Already on 5 November, the probe had left the protective „bubble“ around the sun, the so-called heliosphere, and was now more than 18 billion kilometers from Earth, said the head of the competent NASA department, Nicky Fox, on Monday ,
As far as „Voyager 2“ came only „Voyager 1“. „This time it’s even better for us,“ as the Plasma Science Experiment (PLS) is still working, Fox said. Measurements of the instrument now enabled an unprecedented view of truly unexplored territory. In Voyager 1, the PLS instrument had already failed in 1980, long before the probe reached the heliosphere boundary.
Both probes had been sent in 1977 on their mission to explore the planets Jupiter and Saturn. According to Nasa, however, the fact that they have left the heliosphere does not mean that they have also left the solar system. This will not happen „soon“.
Accordingly, the boundary of the solar system is a region outside the Oort cloud. It will take about 300 years until „Voyager 2“ reaches the Oort cloud, said NASA. It is likely that 30,000 years will pass before it reaches the outer end.
Actually, the mission of the two probes was designed for a period of five years. But they proved to be extremely tough. Considering their high age of now 41 years, they are still „very healthy,“ said the US expert Suzanne Dodd.
In order to save electricity, however, NASA has to turn off instruments again and again. In this way, „Voyager 1“ and „Voyager 2“ could survive another five to ten years. Both probes also have a gold plate on board, including recordings of earth noise and messages – as witnesses to civilization on the Blue Planet.
