HBY & Math #1: The Heliophysics Mission Fleet
| Levels |
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|---|---|
| Material Type |
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| Heliophysics Big Ideas |
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| NGSS |
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| Heliophysics Topics |
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| Heliophysics Missions |
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| Material Cost per Learner | Free |
| Language | English |
Presentation | Grades K-12+ | As of 2025, NASA has 48 operating missions located from the Sun’s corona all the way out to the distant Voyager spacecraft 120 AU from the Sun. Together, this fleet captures minute-to-minute changes in the heliosphere and in the Sun's activity, and how planetary magnetospheres respond to these changes. In this video, the presenter showcases mission math related to data collection, transfer and storage, using the ongoing Voyager mission as an example.
Launched in 1977, the two Voyager probes were originally designed to take advantage of a rare alignment of the outer gas giant planets that would allow them to "slingshot" around each planet as they passed and pick up speed as a result, taking scientific imagery all the while. Voyager 1 crossed the heliopause on August 25, 2012, meaning that it has officially left the bubble made by the solar wind and crossed into the regime of interstellar space. Ever since then, Voyager has been an invaluable resource for heliophysicists who use data sent back from its instruments to study the relationship between the heliosphere and the space beyond.
Find out where Voyager is right now using NASA's Eyes on Voyager!
Errata
(from page 24 of the slide deck)
- Back in 1994, when Voyager was closer to Earth, we still received data at 7,400 bits/sec. In 2026, it’s slowed to 40 bits/sec.
- Between 1979 and 1989, Voyager 1 and 2 took close-up images of the outer planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. In February 1990, Voyager 1 took one more “family portrait” of six planets, including Earth as the Pale Blue Dot, before cameras were shut off.
- Voyager images contain 800 lines, 800 dots (pixels) per line, and 8 bits per pixel. Most pixels are black so data can be compressed by 60%.
- (confirmed August 2026 by a Voyager instrument scientist)
This webinar is presented by NASA HEAT and delivered by Dr. Sten Odenwald. Below you will find both the original PowerPoint slide deck assembled by Dr. Odenwald and a PDF version of those slides.