Active spacecrafts beyond Mars

Today, we take a look at spacecrafts beyond the orbit of Mars. To be more specific, we take a look at spacecrafts at Jupiter and beyond. Which spacecrafts come to your mind?

Juno

The first spacecraft in our list and the only one at Jupiter is NASA’s Juno. It launched onboard an Atlas V on 5 August 2011 and inserted itself into an orbit around Jupiter on 4 July 2016. Its main mission is to increase our knowledge about the formation and evolution of Jupiter. Therefore, it carries nine instruments (more about the instruments). Let’s take a brief look at them.

The Instruments

The Microwave radiometer (MWR) as the name suggests, measures Microwaves reaching the instrument from deep within the atmosphere. This allows scientists to make conclusions about the composition of the atmosphere.
The Gravity science experiment simply sends a signal to NASA’s Deep Space Network. By observing slide changes in the signals, scientists can reveal changes in Jupiter’s gravitational field.
The Magnetometer experiment (MAG) are sensors at the end of each of the three solar panels, which measure the magnetic field of Jupiter. In combination, they provide a 3D map of Jupiter’s magnetic field.
The Jovian auroral distributions experiment (JADE) basically studies Jupiter’s auroras. Yes, Jupiter has its kind of auroras.
The Jupiter energetic-particle detector instrument (JEDI) is another instrument to study the auroras and the magnetic field. Adding its data to the other instruments (e.g., JADE).
The Jovian infrared auroral mapper (JIRAM) uses an infrared camera to gases present in Jupiter’s atmosphere.
The Ultraviolet imaging spectrograph (UVS) in addition to JADE and JEDI detects particles that interact with the atmosphere.
The Waves sensors track radio waves that traveled through the atmosphere. From the changes to these waves, scientists can learn how atmosphere and magnetosphere interact.
Finally, the JunoCam takes color pictures of Jupiter from up close.

All the instruments have already done remarkable work. If you want to know what they discovered, take a look at the Top 10 results.

New Horizons

Five years earlier, on 19 January 2006, another Atlas V launched the New Horizons spacecraft on a mission to Pluto and other objects in the Kuiper Belt. In 2007, it used a gravity-assist of Jupiter to speed up its journey as well as take pictures of Jupiter’s faint rings. It, however, took the spacecraft another eight years to reach Pluto on 14 July 2015. Instead of getting into an orbit, it took all the science it could and flew onwards. Then, on 1 January 2019, it flew past another object in the Kuiper Belt named “2014 MU69”. Both encounters were the first spacecraft for any spacecraft to do.

New Horizons is currently flying further through the Kuiper Belt, while scientists are looking for another target on the way. Eventually, it will leave our solar system. Its energy supply would support it, as it is expected to last until the late 2030s. Why has the energy supply and end-of-life date, you ask? Because it uses a single Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator, which has a limited lifespan. Using solar panels isn’t practical so fare out in the solar system, as it would require massive panels.

The Instruments

The spacecraft carries seven instruments. This includes the four spectrometers Ralph, Alice, SWAP, and PEPSSI. As well as the long-range imager LORRI, the radiometer REX, and the student experiment SDC. The instruments have overlapping capabilities to act as backups to each other. If no more targets for a fly-by can be found, the instruments will get new software to optimize them for science, like planetary science, astrophysics and heliospheric observations. Some of which is only possibly by New Horizons on its way through the Kuiper Belt.

Voyager

The next spacecrafts we take a look at are the two Voyager spacecrafts. They are the furthest out and the longest running spacecrafts in history. And by furthest out, I mean a lot, as they have left the solar system and are traveling through interstellar space. But let’s start at the beginning.

Voyager 1 launched on 5 September 1977 and set course for Jupiter, which it passed on 5 March 1979. From there it went on to Saturn, passing by on 12 November 1980. With no more targets left, it flew on toward the board of our solar system. On 16 December 2004 it crossed the shock. And finally on 25 August 2012 became the first spacecraft to leave our solar system.

Voyager 2, although by name behind Voyager 1, actually launched before its sibling on 20 August 1977. It also set course for Jupiter, passing by on 9 July 1979. And it also flew onwards to Saturn, passing it on 25 August 1981. However, it then flew onwards to Uranus, which it passed by on 24 January 1986. It then set course for Neptune and past it on 25 August 1989, finally aiming for the boarder of our solar system. It reached the shock on 30 August 2007 and entered interstellar space on 5 November 2018.

The termination shock and the golden record

But wait a minute, you might ask. What is the shock? It is one of the boundaries of our solar system. The full name is the termination shock. At this point, the particles from the sun encounter interstellar particles. Scientists were able to detect it because the solar wind abruptly slowed down and heated up. If you want to learn more about the boundaries of our solar system, take a look at this article about it.

As mission planners back in the days knew, both Voyager spacecraft will someday leave the solar system, they add golden records to the spacecrafts. It is a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk, which contains images, music, sounds, and greetings from all around the Earth.

Summary and what’s to come

So far, we have taken a look back at missions launched in the past, which are still active. But what about missions planned to launch this year? Where are they going? What can we expect? Read about this, and more, in my next posts.

And meanwhile, read more about mission at the Moon, Mars and at other planets.

Credit for Image at the top: NASA/JPL