It was reported a few weeks back that the Voyager 2 probe from NASA would be entering the interstellar space soon. Making the reports right, the probe has passed the heliosphere, thus entering the area that is now called the Interstellar space. The Heliosphere refers to the plasma bubble that is part of the solar system — which was created by the Sun, making the planets distinguishable as the members of the system.
This is not the first time a human-made object is crossing the boundary. Years before, Voyager 1 from NASA had also broken the record by making its way to the interstellar space. As per history, Voyager 2 probe has become the second man-made object to move such a huge distance from earth. As per NASA, the probe is now 11 Billion miles away from our planet.
Of course, as the distance has increased, the communication process has become tougher. The operators of the mission still have contact with the probe, which actually takes 16.5 hours for transmitting the data from the interstellar space to the Earth. It needs to be noted that time it takes for sunlight to reach from the star to our planet is just 7 minutes.
“Voyager has a very special place for us in our heliophysics fleet. Our studies start at the Sun and extend out to everything the solar wind touches. To have the Voyagers sending back information about the edge of the Sun’s influence gives us an unprecedented glimpse of truly uncharted territory,” said one of the officials at NASA who is heading the missions.
Voyager 2 is currently the longest-running mission by the space agency. It was launched in 1977 and has been active till now. Although built for a stipulated time of 5 years, the probes have managed to extend the lifespan by an amazing 36 years.
