39 The Voyager Program-Mid

The Voyager Program FOCUS Question What can the Voyager spacecraft tell us about the outer solar system and beyond?

旅行者计划焦点问题旅行者飞船能告诉我们关于太阳系外和太阳系外的什么?

Messages from Earth Deep in space, two little spacecraft are speeding out of the solar system. Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 travel thousands of kilometers farther from the Sun every hour. Each spacecraft carries a golden record album. On the records are pictures and sounds from Earth, including those of animals, plants, people, and technology. They also include music and greetings from people all over Earth. Scientists hope that someday, intelligent life from another solar system will receive these messages from Earth! Do You Know? One of the greetings on the Golden Record says. "Friends of space, how are you all? Have you eaten yet? Come visit us if you have time."

在太空深处，两艘小型宇宙飞船正飞速驶出太阳系。 “旅行者1号”和“旅行者2号”每小时离太阳远数千公里。 每艘飞船都携带了一张金色唱片。 唱片上有来自地球的图片和声音，包括动物、植物、人类和技术的声音。 它们还包括来自世界各地的音乐和问候。 科学家们希望有一天，来自另一个太阳系的智能生命能够收到来自地球的这些信息!你知道吗? 金唱片上的一句问候语说。 “太空的朋友们，你们好吗? 你吃过了吗?如果你有时间来看看我们。”

The Voyager Mission The two Voyager spacecraft were launched into space in the summer of 1977. They were designed to explore the outer planets of the solar system. Because its route to the outer planets was longer, Voyager 2 launched first but it reached Jupiter second. At first, the plan was just to visit Jupiter and Saturn. Later, NASA realized that the spacecraft could also be sent to Uranus and Neptune. These planets had never been visited before. After passing the outer planets, the Voyagers set out on a new mission: to explore the space beyond the planets. Math Moment One astronomical unit (AU) is the distance between Earth and the Sun. If the Voyagers have been flying at 3.5 AU per year, how far have they traveled to date?

1977年夏天，两艘旅行者号宇宙飞船被发射到太空。 它们是用来探索太阳系外行星的。 由于旅行者2号到达外行星的路线较长，所以它先发射，然后到达木星。 起初，计划只是去木星和土星。 后来，美国宇航局意识到航天器也可以被送往天王星和海王星。 这些行星以前从未有人造访过。 经过外行星后，旅行者号开始了一项新任务:探索行星之外的空间。 一个天文单位(AU)是地球和太阳之间的距离。 如果旅行者号每年以3.5 AU的速度飞行，到目前为止他们已经飞行了多远?

The Grand Tour Long before the Voyagers were launched, scientists dreamed of a "grand tour" of the solar system. Study the timeline to learn about some of the Voyager program's top moments. August and September 1977 Voyager 2 and then Voyager 1 launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida On Earth, 150 million km (1 AU) from the Sun March 1979 Voyager 1's closest approach to Jupiter; studies Io (EYE-oh), one of Jupiter's moons discovers active volcanoes 778 million km (5.2 AU) from the Sun July 1979 Voyager 2's closest approach to Jupiter; studies Europa, another one of Jupiter's moons; discovers evidence of water beneath its icy surface 778 million km (5.2 AU) from the Sun November 1980 Voyager 1 flies by Saturn; records images of the planet and its moons 1.4 billion km (9.5 AU) from the Sun

在“旅行者”号发射很久以前，科学家们就梦想着对太阳系进行一次“大巡游”。 研究时间轴，了解旅行者计划的一些重要时刻。 1977年8月和9月，旅行者2号和旅行者1号分别从佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔角发射。1979年3月，旅行者1号最接近木星;研究木星的卫星之一木卫一(EYE-oh)发现了离太阳7.78亿公里(5.2 AU)的活火山1979年7月旅行者2号最接近木星;研究木卫二，木星的另一颗卫星;在距离太阳7.78亿公里(5.2天文单位)的冰层下发现水的证据1980年11月旅行者1号飞越土星;记录了这颗行星及其卫星距离太阳14亿公里(9.5天文单位)的图像

August 1981 Voyager 2 flies by Saturn; studies its atmosphere, rings, temperature, and how it rotates 1.4 billion km (9.5 AU) from the Sun January 1986 Voyager 2 becomes the first and only spacecraft to visit Uranus; comes within 81,500 km of the planet; records thousands of images of planet's atmosphere, rings, and moons 2.9 billion km (19.1 AU) from the Sun August 1989 Voyager 2 becomes the first and only spacecraft to visit Neptune; flies within 5,000 km of the gaseous surface of the planet; discovers several moons orbiting the planet 4.5 billion km (30.1 AU) from the Sun August 2012 Voyager 1 enters interstellar space 18.7 billion km (125 AU) from the Sun

1981年8月，旅行者2号飞过土星;1986年1月，旅行者2号成为第一个也是唯一一个访问天王星的航天器;距离地球不到81,500公里;1989年8月旅行者2号成为第一个也是唯一一个访问海王星的航天器;在距离行星气体表面5000公里的范围内飞行;2012年8月旅行者1号进入距离太阳187亿公里(125天文单位)的星际空间

The Laws of Motion in Space The Voyager spacecraft have been traveling through space since they were launched in 1977. Unless they collide with something, they will continue to move deeper into space for thousands of years. And yet, they left Earth with very little fuel How is this possible? Newton's Laws of Motion can explain it. Newton's Third Law explains how Voyager 1 and 2 were launched. This rule of science states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, the rockets burned rocket fuel. As the rockets pushed the exhaust out, the exhaust pushed the rockets up into space.

旅行者号宇宙飞船自1977年发射以来一直在太空中飞行。 除非它们与什么东西相撞，否则它们将继续向太空深处移动数千年。 然而，他们离开地球时只带了很少的燃料这怎么可能呢? 牛顿运动定律可以解释这一点。 牛顿第三定律解释了旅行者1号和2号是如何发射的。 这一科学规律表明，每一个作用都有一个大小相等、方向相反的反作用。 在这种情况下，火箭燃烧了火箭燃料。 当火箭将废气排出时，废气将火箭推向太空。