By Lenka Kollar
One of my Facebook friends posted the above question and I thought it was a very valid thing to ask. In a world where we have to fill up our cars once (or more) a week, replace phone batteries after two years, and receive a constant supply of electricity to our homes, it's hard to imagine that a spacecraft that was launched in 1977 still has power.
One of my Facebook friends posted the above question and I thought it was a very valid thing to ask. In a world where we have to fill up our cars once (or more) a week, replace phone batteries after two years, and receive a constant supply of electricity to our homes, it's hard to imagine that a spacecraft that was launched in 1977 still has power.
The instruments on Voyager I are powered by three radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). An RTG contains a plutonium-238 source, which decays by alpha particles thus and produces heat. This heat is converted by thermocouples and a generator into electricity. An RTG isn't a nuclear reactor because the isotope is not fissioning, but this is a great alternative use of nuclear technology.
Voyager I was just reported to leave the solar system, the first man-made object to do so. The spacecraft measures cosmic rays and magnetic fields and sends the data back to Earth to be analyzed by NASA scientists. They will continue to receive data form Voyager I until the power runs out in 2025.
Voyager I was just reported to leave the solar system, the first man-made object to do so. The spacecraft measures cosmic rays and magnetic fields and sends the data back to Earth to be analyzed by NASA scientists. They will continue to receive data form Voyager I until the power runs out in 2025.
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