Astronomy: Voyager 2

Astronomy: Voyager 2
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Space Missions & Telescopes
Voyager 2 Voyager 2 is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, as a part of the Voyager program. It was launched on a trajectory towards the gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn) and enabled further encounters with the ice giants (Uranus and Neptune).

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Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Voyager 2 Voyager 2 is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, as a part of the Voyager program. It was launched on a trajectory towards the gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn) and enabled further encounters with the ice giants (Uranus and Neptune). The only spacecraft to have visited either of the ice giant planets, it was the third of five spacecraft to achieve Solar escape velocity, which allowed it to leave the Solar System.

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Why Voyager 2 matters: Every mission and telescope pushes the boundary of what humanity can observe and understand. These instruments are our eyes and hands reaching into the cosmos. Launched 16 days before its twin Voyager 1, the primary mission of the spacecraft was to study the outer planets and its extended mission is to study interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. Voyager 2 successfully fulfilled its primary mission of visiting the Jovian system in 1979, the Saturnian system in 1981, Uranian system in 1986, and the Neptunian system in 1989. The spacecraft is currently in its extended mission of studying the interstellar medium. It is at a distance of 143.05 AU (21.4 billion km; 13.3 billion mi) from Earth as of February 2026. The probe entered the interstellar medium on November 5, 2018, at a distance of 119.7 AU (11.1 billion mi; 17.9 billion km) from the Sun and moving at a velocity of 15.341 km/s (34,320 mph) relative to the Sun. Voyager 2 has left the Sun's heliosphere and is traveling through the interstellar medium, though still inside the Solar System, joining Voyager 1, which reached the interstellar medium in 2012. Voyager 2 has begun to provide the first direct measurements of the density and temperature of the interstellar plasma. Voyager 2 is in contact with Earth through the NASA Deep Space Network. Communications are the responsibility of Australia's DSS 43 communication antenna, near Canberra.

Commentary

Source: Internal
Deep dive: Voyager 2 Voyager 2 successfully fulfilled its primary mission of visiting the Jovian system in 1979, the Saturnian system in 1981, Uranian system in 1986, and the Neptunian system in 1989. The spacecraft is currently i n its extended mission of studying the interstellar medium. It is at a distance of 143.05 AU (21.4 billion km; 13.3 billion mi) from Earth as of February 2026. The probe entered the interstellar medium on November 5, 2018, at a distance of 119.7 AU (11.1 billion mi; 17.9 billion km) from the Sun and moving at a velocity of 15.341 km/s (34,320 mph) relative to the Sun. Voyager 2 has left the Sun's heliosphere and is traveling through the interstellar medium, though still inside the Solar System, joining Voyager 1, which reached the interstellar medium in 2012. Voyager 2 has begun to provide the first direct measurements of the density and temperature of the interstellar plasma. Voyager 2 is in contact with Earth through the NASA Deep Space Network. Communications are the responsibility of Australia's DSS 43 communication antenna, near Canberra. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_2 (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)