The Voyager 2 probe, which captured the first images of Saturn’s rings and the only images so far of Uranus and Neptune, is celebrating the 45th anniversary of its launch into space, according to RT.
And NASA’s Jet Energy Laboratory (JPL) announced that the probe is still continuing to explore the boundary between the solar system and the interstellar medium.
And a NASA spokesperson quoted the deputy chief of the Vobager mission, Linda Spilker, as saying: “The Voyager 1 and 2 probes fly in interstellar space, from where they provide humanity every day with information about these unknown regions, and thanks to these two probes, we have had it for the first time. An opportunity to trace the interactions of the Sun with interstellar magnetic fields and charged particles. Our measurements have cast doubt on many space theories.”
It is noteworthy that NASA launched the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes in late August and early September 1977 to study the giant planets and the outskirts of the solar system. Over the past few decades, the two probes have collected a huge amount of information about Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and discovered many new moons around these worlds.
Voyager 1 remains by far the most distant spacecraft from Earth. It has moved away from our planet at a distance of 23.4 billion kilometers, which is equivalent to 157.01 astronomical units (the average distance between our planet and the Sun). Voyager 1 officially left the solar system at the end of August 2012 and the solar wind plasma “bubble” around it.
The second probe, “Voyager 2”, left the solar system a long time later, in December 2018, when it was at a distance of 119 astronomical units from Earth. And his entry into the interstellar medium became a more important event for scientists because they were able for the first time to measure the properties of the interstellar medium using the devices of this probe.
The first data of this kind was published by Ed Stone, Voyager program manager, and senior NASA experts, in November 2019. Data collected by Voyager 2 indicated for the first time that the solar system has no permanent limits, as it is shrinking. It is constantly expanding with the solar cycle.
In addition, Voyager 2 uncovered a number of anomalies in the behavior of interstellar magnetic fields that turned out to be much less chaotic than scientists expected. Moreover, it was also found that the level of cosmic radiation in the interstellar medium is about 3-4 times higher than in the solar system, which must be taken into account when organizing subsequent interstellar missions.