What are Voyager 1 and 2 doing now?

Voyager 1 is expected to keep its current suite of science instruments on through 2021. Voyager 2 is expected to keep its current suite of science instruments on through 2020. Engineers expect each spacecraft to continue operating at least one science instrument until around 2025.

What is the purpose of Voyager 1?

The goal of the new mission is to extend NASA’s exploration of the solar system beyond the neighborhood of the outer planets to the outer limits of the Sun’s sphere of influence, and possibly beyond.

Are Voyager 1 and 2 probes?

The Voyager program is an ongoing American scientific program that employs two robotic interstellar probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. They were launched in 1977 to take advantage of a favorable alignment of Jupiter and Saturn, to fly near them while collecting data for transmission back to Earth.

What was Voyager 2 mission?

NASA’s Voyager 2 is the second spacecraft to enter interstellar space. Voyager 2 targeted Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Like its sister spacecraft, Voyager 2 also was designed to find and study the edge of our solar system.

What is the difference between Voyager 1 and 2?

From the NASA Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, Voyager 2 was launched first, on August 20, 1977; Voyager 1 was launched on a faster, shorter trajectory on September 5, 1977. Voyager 2 was aimed to fly by Saturn at a point that would automatically send the spacecraft in the direction of Uranus.

How long will it take Voyager 1 to reach Earth?

They are the farthest man made objects from the earth now. It has no fuel or large bodies to make it change direction so its outbound forever, so to speak. Nope. Its been outbound for 40 years… even if we could duplicate the incredible speeds, it would take 40 years to return, certainly not in 2025.

What is the purpose of Voyager 1 and 2?

Voyager 1 and 2 were designed to take advantage of a rare planetary alignment to study the outer solar system up close. Voyager 2 targeted Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Like its sister spacecraft, Voyager 2 also was designed to find and study the edge of our solar system beyond the orbits of the planets.

Where is Voyager 1 and 2 going?

Both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have reached “Interstellar space” and each continue their unique journey through the Universe. In the NASA Eyes on the Solar System app, you can see the real spacecraft trajectories of the Voyagers, which are updated every five minutes.

When was Voyager 1 launched and 2?

NASA ‘s twin Voyager probes – Voyager 1 and Voyager 2- were launched in 1977 to explore the outer planets in our solar system. Voyager 2 launched on Aug. 20, 1977, and Voyager 1 launched about two weeks later, on Sept. 5.

How far is Voyager 2 from Earth?

Voyager 2 is now in its extended mission of studying Interstellar Space and has been operating for 43 years, 9 months and 18 days as of May 28, 2021, reaching a distance of 126.9 AU (19.0 billion km; 11.8 billion mi) from Earth.