Voyager 1: Earth's farthest spacecraft

-

Quote:

FROM: https://www.space.com/17688-voyager-1.html Voyager 1: Earth's farthest spacecraft By Elizabeth Howell (2022-01-19) Voyager 1 entered interstellar space in 2012. Voyager 1 is the first spacecraft to reach interstellar space. It originally launched (along with its twin, Voyager 2) in 1977 to explore the outer planets in our solar system. However, it has remained operational long past expectations and continues to send information about its journeys back to Earth. The spacecraft entered interstellar space in August 2012, almost 35 years after its voyage began. The discovery wasn't made official until 2013, however, when scientists had time to review the data sent back from Voyager 1. Voyager 1 was actually the second of the twin spacecraft to launch, but it was the first to race by Jupiter and Saturn. The images Voyager 1 sent back have been used in schoolbooks and by many media outlets for a generation. The spacecraft also carries a special record that's designed to take voices and music from Earth out into the cosmos. - - Voyager 2 launched on Aug. 20, 1977, and Voyager 1 launched about two weeks later, on Sept. 5. Since then, the two spacecraft have been traveling along different flight paths and at different speeds. The Voyager missions took advantage of a special alignment of the outer planets that happens just once every 176 years. This alignment allows spacecraft to gravitationally "slingshot" from one planet to the next, making the most efficient use of their limited fuel. Voyager 1's next big encounter will take place in 40,000 years, when the probe comes within 1.7 light-years of the star AC +79 3888. (The star is roughly 17.5 light-years from Earth.) However, Voyager 1's falling power supply means it will probably stop collecting scientific data around 2025... (SNIP)

-

Also: Voyager at 40: 40 Photos from NASA's Epic 'Grand Tour' Mission

-

via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/3GO2MS4