Voyager: at edge of our solar system

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Voyager 1 has been operational for 36 years and has recently crossed into interstellar space, revealing unexpected complexities at the edge of the solar system. Scientists initially anticipated a gradual transition, but data indicates a rapid drop in solar wind and a puzzling increase in galactic cosmic rays, suggesting a unique environment. The spacecraft's instruments show that while solar particles have diminished, the magnetic fields remain largely unchanged, challenging existing models. Voyager's power source, a radioisotope thermoelectric generator using plutonium, is expected to last until around 2025, after which the probe will continue its journey through space. The findings from Voyager 1 are significant for understanding both our solar system and the broader galactic environment.
  • #31
There are two reasons that the Voyagers' computers are so puny.
  • When they were designed and built - the mid 1970's.
  • The necessity of being hardened against ionizing radiation.

Rad-hard chips are always some years behind their civilian counterparts. Consider What Powers the Mars Curiosity Rover? | News & Opinion | PCMag.com
That rover has a 200-MHz CPU with 256-MB RAM, 256-MB EEPROM, and 2-GB flash memory.
Its CPU is a BAE RAD 750, a rad-hard version of the IBM 750 one (mid 1990's).

Its predecessors are the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, launched in 2003.
Each of them has a 20-MHz CPU with 128-MB RAM, 3-MB EEPROM, and 256-MB flash memory.
Their CPU's are an IBM RAD6000, a rad-hard version of the RISC Single Chip for IBM RS/6000 workstations (early 1990's).

RAD6000 chips have been used in numerous spacecraft , so these Mars rovers are not exceptional.
 

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