The Snuffed-Out Shutter of Voyager
Are Voyagers capable of capturing images of our solar system from their current vantage point?
Hey there! Let's delve into the fascinating tale of the Voyager spacecraft—once the envy of astronomers worldwide—which, over time, had its dazzling cameras dimmed.
In a bid to conserve power and memory, engineers shut off these very cameras between late 1989 and early 1990. The space shuttle took its last and affectionately named solar system family portrait on February 14, 1990. Although the spacecraft are still functional today, most of their other instruments have also been power-switched off due to similar reasons. To note, in the desolate expanse of interstellar space, there's not much deviating from the norm, leaving these remaining instruments valuable.
These remaining instruments measure cosmic rays, magnetic fields, charged particles, and plasma waves, offering crucial information in the otherwise uninteresting space expanse. A separate plasma science instrument failed on Voyager 1 in 1980 and was deactivated in 2007; however, it remained operational on Voyager 2 until it was switched off in October 2024. NASA projects that the spacecraft will continue sending at least engineering data back until 2036.
NASA cautions that even if Mission Control could reactivate the cameras, the technology and software that once analyzed the captured data are non-existent anymore. Plus, the years of radiation and cold exposure have possibly harmed the cameras. And oh, the Voyagers' software is about to hit half a century, and operators exercise extreme caution when sending commands to the antiquated system, fearing potential errors.
If the cameras were reactivated, the blackness of space means they wouldn't capture anything of interest. The cameras were designed to photograph luminous planets and their moons as Voyager passed by. The spacecraft lack telescopes, so anything they observe would merely be a distant speck of light.
To visualize, Saturn orbits at roughly 9.5 astronomical units (AU), with 1 AU being the typical distance between Earth and the Sun of 93 million miles [150 million kilometers]. Voyager 2 (the closer of the two spacecraft) is currently 140 AU away from the Sun, meaning one is 16 times closer to Saturn than Voyager is.
So, even if they could snap a photo, your smartphone would surely outshine it! Time and distance sure make a difference!
Contributor’s Notes:
- Voyager 1 and Voyager 2's plasma science instruments ceased functioning in 1980 and 2024, respectively.- Both spacecraft carry three operational instruments: one for cosmic rays, one for magnetic fields, one for charged particles, and one for plasma waves.- In 2025, engineers successfully rejuvenated inactive Voyager 1 thrusters and addressed Voyager 2's software updates.*- Spacecraft cameras captured images of planets and their moons illuminated by the Sun's light; however, they do not possess telescopes to observe faint objects in space.
- The Voyager spacecraft, once admired by astronomers, had its cameras turned off between late 1989 and early 1990 to conserve power and memory.
- The remaining instruments on the spacecraft measure cosmic rays, magnetic fields, charged particles, and plasma waves, providing crucial information in the otherwise uneventful space expanse.
- In the solar system family portrait taken on February 14, 1990, the spacecraft captured images of luminous planets like Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn, as well as their moons.
- Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 carry three operational instruments each, including one for cosmic rays, one for magnetic fields, one for charged particles, and one for plasma waves.
- Voyager 2, currently 140 astronomical units (AU) away from the Sun, is 16 times closer to Saturn than Voyager 1, which is roughly 9.5 AU from Saturn.
- If Voyager's cameras were reactivated today, they wouldn't capture anything of interest due to the blackness of space, as the cameras were designed to photograph luminous planets and their moons.
- Astronomers and space-and-astronomy enthusiasts cherish the data collected by the Voyagers, as they have provided invaluable information about our solar system, planets like Neptune and Uranus, and distant space-and-technology discoveries.
