Energy production and storage using nanotechnology

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After 34 years Voyager 1 and 2 are still working!!! Now leaving the solar system!

The spacecraft are powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, in essence a nuclear battery. Pellets of plutonium release heat through natural decay and are converted into electricity using a series of thermocouples. It is a safe, reliable and long lasting power source expected to be finally depleted somewhere around 2025. Voyager's thrusters are fueled by hydrazine and there is enough on board to last another 60 years as fuel is only used to reorient the spacecraft. It uses about 1.6 grams per day.

Voyager carries various scientific instruments along with three computers that share just 68 KB of memory. Engineers developed a self repairing, programmable command processor with multiple modules that are able to determine errors by comparing past data.

The last time we checked on the Voyager 1 & 2 they were hurtling towards the edge of the solar system at over 37,000 mph (60,000 km/h). The car-sized spacecraft are now and incredible 11 billion miles (17 billion km) and 8 billion miles (14 billion km) from Earth respectively - they are the longest continuously operated spacecraft in deep space and, having traveled further than any man-made object, they will soon become the first to enter the realm of interstellar space.

Built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, Voyager 2 was launched on Aug 20, 1977, closely followed by Voyager 1 on Sept 5. It was a special year because there was a rare planetary alignment of the outer planets, which meant the spacecraft would be able to visit all four giant gas planets; Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

The Voyager twins' primary five year mission was to explore Jupiter (which was reached in 1979) and Saturn (1980). The spacecraft captured images of the planets, their larger moons and Saturn's rings, making some amazing discoveries. Jupiter's Red Spot was found to be a massive hurricane three times the diameter of Earth and just one of many huge storms on the planet. Saturn's rings were revealed to be made of a mish mash of icy particles - some as large as a house. Io, one of Jupiter's moons, was observed to have eight active volcanoes, where previously volcanic eruptions were only known on Earth.

Voyager 2, propelled further by Jupiter and Saturn's gravity, continued to Uranus in 1986 and Neptune in 1989. Breathtakingly close up pictures were taken of the planets, their moons and the system of rings and magnetic fields surrounding each. Notable discoveries included the fact that Uranus spins on a horizontal axis. Neptune the most remote giant planet has the fastest winds in the solar system that travel at over 1,200 mph (2,000 kph). Like Jupiter, it has a Great Dark Spot of its own, a giant storm about the size of Earth. Triton, a moon of Neptune is the coldest measured object in the Solar System. It has a surface temperature of -390°F (-235°C) with geysers spewing nitrogen gas into the atmosphere.

The Voyager spacecraft rewrote the textbooks on the four gas giants revealing the complexity and diversity of our solar system. On its way out of our solar system, Voyager 1 was asked to look back and take more photograph before the cameras were turned off. The "Pale Blue Dot" photograph was taken from a record distance of more than four billion miles from Earth and is part of the resulting is 60 frame mosaic of the solar system. In the photo, the Earth appears as a tiny dot 0.12 pixels in size, giving us a mind-boggling reminder of just how small we are in the vastness of space.

More on the history and story!!!!

http://www.gizmag.com/voyager-spacecraft-interstellar-space/18557/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=7dae3cd16b-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email

The spacecraft are still functioning and thriving after more than 30 years. Robust, durable and built from 1970s components, the transistors are still functioning today. They have exceeded their design specifications and the loftiest dreams of their makers ... and despite having already made an amazing contribution to our civilization, many great discoveries are still to come.

Voyager 1 is on a trajectory to reach star AC+79 in about 40000 years. Voyager 2 is on its way to the vicinity of star Sirius, a mere 296,000 years away.