Historical background of the voyager programmes
The Voyager programs were launched in America in 1977 with an aim of studying the planetary systems in Jupiter and Saturn. Initially, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were used in this mission for 12 years until 1989. After this period, Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM) was launched with an objective of extending the exploration of the solar system.
VIM background and mission
According to NASA (6), the scope of VIM goes beyond Jupiter and Saturn planets to include outer planets and outer limits of the sun’s influence. The mission seeks to establish the heliopause frontier, outer limits of the solar wind and outside limits of sun’s influence.
VIM phases and characteristics of these phases
The VIM has three distinctive phases. These are heliosheath exploration phase, terminal shock phase and interstellar exploration phase (Ludwig & Taylor 1). The terminal shock phase is characterized by the two initial voyager’s operations in the sun’s magnetic field. This field is characterized by supersonic wind that dominates the plasma particles. The interstellar winds hold the supersonic solar winds from expanding beyond their limits. At the terminal shock phase, the slow wind reduces its velocity from supersonic speed to subsonic speed. Further, the magnetic field orientation and changes in the direction of plasma flow takes place during this phase.
The termination shock phase paved way for the heliosheath exploration phase. The phase is dominated by the solar wind’s particles and sun’s magnetic field. This phase will be terminated when VIM passes the outer frontier of the solar wind and sun’s magnetic field (heliopause). Scientific researchers have indicated that no spacecraft has ever reached the heliopause region. According to Gray, it is estimated that the region might be between 8 and 14 billion miles from the solar, and the solar winds blows at an estimated 250,000 miles/hour. It is further estimated that the VIM will cross the heliopause region in between 10 and 20 years time. This process may take several astronomical units for VIM to traverse the heliopause. The complete passing of this phase will characterize the beginning of the interstellar exploration phase, which is the main goal of VIM.
VIM teams and their roles
The VIM has five main investigating teams that are working tirelessly to see the fulfillment of its mission. These are plasma wave investigation, plasma investigation, magnetic field investigation, cosmic ray investigation and low energy charged particle investigation (voyager.jpl.nasa.gov). These teams are focused on the collecting, analysis, investigation and evaluation of data acquired from VIM. The data acquired includes the composition, energy content and direction of cosmic rays, sun’s magnetic fields, strength and orientation. In addition, radio emissions and hydrogen distribution are equally important considerations in the investigation process. This data is captured in the Digital Tape Recorder (DTR) for processing. After it is electronically processed, the data is availed through electronic files (voyager.jpl.nasa.gov).
VIM equipment and instruments
In order to realize this, VIM has a set of equipment which has a distinctive role in the process. According to Richardson, they include the Plasma Wave Investigation equipment (PWS), Magnetic Field Investigation (MAG) equipment, Plasma Investigation (MAG) equipment, Low Energy Charged Particle (LECP) investigation equipment and Cosmic Ray Investigation (CRS) equipment. Further, the UltraViolet Spectrometer subsystem (UVS) and Planetary Radio Astronomy (PRA) subsystem are also vital components in the VIM operation process.
Challenges that faced VIM
The scientists have established power sharing as a major hindrance to mounting several equipment and instruments in the space. The available power only allows a few instruments to be on at any given time; thus one can only acquire a given set of data. It is estimated that the power available is will support the equipment until it can no longer support any equipment or instrument (voyager.jpl.nasa.gov). This will mark the end of Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM).
Conclusion
VIM remains as one of the landmarks in the history of the study of planetary systems. This state of the art technology has aided in the study of planets and their characteristics. However, the exploration has faced numerous challenges including power sharing my different equipment and instruments mounted on this system.
Work Cited
Gray, Meghan. Voyager and Interstellar Space. Deep Space Videos. Brady Haran.
Interstellar Mission: Voyager, The Interstellar Mission. 2013. 15 Oct. 2013. http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/interstellar.html
Ludwig, Roger & Taylor, Jim. Voyager Telecommunications. California: California Institute of Technology, 2012: 1
National Aeronautics and Space Administration – NASA. Voyager to the Outer Planets and Into Interstellar Space. California: California Institute of Technology. 2013: 1-7
Richardson, John. Voyager Interstellar Mission. 2013. 15 Oct 2013. http://web.mit.edu/space/www/voyager_science.html
Voyager Time Line: Voyager, The Interstellar Mission. 2013. 15 Oct. 2013. http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/interstellar.html
