It's pretty wild that this probe, launched 44 years ago (1977) and now well beyond the solar system, can still take novel measurements and transmit information back. At that range, our sun looks roughly like any other star. The nuclear radioisotopic thermal generator really is an incredible power source for this kind of application. Some info on the current design here [1].
Thanks. Your comment sent me to Wikipedia, where I found this related snippet:
> In the year 2000, 23 years after production, the radioactive material inside the RTG had decreased in power by 16.6%, i.e. providing 83.4% of its initial output; starting with a capacity of 470 W, after this length of time it would have a capacity of only 392 W. A related loss of power in the Voyager RTGs is the degrading properties of the bi-metallic thermocouples used to convert thermal energy into electrical energy; the RTGs were working at about 67% of their total original capacity instead of the expected 83.4%. By the beginning of 2001, the power generated by the Voyager RTGs had dropped to 315 W for Voyager 1.
There's also a nice picture of one deployed on the moon. The dust on the moon's surface looks spectacular in that picture.
Its so cool that the entire solar system has a sort of ozone layer (the heliopause), I also really like the diagram that shows how each craft is travelling in different directions.
I think we should have a new mission, send out huge amounts of tiny crafts in all directions at the same time, to get a sort of Google street view of our solar system and interstellar space. I bet we could create crafts with modern tech that where tiny and much less expensive that the original pioneer and voyager crafts.
One of the most important parts of the Voyager is apparently a little motor that rotates every 192 seconds to take 360 degree readings of the sky. Each rotation is called a "step" in their lingo .. they built it to run a few thousand steps (or about 4-5 years). And that little motor has now run over 5 _million_ steps over 48 years... and is still running.
The energy density of nuclear batteries is astounding. Per the linked spec sheet, at 2.8W/kg and 17y mission duration, that's about 417,000Wh/kg. By comparison a lithium ion battery has 250Wh/kg.
> It's pretty wild that this probe, launched 44 years ago (1977) and now well beyond the solar system, can still take novel measurements and transmit information back.
> Voyager 1's extended mission is expected to continue until about 2025, when its radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) will no longer supply enough electric power to operate its scientific instruments.
I am so impresses that this device is still actually able to do so much after so long... I really hope that the current space probes and rovers do just as well if not better.
> One of our chief goals was to apply the power of signal processing to search for weaker signals in the PWS data, which maybe, just maybe, were hiding between and behind the bright plasma oscillation events that had already been discovered.
So this doesn't mean that Voyager 1 has entered a new region with different characteristics, just that they've used signal processing to tease a little bit more out of the existing data.
I came to this thread a bit too late, but if you're interested in the actual signal that Stella found, take a look at the spectrum vs time on the NASA release [1] - third plot on the page, with a convenient slider that lets you flip back and forth to see the previously known plasma oscillation events and the newly discovered continuous signal. Notice the huge change in scale!
As a ham radio enthusiast I find this sort of article fascinating, from the actual frequencies detected to the fact that even Voyager suffers from RFI. :)
>Who knows what discoveries still lie ahead of it?
Its very likely this is the last one. The craft is simply running out of power and the instruments will be forced to shutdown in a few years. The current deep space network will lose its already extremely faint signal in about a decade.
Well there is New Horizons[0], which launched in 2006 and is now beyond Pluto. But in terms of coolness, I really like The Parker Solar Probe[1] which is going closer and closer to the sun with a massive heat shield and at eye watering speeds. By 2025 it will be going 690,000 km/h (430,000 mph), or 0.064% of the speed of light.
> While I was busy learning the undergraduate physics curriculum, Voyager 1 was treading through the interstellar medium and revealing in stark detail how interstellar plasma and the solar wind collide and interact across a boundary layer called the heliopause, where they engage in a massive pressure-balancing act that shields our heliosphere from the great beyond.
I thought Voyager 1 was out in interstellar space for awhile now, beyond the heliopause, heliosphere, etc. ?
I'll also note,
> Almost 11 years ago, Voyager 1 crossed an unprecedented boundary: it became the first human-made object to enter interstellar space. I was just a high-school student at the time, oblivious to the milestone ...
[+] [-] acidburnNSA|4 years ago|reply
[1] https://mars.nasa.gov/internal_resources/788/
[+] [-] qwertox|4 years ago|reply
> In the year 2000, 23 years after production, the radioactive material inside the RTG had decreased in power by 16.6%, i.e. providing 83.4% of its initial output; starting with a capacity of 470 W, after this length of time it would have a capacity of only 392 W. A related loss of power in the Voyager RTGs is the degrading properties of the bi-metallic thermocouples used to convert thermal energy into electrical energy; the RTGs were working at about 67% of their total original capacity instead of the expected 83.4%. By the beginning of 2001, the power generated by the Voyager RTGs had dropped to 315 W for Voyager 1.
There's also a nice picture of one deployed on the moon. The dust on the moon's surface looks spectacular in that picture.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_ge...
[+] [-] divbzero|4 years ago|reply
– how far Voyager 1 has already traveled ~150 AU or ~0.002 ly [1]
– how much farther it could go in 40,000 years ~1,000,000 AU or ~17 ly [2] [3]
– the visible diameter of our Milky Way ~6,000,000,000 AU or ~100,000 ly [4]
[1]: https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status/
[2]: https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/interstellar-mission/
[3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliese_445
[4]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way
[+] [-] mjgs|4 years ago|reply
I think we should have a new mission, send out huge amounts of tiny crafts in all directions at the same time, to get a sort of Google street view of our solar system and interstellar space. I bet we could create crafts with modern tech that where tiny and much less expensive that the original pioneer and voyager crafts.
[+] [-] ssheth|4 years ago|reply
More at https://www.nature.com/news/2008/080702/full/454024a.html
[+] [-] dweekly|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tablespoon|4 years ago|reply
Through (according to Wikipedia) the party might end in just a few years: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_1:
> Voyager 1's extended mission is expected to continue until about 2025, when its radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) will no longer supply enough electric power to operate its scientific instruments.
[+] [-] niceairport|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] asaddhamani|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] windy_willow|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] f6v|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tablespoon|4 years ago|reply
So this doesn't mean that Voyager 1 has entered a new region with different characteristics, just that they've used signal processing to tease a little bit more out of the existing data.
[+] [-] RedOrGreen|4 years ago|reply
[1] https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/as-nasa-s-voyager-...
[+] [-] pwned1|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gumby|4 years ago|reply
Somehow human spaceflight seems dull to me while I just can't get enough of the cool and crucial work these robots are doing on our behalf.
Never send a human to do a robot's job, I suppose.
[+] [-] 1970-01-01|4 years ago|reply
Its very likely this is the last one. The craft is simply running out of power and the instruments will be forced to shutdown in a few years. The current deep space network will lose its already extremely faint signal in about a decade.
[+] [-] robofanatic|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] 3pt14159|4 years ago|reply
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Horizons
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Solar_Probe
[+] [-] wolverine876|4 years ago|reply
I thought Voyager 1 was out in interstellar space for awhile now, beyond the heliopause, heliosphere, etc. ?
I'll also note,
> Almost 11 years ago, Voyager 1 crossed an unprecedented boundary: it became the first human-made object to enter interstellar space. I was just a high-school student at the time, oblivious to the milestone ...
That's no excuse! :)
[+] [-] ilamont|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kuu|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] senbarryobama|4 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] artpop|4 years ago|reply
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