Voyager 1 & Voyager 2
Two of the coolest things that mankind has ever done (if you believe in space) that will probably outlive man himself. Voyager 1 & Voyager 2 are 2 space probes that were launched back in the 1970s when somebody figured out that Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune were all going to be lined up in a strategic manner.
History
NASA is not the best, most honest source for scientific information,[1][2][3][4] but here is what they say about the two probes:[5]
The twin spacecraft Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were launched by NASA in separate months in the summer of 1977 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. As originally designed, the Voyagers were to conduct closeup studies of Jupiter and Saturn, Saturn's rings, and the larger moons of the two planets.
To accomplish their two-planet mission, the spacecraft were built to last five years. But as the mission went on, and with the successful achievement of all its objectives, the additional flybys of the two outermost giant planets, Uranus and Neptune, proved possible -- and irresistible to mission scientists and engineers at the Voyagers' home at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Current Status
Both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have been in the news a lot lately. Of course they are, mostly because the earth is speedily creeping toward World War 3 while at the same time learning that aliens are behind it all. But (if you believe in space) Voyager 1 and 2 both keep chugging along.
While they keep speeding themselves from Earth, they are starting to run into problems. Since at this distance, it takes over 20 hours to send information and receive information from them, a lot of things can happen and a lot of things seem to be going wrong. That's okay, when was the last time you had anything last over 47 years?
Information below is current as of 4-21-24.
Voyager 1
Launch Date: Mon, 05 Sept 1977 12:56:00 UTC
Mission Elapsed Time: 47 Years, 7 Months, 15 Days
Distance from Earth:
- 15,070,857,162 (15 billion, 070 million, 857 thousand, 162) miles.
- 162.7 AU (Astronomical Units = 92,955,807.3 miles)
Estimated Velocity: 38,000 mph. The speed fluctuates a bit, but that is close to the average.
References
- ↑ https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/why-all-images-of-space-are-photoshopped-2048113
- ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2022/07/18/yes-nasa-did-manipulate-the-webb-telescopes-first-color-images-last-week/?sh=201dd0c3e41a
- ↑ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/11/16/fact-check-image-mars-rover-digital-rendering-not-photograph/8255914001/
- ↑ I am not going to get into how the Apollo Missions were faked here. Go google the info yourself.
- ↑ Voyager FAQ