u201cThey want to learn from each other.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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After receiving data about the health and status of Voyager 1 for the first time in five months, members of the Voyager flight team celebrate in a conference room at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on April 20. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\n<\/div>\n
NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Within just the last couple of years, Voyager has tested the mission team\u2019s creativity with a number of complex issues.\u00a0Most recently<\/a>, the thrusters on Voyager 1\u2019s thrusters, which control the spacecraft\u2019s orientation and direction, became clogged. The thrusters allow the spacecraft to point their antennae and are critical to maintaining communications with Earth. Through careful coordination, the mission team was able to\u00a0remotely switch the spacecraft<\/a>\u00a0to a different set of thrusters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These kinds of repairs are extra challenging as a radio signal takes about 22 \u00bd hours to reach Voyager 1 from Earth and another 22 \u00bd hours to return. Signals to and from Voyager 2 take about 19 hours each way.<\/p>\n

Voyager\u2019s Interstellar Future<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This brief peek behind the curtain highlights some of Voyager\u2019s history and its secrets to success.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Voyager probes may continue to operate into the late 2020s. As time goes on, continued operations will become more challenging as the mission\u2019s power diminishes by 4 watts every year, and the two spacecraft will cool down as this power decreases.\u00a0Additionally, unexpected anomalies could impact the mission\u2019s functionality and longevity as they grow older.<\/p>\n

As the mission presses on, the Voyager team grows this legacy of creative problem solving and collaboration while these twin interstellar travelers continue to expand our understanding of the vast and mysterious cosmos we inhabit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read More<\/h2>\n