Image Source: Nasa
Voyager Space Program was an American scientific program by NASA( National Aeronautics and Space Administration) which consisted of 2 interstellar probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 launched in 1977. The orientation in which Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune were in during the time was crucial to the mission as the gravity of these planets could be used to get further away from Earth with ease, this occurs once every 175 years. The Voyager space programme is regarded as most successful space exploration mission in human history and rightly so it has helped us discover and learn quite a lot about space. Both the probes are still functional as of 2023.
The Golden Records
Image Source: Nasa
The Probes consist of these records (12-inch gold plated copper disks) which have many types of sounds stored onto them for any extra-terrestrial life which might intercept it someday. The Inscriptions are instructions on how to play the records. It contains greetings in 55 Different Languages, sounds from earth of both life forms and some topographical features as well. It even has 90 minute of music, Eastern Western Ethnic etc.
Instruments
The Voyager Space probes have been fitted with a lot of instruments to help scientists study our planets and space. Though most of these are no longer functional as they have been turned off to increase the lifetime of this mission. These have helped scientists learn and discover a lot. They have helped study the four outer planets and Pluto, the constituents also to discover a huge number of moons and rings around those planets.
Voyager 2
Today 20th August 2023 marks the 46th Launch Anniversary of the Voyager 2. It currently is at a distance of 12,400,887,617 miles from Earth. Light takes 18 hours 29 minutes and 90 seconds to reach it from Earth. November 5 ,2018 marks the date when Voyager 2 reached Interstellar Space 6 years after Voyager 1 which became the first Man Made Object to enter Interstellar Space on August 25, 2012.