Why doesn't NASA send Voyagers anymore?











up vote
11
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As for now it's been more than 40 years NASA launched Voyager 1 & Voyager 2. With more advance technology wouldn't it now be a good time to continue sending more sophisticated voyagers out there? Wouldn't it be a good way to gather more data & it will increase the chances of letting them (If they exist) our presence, right?



Did NASA stop sending off probes like that anymore?










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  • 7




    Consider moving to space exploration.
    – James K
    22 hours ago






  • 4




    I don't get what you mean by "it will increase the chances of letting them (If they exist) our presence, right?" Are you talking about Aliens? That wasn't the purpose of the Voyager missions.
    – James K
    22 hours ago






  • 3




    As I recall, the voyager crafts were sent when the planets were properly aligned for gravity assists. That probably doesn't happen very often. I also think we learn a lot more by having spacecraft orbit a planet vs fly by a planet. There's not all that much to gain by sending a probe out of the solar system, not that they should never do it, but it's not a top priority. I would also add that if contact is the goal, a tiny spacecraft isn't a likely way to do it. Sending radio-waterhole transmissions or listening for them is more likely.
    – userLTK
    20 hours ago






  • 8




    The aliens got really pissed and fined NASA 20 trillion spnrgls.
    – Bob Jarvis
    15 hours ago






  • 3




    You need to remember that "out there" wasn't the Voyagers' mission. The "gold record" and images on the spacecraft were just lagniappe ("an extra or unexpected gift or benefit") since they'd be heading out into interstellar space after their mission was complete. I don't suppose anyone really expected they'd still be sending back data 40 years later.
    – jamesqf
    12 hours ago















up vote
11
down vote

favorite
1












As for now it's been more than 40 years NASA launched Voyager 1 & Voyager 2. With more advance technology wouldn't it now be a good time to continue sending more sophisticated voyagers out there? Wouldn't it be a good way to gather more data & it will increase the chances of letting them (If they exist) our presence, right?



Did NASA stop sending off probes like that anymore?










share|improve this question




















  • 7




    Consider moving to space exploration.
    – James K
    22 hours ago






  • 4




    I don't get what you mean by "it will increase the chances of letting them (If they exist) our presence, right?" Are you talking about Aliens? That wasn't the purpose of the Voyager missions.
    – James K
    22 hours ago






  • 3




    As I recall, the voyager crafts were sent when the planets were properly aligned for gravity assists. That probably doesn't happen very often. I also think we learn a lot more by having spacecraft orbit a planet vs fly by a planet. There's not all that much to gain by sending a probe out of the solar system, not that they should never do it, but it's not a top priority. I would also add that if contact is the goal, a tiny spacecraft isn't a likely way to do it. Sending radio-waterhole transmissions or listening for them is more likely.
    – userLTK
    20 hours ago






  • 8




    The aliens got really pissed and fined NASA 20 trillion spnrgls.
    – Bob Jarvis
    15 hours ago






  • 3




    You need to remember that "out there" wasn't the Voyagers' mission. The "gold record" and images on the spacecraft were just lagniappe ("an extra or unexpected gift or benefit") since they'd be heading out into interstellar space after their mission was complete. I don't suppose anyone really expected they'd still be sending back data 40 years later.
    – jamesqf
    12 hours ago













up vote
11
down vote

favorite
1









up vote
11
down vote

favorite
1






1





As for now it's been more than 40 years NASA launched Voyager 1 & Voyager 2. With more advance technology wouldn't it now be a good time to continue sending more sophisticated voyagers out there? Wouldn't it be a good way to gather more data & it will increase the chances of letting them (If they exist) our presence, right?



Did NASA stop sending off probes like that anymore?










share|improve this question















As for now it's been more than 40 years NASA launched Voyager 1 & Voyager 2. With more advance technology wouldn't it now be a good time to continue sending more sophisticated voyagers out there? Wouldn't it be a good way to gather more data & it will increase the chances of letting them (If they exist) our presence, right?



