Interstellar Space Mission - Spaceship Products

List of interstellar spaceships mission

1. Voyager 1 and 2: Launched by NASA in 1977, these twin spacecraft have studied the outer planets in our Solar System and have also entered interstellar space. They continue to send back data on the interstellar medium and the heliosphere.
2. Pioneer 10 and 11: Launched by NASA in 1972 and 1973 respectively, these spacecraft were the first to study Jupiter and Saturn. Pioneer 11 also flew by Saturn's moon, Titan. Both have also entered interstellar space.
3. New Horizons: Launched by NASA in 2006, this spacecraft flew by Pluto in 2015 and is currently on its way to study a Kuiper Belt Object called 2014 MU69.
4. Cassini-Huygens: Launched by NASA in 1997 in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), this spacecraft studied Saturn and its moons for over 13 years before ending its mission in 2017.
5. Rosetta: Launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2004, this spacecraft studied Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and its coma, and landed on the comet's surface.
6. Dawn: Launched by NASA in 2007, this spacecraft studied the asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres.
7. Hayabusa: Launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in 2003, this spacecraft studied the asteroid 25143 Itokawa and returned samples from the asteroid's surface to Earth in 2010.
8. Deep Impact: Launched by NASA in 2005, this spacecraft studied the composition of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 by landing an impactor on its surface.
9. Beagle 2: Launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2003, this lander was sent to study the surface of Mars, but it failed to communicate after landing on the planet's surface.

Deep Space Network

The Deep Space Network (DSN) is a worldwide network of antennas that communicate with and track spacecraft in deep space. It is operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and is used to receive data and commands from spacecraft, as well as to transmit commands to them.

The DSN is composed of three deep-space communications facilities located approximately 120 degrees apart around the world: at Goldstone, California (USA); Madrid, Spain; and Canberra, Australia. This allows for constant communication with spacecraft as the Earth rotates, and also provides backup in case of equipment failure at one of the sites.

The antennas at each DSN site are large, parabolic dishes that can capture weak signals from distant spacecraft. The largest antennas are 230 ft (70m) in diameter and can track a spacecraft as far as 12 billion miles (20 billion kilometers) away. The DSN also includes a variety of other equipment, such as signal processors and data recorders, that are used to process and store the data received from spacecraft.

The DSN is used to communicate with a wide variety of spacecraft, including the Voyager 1 and 2, the Mars rovers, and the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn. It also supports interplanetary missions that are currently in development, such as the Europa Clipper, a mission to study the icy moon of Jupiter and the Mars Sample Return mission.

One of the most important functions of DSN is to provide a continuous two-way communication with the spacecraft. This allows for real-time monitoring of the spacecraft's health and status, as well as for the transmission of commands to the spacecraft to adjust its course or perform specific tasks.

How Voyager communicate with Earth?

The Voyager spacecraft send radio signals to Earth using a device called a transceiver. The transceiver is a combination of a transmitter and a receiver that allows the spacecraft to both send and receive signals. The Voyager spacecraft use a high-gain antenna to transmit their radio signals back to Earth. The antenna is pointed in the direction of Earth and focuses the radio signals into a narrow beam, similar to a flashlight beam. This allows the spacecraft to send a strong signal to Earth despite the great distance between the spacecraft and Earth.

The signals are then received by NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) antennas, which are located at three sites around the world (Goldstone, California; Madrid, Spain; and Canberra, Australia). These antennas are large, parabolic dishes that can capture the weak signals sent by the Voyager spacecraft from billions of miles away. Once received, the signals are amplified and sent to a data processing center where they are converted into a form that scientists can analyze.

The Voyager spacecraft also use a low-gain antenna as backup, and this antenna is used to send and receive less critical data like health status, and housekeeping data of the spacecraft.

Voyager 1 and 2 Data & Insights

• Launched: Voyager 1 on September 5, 1977, Voyager 2 on August 20, 1977
• Mission: To study the outer planets in our Solar System and to explore interstellar space
• Distance from Earth: Voyager 1 is currently over 22 billion miles (about 35 billion kilometers) away from Earth, and Voyager 2 is currently over 18 billion miles (about 29 billion kilometers) away from Earth.
• Speed: Voyager 1 is currently traveling at a speed of about 38,000 miles per hour (about 61,000 kilometers per hour), and Voyager 2 is currently traveling at a speed of about 35,000 miles per hour (about 56,000 kilometers per hour).
• Status: Both Voyager spacecraft are still operational and continue to send back data.
• Power source: Both Voyager spacecraft are powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), which convert the heat generated by the decay of plutonium-238 into electricity.
• Time in space: As of January 2022, Voyager 1 has been in space for over 44 years and Voyager 2 has been in space for over 43 years.
• Number of planets visited: Both Voyager 1 and 2 visited Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
• Data sent back: Both Voyager spacecraft have sent back over 500,000 images and a wealth of scientific data on the planets and moons they have visited, as well as data on the interstellar medium and the heliosphere.
• Distance from the edge of the solar system: Voyager 1 crossed the heliopause, the point where the solar wind is no longer strong enough to push back the interstellar medium, in 2012 and is currently in interstellar space. Voyager 2 crossed the heliopause in 2018 and it's also in interstellar space.

It's worth noting that these are approximate values and may change slightly over time as the spacecraft continue their journey through space. Also, the Voyager spacecraft were built to last 5 years, but they have been operating for decades and still sending valuable data.