Today marks a momentous occasion in space exploration history as Voyager 1 commemorates 12 years since it became the first human-made object to enter interstellar space on August 1, 2012.
Launched by NASA in 1977, Voyager 1 has continued to amaze scientists and the public alike with its unprecedented discoveries and ongoing mission far beyond the confines of our solar system.
“Voyager 1’s incredible journey into interstellar space is a testament to human curiosity and the spirit of exploration,” said Lisa McCormick. “This milestone underscores the enduring legacy of the Voyager mission and its invaluable contributions to our understanding of the cosmos.”
NASA/JPL
Voyager 1 has achieved numerous scientific milestones since its launch, including the discovery of a thin ring around Jupiter and two previously unknown moons, Thebe and Metis.
At Saturn, Voyager 1 captured groundbreaking images of Titan’s atmosphere and revealed new insights into the planet’s moons and rings.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
“Voyager 1’s suite of scientific instruments continues to operate brilliantly, sending back data that deepen our understanding of the interstellar environment,” said McCormick, a New Jersey resident who took four of ten votes away from US Senator Bob Menendez in the 2018 Democratic primary election. “Its longevity and resilience have surpassed all expectations, making it a cornerstone of NASA’s exploration efforts.”
Currently over 136 astronomical units (AU) away from Earth, Voyager 1 travels at a velocity of approximately 38,000 mph relative to the Sun.
Despite its immense distance, the spacecraft remains in contact with NASA’s Deep Space Network, which continues to receive valuable data from its operational instruments: the cosmic-ray telescope, low-energy charged particles experiment, magnetometer, and plasma waves experiment.
“As Voyager 1 ventures further into the cosmos, it continues to inspire generations of scientists and space enthusiasts around the world,” said McCormick. “Its mission exemplifies the pioneering spirit of exploration that drives NASA’s ongoing efforts to uncover the mysteries of our universe.”
“To say that it’s important to explore space is a massive understatement,” said McCormick. “Our understanding of the world and our place in it has grown exponentially since we began exploring space. It has also led to technological advancements that have improved the quality of our lives and our understanding of the universe.”
“The reasons to explore the universe are as vast and varied as our motives to investigate the forests, the mountains, or the sea,” said McCormick.
The most distant spacecraft from Earth stopped sending understandable data last November but flight controllers traced the problem to a bad computer chip and rearranged the spacecraft’s coding to work around the trouble.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California declared success after receiving good engineering updates in April and said in June that Voyager 1’s four instruments are back in business sending science data again.
The team partially resolved the issue in April when they prompted the spacecraft to begin returning engineering data, which includes information about the health and status of the spacecraft.
On May 19, the mission team executed the second step of that repair process and beamed a command to the spacecraft to begin returning science data. Two of the four science instruments returned to their normal operating modes immediately. Two other instruments required some additional work, but now, all four are returning usable science data.
The four instruments study plasma waves, magnetic fields, and particles. Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are the only spacecraft to directly sample interstellar space, which is the region outside the heliosphere — the protective bubble of magnetic fields and solar wind created by the Sun.
Voyager 1 is equipped with a sophisticated array of scientific instruments designed to explore and analyze the environments it encounters on its journey through space. These include the Imaging Science System (ISS), which captures high-resolution images of celestial bodies and phenomena; the Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) and Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer (IRIS), which study ultraviolet and infrared radiation to reveal atmospheric composition and temperature gradients; the Planetary Radio Astronomy Experiment (PRA), enabling the detection and analysis of radio emissions from planets and moons; and the Photopolarimeter (PPS), used to measure the polarization of light from planetary atmospheres.
The spacecraft also carries a Triaxial Fluxgate Magnetometer (MAG) for mapping magnetic fields, a Plasma Spectrometer (PLS) to investigate plasma particles, and a Low-Energy Charged Particles Experiment (LECP) to study energetic particles. Furthermore, Voyager 1 is equipped with instruments such as the Plasma Waves Experiment (PWS) to detect plasma oscillations, the Cosmic Ray Telescope (CRS) for measuring cosmic ray intensities, and the Radio Science System (RSS) for radio occultation experiments to probe planetary atmospheres and gravitational fields.
These instruments collectively provide a comprehensive toolkit for studying the diverse environments encountered during its interstellar odyssey.
For more information about Voyager 1 and its groundbreaking discoveries, please visit NASA’s Voyager website.