Did NASA stop sending off probes like that anymore?







space-probe






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share|improve this question













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edited 26 mins ago









Pikamander2

1032




1032










asked 23 hours ago









shan

1938




1938








  • 7




    Consider moving to space exploration.
    – James K
    22 hours ago






  • 4




    I don't get what you mean by "it will increase the chances of letting them (If they exist) our presence, right?" Are you talking about Aliens? That wasn't the purpose of the Voyager missions.
    – James K
    22 hours ago






  • 3




    As I recall, the voyager crafts were sent when the planets were properly aligned for gravity assists. That probably doesn't happen very often. I also think we learn a lot more by having spacecraft orbit a planet vs fly by a planet. There's not all that much to gain by sending a probe out of the solar system, not that they should never do it, but it's not a top priority. I would also add that if contact is the goal, a tiny spacecraft isn't a likely way to do it. Sending radio-waterhole transmissions or listening for them is more likely.
    – userLTK
    20 hours ago






  • 8




    The aliens got really pissed and fined NASA 20 trillion spnrgls.
    – Bob Jarvis
    15 hours ago






  • 3




    You need to remember that "out there" wasn't the Voyagers' mission. The "gold record" and images on the spacecraft were just lagniappe ("an extra or unexpected gift or benefit") since they'd be heading out into interstellar space after their mission was complete. I don't suppose anyone really expected they'd still be sending back data 40 years later.
    – jamesqf
    12 hours ago














  • 7




    Consider moving to space exploration.
    – James K
    22 hours ago






  • 4




    I don't get what you mean by "it will increase the chances of letting them (If they exist) our presence, right?" Are you talking about Aliens? That wasn't the purpose of the Voyager missions.
    – James K
    22 hours ago






  • 3




    As I recall, the voyager crafts were sent when the planets were properly aligned for gravity assists. That probably doesn't happen very often. I also think we learn a lot more by having spacecraft orbit a planet vs fly by a planet. There's not all that much to gain by sending a probe out of the solar system, not that they should never do it, but it's not a top priority. I would also add that if contact is the goal, a tiny spacecraft isn't a likely way to do it. Sending radio-waterhole transmissions or listening for them is more likely.
    – userLTK
    20 hours ago






  • 8




    The aliens got really pissed and fined NASA 20 trillion spnrgls.
    – Bob Jarvis
    15 hours ago






  • 3




    You need to remember that "out there" wasn't the Voyagers' mission. The "gold record" and images on the spacecraft were just lagniappe ("an extra or unexpected gift or benefit") since they'd be heading out into interstellar space after their mission was complete. I don't suppose anyone really expected they'd still be sending back data 40 years later.
    – jamesqf
    12 hours ago








7




7




Consider moving to space exploration.
– James K
22 hours ago




Consider moving to space exploration.
– James K
22 hours ago




4




4




I don't get what you mean by "it will increase the chances of letting them (If they exist) our presence, right?" Are you talking about Aliens? That wasn't the purpose of the Voyager missions.
– James K
22 hours ago




I don't get what you mean by "it will increase the chances of letting them (If they exist) our presence, right?" Are you talking about Aliens? That wasn't the purpose of the Voyager missions.
– James K
22 hours ago




3




3




As I recall, the voyager crafts were sent when the planets were properly aligned for gravity assists. That probably doesn't happen very often. I also think we learn a lot more by having spacecraft orbit a planet vs fly by a planet. There's not all that much to gain by sending a probe out of the solar system, not that they should never do it, but it's not a top priority. I would also add that if contact is the goal, a tiny spacecraft isn't a likely way to do it. Sending radio-waterhole transmissions or listening for them is more likely.
– userLTK
20 hours ago




As I recall, the voyager crafts were sent when the planets were properly aligned for gravity assists. That probably doesn't happen very often. I also think we learn a lot more by having spacecraft orbit a planet vs fly by a planet. There's not all that much to gain by sending a probe out of the solar system, not that they should never do it, but it's not a top priority. I would also add that if contact is the goal, a tiny spacecraft isn't a likely way to do it. Sending radio-waterhole transmissions or listening for them is more likely.
– userLTK
20 hours ago




8




8




The aliens got really pissed and fined NASA 20 trillion spnrgls.
– Bob Jarvis
15 hours ago




The aliens got really pissed and fined NASA 20 trillion spnrgls.
– Bob Jarvis
15 hours ago




3




3




You need to remember that "out there" wasn't the Voyagers' mission. The "gold record" and images on the spacecraft were just lagniappe ("an extra or unexpected gift or benefit") since they'd be heading out into interstellar space after their mission was complete. I don't suppose anyone really expected they'd still be sending back data 40 years later.
– jamesqf
12 hours ago




You need to remember that "out there" wasn't the Voyagers' mission. The "gold record" and images on the spacecraft were just lagniappe ("an extra or unexpected gift or benefit") since they'd be heading out into interstellar space after their mission was complete. I don't suppose anyone really expected they'd still be sending back data 40 years later.
– jamesqf
12 hours ago










4 Answers
4






active

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votes

















up vote
24
down vote



accepted










It does:



Galileo: Launched in 1989, orbited Jupiter for 7 years.

