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How did Voyager 1, which is 22.8 billion kilometers away, send the signal back to Earth?

Voyager 1, the technology that sends signals back to Earth

By tannie rustyPublished 2 years ago 3 min read
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The universe is so big, but the range of human activities is very small. So far, the farthest place humans have been to is the moon, and the average distance between the moon and the earth is only 380,000 kilometers. Of course, humans have also launched a variety of detectors. If you count them, then the range of human activities will be much larger.

Among the many probes that humans have launched, Voyager 1, which is the farthest from the earth, is undoubtedly the most eye-catching. After its launch in 1977, Voyager 1 has continuously used the "gravitational slingshots" of Jupiter and Saturn. , which has greatly increased its flight speed. After that, it has been flying toward the depths of the universe. By 2021, Voyager 1 has flown 22.8 billion kilometers away.

Even at the speed of light, it takes more than 20 hours to run 22.8 billion kilometers. For humans, this distance can be said to be very far. It is amazing that Voyager 1, which is 22.8 billion kilometers away, still maintains contact with the earth, so the question arises, how does it transmit the signal back to the earth?

In fact, Voyager 1 does not use any "black technology" to communicate. It uses ordinary radio communication technology. In short, it first modulates the information to be transmitted into radio signals, and then converts these The signal goes directly back to Earth (without any repeaters in between).

The energy of Voyager 1 comes from its own three plutonium radioisotope thermoelectric generators (that is, "nuclear batteries" that use the decay of plutonium radioisotopes to obtain electricity), with a total power of 420 watts.

In order to ensure the success rate of radio signal transmission, the transmitting frequency of Voyager 1 selects the 8GHz frequency band with minimal radio interference, and is equipped with a "high-gain antenna" with a diameter of 3.7 meters, which can concentrate the signal in a certain direction This is the largest reflector antenna ever made by humans at that time.

In addition, Voyager 1 is also equipped with the most accurate gyroscope at the time, which can help Voyager 1 correct the direction of the antenna so that the direction of the signal sent is always aimed at the earth.

Although Voyager 1 used the most advanced radio communication equipment at the time, the strength of the radio signal decreased exponentially as the distance increased. Today, when the signal sent by Voyager 1 reaches the earth, its The power is already as low as 10^-22 watts (that is, ten trillionths of a watt).

"If you want to receive a very weak signal, you must have an antenna with a large enough diameter. If one is not enough, we can also build many combinations to use." Based on this idea, NASA began to build in the 1960s. Deep Space Network (DSN for short).

The deep space network is actually a lot of antennas. They are extremely sensitive and large. The largest antenna can reach 70 meters. Scientists combine these antennas to form a very powerful radio communication system. , even if Voyager 1 has flown 22.8 billion kilometers away, the deep space network can still receive its signal back to Earth.

The system is currently divided into three stations, namely "Goldstone View" (Goldstone View), "Madrid View" and "Canberra View".

As shown in the figure above, these three stations are distributed at 120 degrees (longitude) on the surface of the earth, so that the "communication blind spot" caused by the rotation of the earth can be avoided, so as to realize 24 hours a day with the probe in the deep space of the universe. of uninterrupted communication.

In recent decades, scientists have been using new technologies to improve the long-distance communication capabilities of deep space networks, such as holographic alignment to improve the accuracy of focused signals, new materials to increase the diameter of antennas, and more precise new panels to improve accuracy, or simply replace outdated antennas with more advanced antennas.

Nevertheless, the deep space network cannot keep in contact with Voyager 1 all the time, and we can fully speculate that as the distance increases, the signal transmitted by Voyager 1 back to Earth will become weaker and weaker, until it eventually disappears in the In the background noise of the universe.

On the other hand, after 44 years of flying, Voyager 1's "nuclear battery" can't last long. Scientists estimate that Voyager 1's energy will be exhausted by 2025. After that, it will It will be completely disconnected from the earth, and from then on wandering alone in the vast space of the universe.

Science
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About the Creator

tannie rusty

little science knowledge

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