Voyager 2

Voyager 2 is a space probe. It was used by NASA to explore Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. It is the only spacecraft that has come near to Uranus and Neptune. Because of this, most pictures of these two ice planets are from this spacecraft. It was identical in form to its sister space probe, Voyager 1. The space probe is currently moving away from the Solar System. It is heading out into interstellar space.

Voyager 2

Model of the Voyager spacecraft design
Mission type	Planetary exploration
Operator	NASA / JPL[1]
COSPAR ID	1977-076A[2]
SATCAT no.	10271[3]
Website	voyager.jpl.nasa.gov
Mission duration	48 years, 4 months and 8 days elapsed Planetary mission: 12 years, 1 month, 12 days Interstellar mission: 36 years, 2 months and 26 days elapsed (continuing)
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Launch mass	825.5 kilograms (1,820 lb)
Power	470 watts (at launch)
Start of mission
Launch date	August 20, 1977, 14:29:00 (1977-08-20UTC14:29Z) UTC
Rocket	Titan IIIE
Launch site	Cape Canaveral LC-41
Flyby of Jupiter
Closest approach	July 9, 1979, 22:29:00 UTC
Distance	570,000 kilometers (350,000 mi)
Flyby of Saturn
Closest approach	August 26, 1981, 03:24:05 UTC
Distance	101,000 km (63,000 mi)
Flyby of Uranus
Closest approach	January 24, 1986, 17:59:47 UTC
Distance	81,500 km (50,600 mi)
Flyby of Neptune
Closest approach	August 25, 1989, 03:56:36 UTC
Distance	4,951 km (3,076 mi)
Flagship ← Viking 2 Voyager 1 →

Voyager 2 was launched on August 20, 1977. It is now in an extended mission. Its encounter with the largest natural satellite of Neptune, Triton sent it on a hyperbolic trajectory out of the Solar System. It was moving at about 16.62 km/s (37,200 mph; 59,800 km/h). This is much faster than escape velocity.

Both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 hold the Voyager Golden Record. This is a recording of sounds and images of life on Earth. It was designed by a team led by Carl Sagan. The Golden Record is to communicate with extraterrestrial life.

Voyager 2 is the second spacecraft to exit from the Solar System and enter into the interstellar space. It did so 6 years after Voyager 1. In 2018, NASA said that Voyager 2 had reached the heliopause on 5 November 2018.^[4] On July 18, 2023, Voyager 2 overtook Pioneer 10 to become the 2nd farthest spacecraft from the Sun, at a distance of 133.917 AU (nearly 12.45 billion miles or approximately 2034.00 billion km) from the Sun. ^{[5] [6]}

Related pages

• Pioneer 10
• Pioneer 11
• Voyager 1
• Exploration of Neptune