October
6, 2019
Voyager
1 and 2 were twin space probes launched by NASA. Voyager 2 was launched on 20
August 1977, while voyager 1 was launched on 5 September 1977. Both were
launched from Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Both
were launched from the Titan IIIE launch vehicle. The primary mission of the
voyagers was to take close up studies of Jupiter, Saturn, their moons and
Saturn’s rings. These probes were designed to take advantage of a rare
planetary alignment of the outer planets. Due to this planetary alignment
voyagers were able to complete their missions with ease and without any
propulsion systems. These probes used a method called ‘gravity assist’ to
slingshot themselves to other planets. Both Voyager probes have a golden record
placed in them, which is a phonograph record containing sounds and images to
show the diversity of cultures and life on Earth. These records were made so
that if any extra-terrestrial life finds it; then they can know about the
biodiversity and cultures of the Earth and the existence of humans.
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These
probes took historic images of the outer planets. These images helped us see
the outer planets much clearer. Not only did these probes study the planets but
also took pictures of their moons and studied them. Among all the images these
probes took, the image it took 4 billion km away from the Earth was a historic
image, which was a part of the solar system portrait, which is shown below.
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A small
part of the solar system portrait taken by Voyager. (Image Source, https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/galleries/images-voyager-took/solar-system-portrait/#gallery-2)
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Carl
Sagan quoted about this image, in a very inspiring way, by saying, “Look
again at that dot. That's here. That's home, that's us. On it everyone you
love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever
was, lived out his or her life. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands
of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and
forager, every hero, and coward, every creator, and destroyer of civilization,
every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father,
hopeful child, inventor, and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt
politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader,"
every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of
dust suspended in a sunbeam”.
These
probes are still traveling in the universe. The Voyager 1 is traveling at the
speed of 17 km/s while Voyager 2 is traveling at the speed of 15.4
km/s. If you’re thinking that when will these probes encounter another
celestial body then the answer is that they are not going to encounter anything
soon, at least not in our lifetimes. Although they are traveling very fast but
are still not even near the speed of light, which is the fastest speed and can
take us to other celestial bodies very quick. It is impossible to travel in the
speed of light; at least for humans, it is impossible.
These
probes have contributed a lot to help humans in the research about the outer
bodies in our solar system. It removed all the misunderstandings about the
outer planets of the solar system and made everything clear. My interest in
space started because of the story of the Voyager probes and the quote of Carl
Sagan on the pale blue dot.
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