NEWS & FEATURES
Voyager 2 Completes Switch to Backup Thruster Set
NASA's Voyager 2 has successfully switched to the backup set of thrusters that controls the roll of the spacecraft.
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NASA's Voyager Hits New Region at Solar System Edge
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has entered a new region between our solar system and interstellar space.
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Voyager 2 to Switch to Backup Thruster Set
NASA's Deep Space Network personnel sent commands to the Voyager 2 spacecraft Nov. 4 to switch to the backup set of thrusters that controls the roll of the spacecraft.
› read moreMISSION OVERVIEW
The twin Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft continue exploring where nothing from Earth has flown before. In the 33rd year after their 1977 launches, they each are much farther away from Earth and the Sun than Pluto. Voyager 1 and 2 are now in the "Heliosheath" - the outermost layer of the heliosphere where the solar wind is slowed by the pressure of interstellar gas. Both spacecraft are still sending scientific information about their surroundings through the Deep Space Network (DSN).
The primary mission was the exploration of Jupiter and Saturn. After making a string of discoveries there -- such as active volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io and intricacies of Saturn's rings -- the mission was extended. Voyager 2 went on to explore Uranus and Neptune, and is still the only spacecraft to have visited those outer planets. The adventurers' current mission, the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM), will explore the outermost edge of the Sun's domain. And beyond. › read more
VOYAGER 1
- DISTANCE
- FROM EARTH
- DISTANCE
- FROM THE SUN
- ROUNDTRIP LIGHT
- TIME FROM THE SUN
- (hh:mm:ss)
VOYAGER 2
- DISTANCE
- FROM EARTH
- DISTANCE
- FROM THE SUN
- ROUNDTRIP LIGHT
- TIME FROM THE SUN
- (hh:mm:ss)
Question: Are the distance counters rolling backwards?
Answer: Often they are, and it's actually not an error. This is caused by the fact that Earth moves around the sun more quickly than either Voyager spacecraft is departing from Earth. So, at certain times of the year, the distance between Earth and each Voyager actually decreases.
