Voyagers 1 and 2 were American missions that explored Uranus and Neptune for the first time. This is an ongoing mission that may last until the 2020's.
Analysis
The twin Voyagers were two of the most far-reaching unmanned spacecraft. The Voyagers were probes that explored the outer solar system in detail, visiting the planets Uranus and Neptune for the first time, and sending back a vast amount of information.
Voyager 2 was launched on August 20, 1977 from Cape Canaveral . Voyager 1 was launched on September 5 that same year, but was put on a faster trajectory. In March and July 1979 respectively, Voyager 1 and 2 passed near the planet Jupiter. They discovered the Great Red Spot, volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io, and a faint ring around Jupiter, as well as many new moons.
In November 1980 and August 1981 the two spacecraft passed near Saturn. They returned pictures of Saturn's rings and discovered shepherd moons that kept the rings together. After passing by Saturn, Voyager 1 headed out of the plane of the solar system into interstellar space. Voyager 2 continued to the planets Uranus and Neptune.
In January 1986, Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Uranus and in August 1989 to Neptune . It became the first spacecraft to observe these two planets. It made many discoveries about the structure and composition of Uranus and Neptune, and discovered many new moons. After passing by Neptune , Voyager 2 headed on into interstellar space.
The mission of the Voyagers is not over yet. Their batteries are still working and may be able to last into the 2020's. Currently, Voyager 1 is 13.5 billion kilometers from the Sun, while Voyager 2 is 11.0 billion kilometers from the Sun. They are studying cosmic rays and the properties of outer solar system space. Sometime in the next few years, they are expected to traverse the heliopause, the place where the solar system ends and interstellar space begins.
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