Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft

Source- This post on Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft has been created based on the article “Voyager 1 transmitting data again after Nasa remotely fixes 46-year-old probe” published in “The Guardian” on 23rd April 2024.

Why in news?

Recently, NASA has announced that its Voyager 1 probe has resumed transmitting valuable data to ground control.

About Voyager 1 spacecraft

1.  About the mission and its objective- Voyager 1 is a space probe launched by NASA in 1977. Its primary objective is to explore the outer Solar System and beyond. Voyager 1’s mission involved flybys of Jupiter and Saturn, focusing on studying their moons, rings, and magnetic fields.

2. Special Features- In August 2012, Voyager-1 entered interstellar space, becoming the first human-made object to exit the solar system.

3. Significant Discoveries- Significant discoveries by Voyager 1 include identifying a thin ring around Jupiter and two previously unknown Jovian moons, Thebe and Metis. At Saturn, it found five new moons and a newly designated ring, the G-ring.

About Voyager 2 Spacecraft

1.  About the mission and its objective- Voyager 2 is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, as part of the Voyager program, alongside Voyager 1. Its primary mission was to explore the outer planets of the solar system and their moons, followed by an interstellar mission.

2. Special achievements- It is the only spacecraft to conduct close-range studies of all four giant planets in the solar system. It was the first human-made object to fly by Neptune, where it discovered five moons, four rings, and a feature known as the “Great Dark Spot“

About Interstellar space

1. It is the area between the stars.

2. It contains vast quantities of neutrinos, charged particles, atoms, molecules, dark matter and photons.

UPSC Syllabus: Science and technology (Space)