Cassini-Huygens: Orbited Saturn for 13 years.

New Horizons: Fly-by of Jupiter and Pluto.

Juno: Currently in orbit around Jupiter.



NASA (and ESA) have created multiple outer planet probes. But they are costly and there is no reason to repeat what has already been done. So each mission has a different aim and purpose. Often this means not doing a fly-by, but getting the probe in orbit around the planet.



Uranus and Neptune have not been re-visited. They are very distant. Getting a probe out to them is possible. Getting something out to them in a reasonable amount of time and then getting it in orbit is much harder, and they are, perhaps, less intrinsically interesting than Jupiter and Saturn.



The voyagers did carry gold disks, but this was not a serious attempt to contact alien intelligence. It has a symbolic purpose. A record of humanity will exist somewhere in the galaxy long after we are gone.






share|improve this answer























  • The gold disks (and their carriers) won't have moved outside of our galaxy by the time humanity is expected to no longer exist?
    – horse hair
    11 hours ago






  • 3




    No, the voyagers are not travelling fast enough to escape from the galaxy's gravitational well, so will remain in the Milky Way. Eventually a stellar collision is possible, but stars are small (compared to space, which is really really big). So the voyagers will travel in the galaxy for billions of years, longer than life will continue on Earth.
    – James K
    10 hours ago






  • 2




    @horsehair Even if they could leave the galaxy, they're moving rather slow. If we ignore they don't have nearly enough velocity (as if gravity no longer affected the probe), galactic distances are rather great. If we assume the Voyager travels in the galactic plane, it would have to cross at least 12 kilo parsecs (which already considers only "X% of stars are in this volume, not interstellar matter or dark matter). That would mean about 700 million years; the known human civilisation has only really existed for ten millennia or so. 700 million years ago, there were no animals on land.
    – Luaan
    10 hours ago










  • I like much more that version of the future, that we once find the Voyagers and take it back to home, into a museum.
    – peterh
    4 hours ago


















up vote
15
down vote













Like James K's answer details, probes have been sent to the outer planets even after the Voyagers.



However, the specific trajectory used by Voyager missions has not been reused. In fact, it was the specific position of the planets that inspired the whole program, initially called the Grand Tour.



Voyager trajectory, from Wikipedia (public domain)



The relative position of the outer planets in their orbits in late 1970's allowed a space probe to visit many of them and to achieve great speeds using a sequence of gravity assist maneuvers. This position only repeats once every 175 years, so it is very likely that future space probes in 2150's will take advantage of it.






share|improve this answer

















  • 6




    There's not really much point in a “Grand Tour” trajectory any more. Sure, a mission to the outer solar system will always benefit from a gravity assist from Jupiter, but there's not much another flyby at Saturn or Uranus would gain you. For more thorough science than has already been done, you'll need orbiting probes like Galileo / Cassini / Juno. It's really serendipitous that the Grand Tour was possible in exactly the decade where it was most useful.
    – leftaroundabout
    16 hours ago








  • 2




    Surely the monumental advances in imaging in the intervening 175 years could make another flyby worthwhile.
    – nasch
    12 hours ago






  • 3




    @nasch Hopefully such missions won't be nearly as expensive as they are now, and we can do one as a sort of nostalgia mission. It can be earth's little once-every-175-year tradition.
    – corsiKa
    11 hours ago










  • @corsika, using chemical rockets, how quaint.
    – prl
    9 hours ago


















up vote
7
down vote













It's a question of science return on investment. As @JamesK's answer notes, NASA has done several orbiters since the Voyagers. You get greater ROI when your probe can stay near the body you're interested and continue to observe it for a long time. The only Voyager type probe in that list is New Horizons, in the sense that Voyager type probes only do a flyby. In the case of Uranus, and points more distant, as @JamesK noted, it's extremely hard to get there in a reasonable time, and then slow down enough to enter orbit. So for them Voyager type probes have an advantage.






