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After 45 years, the 5 billion years legacy of Voyager probes just began.



The most successful space mission in history, Voyager left our solar system. Those two probes are outside heliopause. The most out position of our solar system. Heliopause means the point where ions flow from the Sun mixes with ions that are coming from other stars. That spacecraft gave multiple wonderful images to the researcher. It found many strange things. And the last thing that this spacecraft found was the cosmic hum. NASA plans to keep in contact or analyze the data that those probes sent for as long as possible. 

The lifespan of those probes will extend by shutting down the systems. And somewhere in the 2030s, all systems of those probes end their operations. But long before that the helium storage of the gas rockets ends and two-way communication between probes and Earth turns impossible or meaningless. The information sent from Earth includes orders to change the posture of the probe. 

And another thing is how to use the instruments. So when Voyager probes left from Heliopause there is no need to use things like cameras or change their position. If the tracks of the probes change that tells that there is some gravitational object that changes it. Or there is the possibility that some energy impact like cosmic eruption hits to probe. But the fact is that only outside effects can change that trajectory. 

The computers of those probes are the masterpiece of programming. Credit cards have more memory than those primitive computers. But they are an example of how effective code can make that kind of system able to do its jobs. 


Image 2) "The two Voyager spacecraft took different paths through the solar system, and both have since left the sun’s influence entirely". (Astonomy.com/Voyager: What’s next for NASA's interstellar probes?)

NASA/JPL-Caltech





Image 3) "The Voyager golden record (left) is a 12-inch gold-plated copper disc. It’s covered with aluminum and electroplated with an ultra-pure sample of uranium-238". (Astonomy.com/Voyager: What’s next for NASA's interstellar probes?)

NASA



Image 4) "Only the Voyager probes have passed the heliopause, leaving the sun’s influence. New probes may one day study the interstellar medium lying beyond". (Astonomy.com/Voyager: What’s next for NASA's interstellar probes?)

NASA-JPL/Caltech


The antenna of those probes turned to Earth. And it can transmit data to the largest telescopes on Earth. Conditions outside Heiosphere are stable. And there is almost nothing that can turn the position of that antenna. So because Voyagers turned their antenna to Earth they can stay in that position forever. Or until some impact with micrometeorite or another outside force effect the position of those probes. 

Those two probes show that being near the observable planet gives more details than telescopes. In 40000 years Voyager 1 could reach another star. But that star is red dwarf. 

The distance between the Earth and the center of our galaxy is 26 000 light years. And Voyager traveled only 18 light hours. So that is a good example of distances in the universe. 

After millions of years, those probes will reach some yellow star. Maybe there is a planet orbiting that star. And maybe the famous golden plates can be analyzed by some researchers on that planet. 

There is a small possibility that someday in the distant future our descendants will be those researchers. Maybe some interstellar craft reaches that probe. And then those researchers find evidence of the ancient civilization that once sent that spacecraft. The position of the Sun is changed. 

And maybe the data of the Voyager is buried deep in the computer archives. Or maybe, the data of the famous gold plates of the probe. That sent billions of years ago is lost. While Voyager travels outside our solar system it's the gravitational center. And that means it pulls the microscopic particles to it. When those impacts continue for billions of years they can cause damage to those gold plates. 

But the fact is that Voyagers themselves can be the thing that helps those hypothetical researchers to find the origin of those probes. The elementary and isotope fingerprint in the material of the Voyager probes is unique. There is the possibility that the researchers are using advanced spectroscopy to analyze the materials of the Voyager spacecraft. And then they are starting to find a solar system with similar chemical and isotopic compound that is found in the body of those probes. The question will we ever see them again? 


https://astronomy.com/news/2020/04/voyager-whats-next-for-nasas-interstellar-probes


https://phys.org/news/2022-08-years-billion-year-legacy-voyager-interstellar.html


https://scitechdaily.com/nasas-longest-lived-mission-voyager-probes-log-45-years-in-space/


Image:1) https://scitechdaily.com/nasas-longest-lived-mission-voyager-probes-log-45-years-in-space/


Images 2-4:) https://astronomy.com/news/2020/04/voyager-whats-next-for-nasas-interstellar-probes


https://artificialintelligenceandindividuals.blogspot.com/

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