HomeIndia NewsScience NewsNASA powers down essential instrument on Voyager 2, the only spacecraft to check out Uranus and Neptune
Voyager 2, released in 1977, has actually made historical contributions to our understanding of the external worlds, being the only spacecraft to have actually gone to Uranus and Neptune. It made its closest method to Uranus on January 24, 1986, and after that zipped Neptune on August 24, 1989.
By Anand Singha October 2, 2024, 10:10:20 PM IST (Updated)
NASA has actually just recently turned off a crucial clinical instrument on its Voyager 2 spacecraft in a quote to save power for ongoing expedition. The firm revealed the choice on October 1, following the powering down of the plasma science instrument, which determines the circulation of charged atoms, in late September. This tactical relocation is meant to extend the spacecraft's functional life well into the 2030s.
Voyager 2, introduced in 1977, has actually made historical contributions to our understanding of the external worlds, being the only spacecraft to have actually checked out Uranus and Neptune. It made its closest method to Uranus on January 24, 1986, and after that zipped Neptune on August 24, 1989.
Together with its twin, Voyager 1, it is now passing through interstellar area– the huge area in between stars.
NASA had actually formerly closed down a number of instruments on both Voyagers after their effective objectives checking out the gas giants in the 1980s. Especially, the plasma instrument on Voyager 1 stopped operating in 2007.
Regardless of the current shutdown, Voyager 2 will continue to run 4 staying instruments, which are charged with event important information on electromagnetic fields and particles in the areas beyond the Sun's protective bubble.
Currently, Voyager 2 lies over 12 billion miles (19.31 billion kilometres) from Earth, while Voyager 1 is even further at more than 15 billion miles (24.14 billion kilometres).
READ: NASA executes power hack to extend Voyager 2 objective beyond 2026
Released:
Oct 2, 2024 10:04 PM
IST
