Voyager 2, humanity’s second most distant spacecraft, had a recent scare when a wrong command caused NASA to temporarily lose contact with the probe. However, a recent “heartbeat” signal confirmed that Voyager 2 is still alive and operating. Voyager 2 is currently located in the constellation of Pavo, over 12.3 billion miles away from Earth. It takes two days for engineers to send a message to the spacecraft and receive a response due to the vast distance.
Over the past 46 years, Voyager 2 has traveled beyond the planets of our solar system, passed the Kuiper Belt, and reached the edge of our solar system. It is now exploring uncharted territory beyond the heliosphere, the protective bubble generated by the sun. Voyager 2 entered interstellar space, the region between stars, on November 5, 2018. However, it has not yet reached the Oort Cloud, which scientists consider the final boundary of the solar system. It would take approximately 300 years for Voyager 2 to reach the inner edge of the Oort Cloud, and potentially 30,000 years to fly beyond it.
Voyager 1, the twin probe of Voyager 2, is currently in the constellation of Ophiuchus, more than 14.8 billion miles away from Earth. It has been traveling for 45 years and almost 11 months, moving at a speed of 38,000mph. Voyager 1 made its historic entry into interstellar space in August 2012.
Both Voyager probes were launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida in 1977 to study the giant planets of our outer solar system. They far exceeded their original mission duration of five years. Each spacecraft carries a Golden Record, containing sounds, pictures, and messages from Earth, intended to communicate with any extraterrestrial civilizations that may discover them.
The Voyagers’ achievements include flying by all four outer planets, discovering active volcanoes on Jupiter’s moon Io, and studying the intricacies of Saturn’s rings. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus and Neptune. These probes have made significant contributions to our understanding of the solar system.
As the Voyagers approach half a century in age, they are in the latter stages of their lives. Their power supply is gradually declining, and their systems are being turned off one by one. The hope is to extend their journeys until around 2030 by conserving power. However, neither Voyager probe has the capability to travel to another star. The nearest star, Alpha Centauri, is over 4.37 light-years away, which would take about 40,000 years for Voyager 1 or Voyager 2 to reach with current technology.
Despite their eventual end, the Voyager probes have become iconic symbols of human exploration and discovery, carrying with them a message from Earth to the cosmos.
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