Voyager 2 Spacecraft : Update
NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft made its historic flyby of Uranus, scientists have uncovered new revelations about the ice giant’s peculiar magnetic field.
- Voyager 2 Spacecraft is an unmanned space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, just a few weeks before its sister craft, Voyager 1.
- Its mission was to study the outer planets of our solar system, including Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune and their moons, and then continue on an interstellar mission.
- It is the only spacecraft to have ever visited Uranus and Neptune.
- It carries a Golden Record, a phonograph record containing sounds and images from Earth, intended to be a message to any potential extraterrestrial civilizations it might encounter in the future
- It is the only spacecraft to study all four of the solar system’s giant planets at close range.
- It discovered a 14th moon of Jupiter.
- It was the first human-made object to fly past Uranus.
- At Uranus, Voyager 2 discovered 10 new moons and two new rings.
- It was the first human-made object to fly by Neptune.
- At Neptune, Voyager 2 discovered five moons, four rings, and a “Great Dark Spot.”
- After completing its primary mission, Voyager 2 continued on its journey into interstellar space, where it is still sending back data on the interstellar medium and the heliosphere.
- It is the second spacecraft to enter interstellar space. On Dec. 10, 2018, the spacecraft joined its twin—Voyager 1—as the only human-made objects to enter the space between the stars.
- It is currently the second most distant human-made object from Earth, after Voyager 1.
