How Do We Communicate With The Voyager Space Probes?

From what the craft is, to the reaches of space it's reached, and what science we use to talk with it, join me as we explain how we communicate with the Voyager Space Probe!

Space is a place where we know a lot, and yet know very little. Through our various technologies we have crossed many boundaries, seen planets and wonders that continue to marvel us to this day, but we only know a small fraction of the universe as a whole. This is why we rely on things like the Voyager Space Probes to go out into the universe and deliver us information that we didn't have before, and hope that they last as long as possible so that we can keep getting that info.
For those that don't know, Voyager 1 is a probe that humanity sent out to observe the universe at large, and it's currently well past Pluto and has shown us many things about our solar system. In 2017, it was set at around 138 AU's from our planet. AU means "Astronomical Unit", which means the distance from the Earth to the Sun. So 138 AU's means that it's 138 times far than the Earth is from the sun right now. That's a really big number. Over 12 billion miles to be exact. That's the farthest anything from man has traveled in space.
One of its crowning achievements was a photograph showing a set of sunbeams, and in one of those sunbeams was earth. It was a dot. A dot in a grander scale photograph of our solar system. That's how small we are in the scale of our system when you look from the outside in, we are a dot. An epic dot, but a dot no doubt.
As for Voyager 2, despite it launching BEFORE Voyager 1 (by 16 days), it was set on a similar mission to explore the solar system. Albeit via a different route that took it past Neptune and Uranus. The point here is that these two probes are the farthest things that humanity has sent into the solar system. They have traveled incredible distances and are still revealing things about our solar system that continue to both boggle the mind and astound us.
One of the most important things about these particular probes right now is that they are in Interstellar Space, meaning that they are indeed beyond our solar system, and they're seeing all sorts of interesting things and helping us learn even more about our universe. But of course, that raises a very fundamental question in terms of science and distance. If the Voyager 1 & 2 are in Interstellar Space...how the heck are we communicating with it? Distance matters in communications as we all know, and the farther you travel from a point the harder it is to communicate. So since we're not just talking about space, but outside of our solar system via interstellar space...how are we reaching the probes?
The simple answer to that is the "Deep Space Network", also known as the DSN. This is a series of radio antennae that work together to not just send signals into space, but receive the signals from the craft, and even give it instructions on what to do next. Just as important though is this, the network of antennae are all over the world.
There are DSN locations near Canberra, Australia; Madrid, Spain; and Goldstone, California. Those sites are almost evenly spaced around the planet. That means as the Earth turns, we never lose sight of a spacecraft. Which is obviously very important when it comes to mapping out the universe and knowing where all of your biggest assets are.
We've been using this system to detect the Voyagers 1 & 2 since their launch, and clearly they are effective. But...I'm sure you're not getting all of your questions answered, because I'm sure you're noticing a flaw in this plan. Mainly, we have a big set of satellite antennae here on Earth, but the probe itself is rather small, so how does something that small beam signals back to these antennae?
Well, honestly, you're thinking of it a bit backwards. You see, to make the Voyager Probes worth it in terms of scientific study as well as a long-term investment, both of them had to be outfitted with as many scientific instruments as possible. Some of which are still working today despite them being VERY old.

Video Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:19 The Voyager Missions Overview
01:10 The Deep Space Network
02:20 The Challenges of Deep Space Communication
03:45 The Technology Behind Communication
05:00 Signal Delay and Data Transmission
06:15 Upgrades and Improvements Over Time
07:30 The Future of Deep Space Communication
09:00 Final Thoughts and Conclusion

#insanecuriosity #voyager2 #spaceprobe

[InsaneCuriosity]

Hey Insane Curiosity Squad! If you liked the video, we would love for you to share it with your friends or on other social networks like Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter, etc... (Since the algorithm is not cooperating in showing us to the public 😅). In just 30 seconds, you will greatly help our Channel to grow and improve future contents. A big thank you from all of us.

[BattleRoyaleClub]

So... How exactly do we communicate with Voyager? Still waiting

[tonnie]

very enlightening on why Voyagers were launched. It is amazing we are able to receive signals from these distant probes and have not lost them in the darkness of space ... wish we will figure out on how to cross the ball of fire and zoom to the Centauri System

[perrinayebarra]

These things can send beautiful pictures back to earth 50 years ago and I can’t get cell service in my bathroom.

[gastroalchemy]

Very nice. However, there was little info related to the title of the video.

[nicholaslozenski]

If NASA were to build a probe that would follow after Voyager and process the communication then contact could extend beyond the expected date. It could be small simple and low cost.

[garrettcordova]

Humans found a way to contact an object past Pluto but I disconnect from a call here on Earth.

[nala]

We can communicate with probes billions of miles away but yet our cell phone drops when go into a wooded area??

[davidmacphee]

This is quickly becoming my favorite channel! Great new info now! Fantastic work! Anyway, at those distances, how much time does it take a signal one way? {Only 8 minutes from the Sun} Now you got me thinking [imagine that] Anyway, Since the craft are so far away but the signal still has to deal with Time/Space gravity curvature, How can we tell if the signal really is coming to us in a strait line and how the heck can the craft direct the signals directly at us? And MOST of all, how can you produce such amazing content so quickly? Head scratch, The Earth thinks it is going in a strait line but to our thinking, it is going around the Sun. My favorite channel is Joe Scott but when you super YouTubers evolve with such an interest in science topics you guys should talk

[martineastburn]

Old data - the Voyager got back on line after a full reboot. I shut itself down as it had three sensors saying it was drawing current. It seems to be charging and away it goes.

[jensschroder]

The voyager systems are not failing.
Voyager's atomic battery is providing less and less energy.
So more and more has to be switched off in order to still have enough energy for the core functions.
Then there is no longer enough power to take photos.

[TrangNguyen-chfp]

Great the Chanel has option to turn a translated caption on 😎😎🤩

[ronaldphangalele]

Human endevour proves how awesome umdali is .

[Space-Audio]

Actually, the "wall of fire" is extremely subtle and not even remotely a threat to anything. Also, I'm amused that the typical CG animations show the spacecraft flying with their main dishes pointed in the direction of travel instead of pointing back toward the Earth. (BTW, if you want to hear the electron plasma oscillations that signaled the jump in plasma density after crossing the heliopause . . . you know where to look. ;-) )

[CB-dnfk]

This video has a lot of good info amd is narrated well, but you should try to include actual pictures from the probes, or animations that can show real info rather than general B roll animations of random planets, and nebulae.

[jeffreywickens]

There should be a fleet of interplanetary probes that serve as repeaters for other, more distant, probes.

[ericpham]

Can we use moon as relay signal and reduce signal strength needed

[joethebassplayer]

great videos, thank you... how is it that there are 97K subscribers but only 283 likes and 26 comments?

[ProperLogicalDebate]

Could the next one maybe able to go to another star be followed by a String of Pearls, relays powerful enough so that if one or even two in series fails, messages will be able to get to the other end?

[otaviohenrique]

Nascemos na época em que poderemos presenciar o começo de grandes eventos que vão ficar registrados pra sempre na história da nossa espécie.