3 MINUTES AGO: Voyager 1 Just Turned Back With Something Terrifying!

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3 MINUTES AGO: Voyager 1 Just Turned Back With Something Terrifying!

How could they build a probe that would last for years in the cold, radiation-filled environment of deep space? And how would it communicate with Earth from billions of miles away?

The solution was a marvel of 1970s engineering. Each Voyager spacecraft, weighing 1,592 pounds, was equipped with cameras, spectrometers, and other instruments to study the planets, their moons, and the space between them. Powered by three radioisotope thermoelectric generators, which convert heat from the decay of plutonium-238 into electricity, the Voyagers were designed to operate far from the Sun's warming rays.

One of the most crucial components was the spacecraft's communication system. Using a large, 12-foot high-gain antenna, each Voyager could send data back to Earth at a rate of up to 115,200 bits per second when near Jupiter - though this rate would decrease as they traveled farther from home.