Voyager probes celebrate 45 years since launch as they try to solve a problem

There NASA is celebrating the anniversary of the launch of the Voyager probes launched 45 years ago (in 1977, after a few weeks) and that they are continuing their journey towards the outer part of the Solar System, overcoming the heliosphere. Their operational life has far exceeded expectations and even if their future is now marked due to the depletion of available energy, the contribution to scientific research has been fundamental (also in terms of media coverage).

Now that the first space probe it is found at 23.49 billion km from Earth and the second space probe is located at 19.51 billion km proceeding respectively at 61,000 km / h (compared to the Sun) and 55,000 km / h, we also look at what they represented and represent for people all over the world. A real success that deserves to be celebrated.

NASA celebrates the launch of the Voyager probes, which have been in space for 45 years

How recalled by the JPL of NASA, the two space probes they are traveling in interstellar space and are the only ones currently able to do so. Despite the great distances in human terms, the probes are less than a day / light from Earth (just over 21 hours). Thanks to the ability to detect data from outside theheliosphere it will be possible to have a better picture of how the Sun, its magnetic field and the solar wind interact with the surrounding space (by combining the data of the most recent probes).

Nicola Fox (from NASA) added “For the past 45 years, Voyager missions have been instrumental in delivering this knowledge [ndr. dell’eliosfera] and helped change our understanding of the Sun and its influence in ways no other spacecraft can. “.

We remember that Voyager 2 was launched on August 20, 1977, followed closely by Voyager 1 (launched on September 5th of the same year). The two twin probes still have some primates such as the possibility of close passages towards Uranus (1986) and Neptune (1989). Currently, no other spacecraft has had the opportunity to do what probe number 2 did and it will still take several years before a mission that can visit the outer planets is carried out.

The first to come out of the heliosphere was Voyager 1 in 2012, followed by its twin in 2018. The data showed how theheliosphere it is a fundamental structure to protect the Solar System (and therefore the Earth) from cosmic rays and energetic particles arriving from Space, blocking up to 70% of them.

Both Voyager space probes they have a plutonium RTG (radioisotope thermoelectric generator) which uses radioactive decay to provide heat and therefore electricity. Now, however, after decades, the energy produced is less and less and for this reason the engineers have gradually disabled part of the on-board systems. At some point, in the next few years, the two probes will actually stop working, while they will continue to travel in space anyway.

Furthermore, both probes have encountered problems of various kinds that have made them fear for their premature end. In January 2020 for example Voyager 2 had encountered a problem, then fixed it a couple of months later. Also Voyager 1 she is afflicted with a problem that has not yet been solved. This essentially involves the generation of information that is not consistent with the surveys.

According to reports, despite this problem the systems continue to function normally (so much so that the collection of scientific data can continue). Engineers are hard at work trying to find a solution or a way around it. A long stay in space sometimes has unpredictable effects on the instrumentation, but it seems that the two Voyager want to continue to amaze us for a while longer.

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