How long will it take for the Voyagers to reach another star system?

It’s another 10,000 years before the spacecraft actually come near an alien star, specifically a red dwarf star called Ross 248. That flyby will occur about 30,000 years from now, Oberg said, although it might be a stretch to say that the spacecraft will pass by that star.

Does Voyager 1 have a nuclear reactor?

The Voyager 1 & 2 spacecraft, like Pioneer 10 & 11 and various other spacecraft before them, and New Horizons and many other spacecraft after them, are powered using nuclear fission.

How long until Voyager runs out of battery?

If Voyager 1 does manage to leave the heliosphere before it runs out of power around 2025, the spacecraft will probe the Local Cloud, a wisp of interstellar flotsam absorbing traces of light from nearby stars.

How long does plutonium 238 last?

87.7 years
Pu-238 has a half-life of 87.7 years, making it a much longer-lasting source of energy than polonium-210, which was used in the 1959 RTG prototype and has a half-life of 138 days.

What is the history of the Voyager 1 space probe?

Voyager 1 is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977. Part of the Voyager program to study the outer Solar System, Voyager 1 launched 16 days after its twin, Voyager 2.

When will Voyager 2 reach the interstellar medium?

On 4 November 2019, scientists reported that, on 5 November 2018, the Voyager 2 probe had officially reached the interstellar medium (ISM), a region of outer space beyond the influence of the solar wind, and has now joined the Voyager 1 probe which had reached the ISM earlier in 2012.

What is the future of the Voyager spacecraft?

The Voyager spacecraft are expected to be able to operate science instruments through 2020, when limited power will require instruments to be deactivated one by one. Sometime around 2025, there will no longer be sufficient power to operate any science instruments.

What planets did Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 visit?

Voyager 1 and 2 were designed to take advantage of a rare planetary alignment to study the outer solar system up close. Voyager 2 targeted Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.