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| Voyager 1 - Image creadit: NASA/JPL-Caltech. |
In 1977, a spacecraft named Voyager 1 was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with a mission to study the outer planets of the solar system. It was equipped with a suite of scientific instruments, including cameras, sensors, and detectors, designed to collect data on the planets and other objects in the solar system.
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| Voyager 1 was launched by a Titan IIIE/Centaur rocket |
Voyager 1's first target was Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system. On March 5, 1979, the spacecraft made its closest approach to Jupiter, passing within 174,000 miles of the planet's cloud tops. It sent back stunning images of Jupiter's swirling clouds and turbulent atmosphere, revealing new insights into the nature of the gas giant.
After its successful mission to Jupiter, Voyager 1 set its sights on Saturn, another gas giant that lies further from the sun. On November 12, 1980, the spacecraft made its closest approach to Saturn, passing within 77,000 miles of the planet's cloud tops. Voyager 1's data on Saturn and its many moons provided scientists with valuable insights into their geology, composition, and magnetic fields.
But Voyager 1's journey was far from over. As it continued to travel further and further from the sun, the spacecraft sent back a series of images that captured the imaginations of people around the world. One of the most famous images captured by Voyager 1 was the "Pale Blue Dot" photo, taken on February 14, 1990, from a distance of 3.7 billion miles. The image showed Earth as a tiny speck of light, reminding us of our place in the vastness of space.
Despite being designed for a limited mission, Voyager 1 continued to function long after its initial mission was completed. On August 25, 2012, Voyager 1 made history by crossing the heliopause, the boundary between the sun's influence and interstellar space. It became the first spacecraft to enter interstellar space, sending back valuable data on the interstellar environment.
In December 2017, Voyager 1's thrusters were fired for the first time in 37 years to adjust the spacecraft's orientation. The maneuver was a success, allowing Voyager 1 to continue its journey through space.
However, in April 2019, Voyager 1's primary science instrument, the Plasma Science Experiment (PSE), stopped working due to a hardware issue. This was a setback for the mission, but Voyager 1 continued to send back data on the interstellar environment through its other instruments.
In November 2020, Voyager 1's cosmic ray subsystem (CRS) detected a sudden increase in the number of galactic cosmic rays, suggesting the spacecraft may have entered a new region of space. This discovery added to the wealth of data collected by Voyager 1 and provided further insights into the nature of the universe beyond our solar system.
Today, Voyager 1 is approximately 14.3 billion miles from Earth and continues to transmit data back to NASA's Deep Space Network. It has surpassed all expectations and continues to provide valuable insights into the workings of our universe. As Voyager 1 continues on its long journey through time and space, it serves as a reminder of the power of exploration and the wonder of the unknown.