Voyager 2 launched on 20 August 1977, two weeks before its twin, the faster moving Voyager 1.
The probe returned detailed information about the gas giants - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune - and their moons before continuing on a journey that will take it into interstellar space.
Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus and Neptune and is still returning information about the Solar System's edge. Like Voyager 1, it carries greetings and a gold record of Earth sounds and music in case an intelligent life form finds it.
Photo: A montage of the planets visited by Voyager 2 (NASA)
The Voyager 2 probe, launched in 1977, flew by Triton in 1989. The moon's unexpected, miles-high nitrogen geysers proved that geologic activity is possible in the coldest outer reaches of the Solar System.
Despite the careful work of engineers, Voyager 2 saw only impenetrable cloud at Uranus. Uranus's moon Miranda, with its fractured surface, proved more interesting to scientists. The Voyager probes were launched in 1977.
Professor Gary Flandro describes how a rare alignment of the outer planets lead to the Voyager missions, launched in 1977. As a summer student he drew maps that were the first steps in a project to send two probes beyond the edge of the Solar System.
Voyager 2 showed the world Saturn's intricate rings up-close for the first time. Strange features like shepherd moons and spokes gave researchers plenty to think about. The Voyager probes were launched in 1977.
The Voyager 2 spacecraft is a 722 kg (1,590 lb) space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977 to study the outer Solar System and eventually interstellar space. It was actually launched before Voyager 1, but Voyager 1 moved faster and eventually passed it. It has been operating for 35 years, 8 months, and 22 days as of 12 May 2013; the spacecraft still receives and transmits data via the Deep Space Network. At a distance of 123.43 AU or 18 billion 465 million kilometers from Earth as of May 08, 2013 it is one of the most distant manmade objects (along with Voyager 1, Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11). {note: for current distance see.} Voyager 2 is part of the Voyager program with its identical sister craft Voyager 1, and is in extended mission, tasked with locating and studying the boundaries of the Solar System, including the Kuiper belt, the heliosphere and interstellar space. The primary mission ended December 31, 1989 after encountering the Jovian system in 1979, Saturnian system in 1980, Uranian system in 1986, and the Neptunian system in 1989. It is still the only spacecraft to have visited the two outer gas giant planets Uranus and Neptune.
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