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    up vote
    2
    down vote













    They never stop sending probes into space they are just in a differnt serries of craft much like an airplane why we don't use the first airplane model any more because we gotten more advance over the years same thing with probes, just got diffent names and differnt missions...






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      4 Answers
      4






      active

      oldest

      votes








      4 Answers
      4






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes








      up vote
      24
      down vote



      accepted










      It does:



      Galileo: Launched in 1989, orbited Jupiter for 7 years.

      Cassini-Huygens: Orbited Saturn for 13 years.

      New Horizons: Fly-by of Jupiter and Pluto.

      Juno: Currently in orbit around Jupiter.



      NASA (and ESA) have created multiple outer planet probes. But they are costly and there is no reason to repeat what has already been done. So each mission has a different aim and purpose. Often this means not doing a fly-by, but getting the probe in orbit around the planet.



      Uranus and Neptune have not been re-visited. They are very distant. Getting a probe out to them is possible. Getting something out to them in a reasonable amount of time and then getting it in orbit is much harder, and they are, perhaps, less intrinsically interesting than Jupiter and Saturn.



      The voyagers did carry gold disks, but this was not a serious attempt to contact alien intelligence. It has a symbolic purpose. A record of humanity will exist somewhere in the galaxy long after we are gone.






      share|improve this answer























      • The gold disks (and their carriers) won't have moved outside of our galaxy by the time humanity is expected to no longer exist?
        – horse hair
        11 hours ago






      • 3




        No, the voyagers are not travelling fast enough to escape from the galaxy's gravitational well, so will remain in the Milky Way. Eventually a stellar collision is possible, but stars are small (compared to space, which is really really big). So the voyagers will travel in the galaxy for billions of years, longer than life will continue on Earth.
        – James K
        10 hours ago






      • 2




        @horsehair Even if they could leave the galaxy, they're moving rather slow. If we ignore they don't have nearly enough velocity (as if gravity no longer affected the probe), galactic distances are rather great. If we assume the Voyager travels in the galactic plane, it would have to cross at least 12 kilo parsecs (which already considers only "X% of stars are in this volume, not interstellar matter or dark matter). That would mean about 700 million years; the known human civilisation has only really existed for ten millennia or so. 700 million years ago, there were no animals on land.
        – Luaan
        10 hours ago










      • I like much more that version of the future, that we once find the Voyagers and take it back to home, into a museum.
        – peterh
        4 hours ago















      up vote
      24
      down vote



      accepted










      It does:



      Galileo: Launched in 1989, orbited Jupiter for 7 years.

      Cassini-Huygens: Orbited Saturn for 13 years.

      New Horizons: Fly-by of Jupiter and Pluto.

      Juno: Currently in orbit around Jupiter.



      NASA (and ESA) have created multiple outer planet probes. But they are costly and there is no reason to repeat what has already been done. So each mission has a different aim and purpose. Often this means not doing a fly-by, but getting the probe in orbit around the planet.



      Uranus and Neptune have not been re-visited. They are very distant. Getting a probe out to them is possible. Getting something out to them in a reasonable amount of time and then getting it in orbit is much harder, and they are, perhaps, less intrinsically interesting than Jupiter and Saturn.



      The voyagers did carry gold disks, but this was not a serious attempt to contact alien intelligence. It has a symbolic purpose. A record of humanity will exist somewhere in the galaxy long after we are gone.






      share|improve this answer























      • The gold disks (and their carriers) won't have moved outside of our galaxy by the time humanity is expected to no longer exist?
        – horse hair
        11 hours ago






      • 3




        No, the voyagers are not travelling fast enough to escape from the galaxy's gravitational well, so will remain in the Milky Way. Eventually a stellar collision is possible, but stars are small (compared to space, which is really really big). So the voyagers will travel in the galaxy for billions of years, longer than life will continue on Earth.
        – James K
        10 hours ago






      • 2




        @horsehair Even if they could leave the galaxy, they're moving rather slow. If we ignore they don't have nearly enough velocity (as if gravity no longer affected the probe), galactic distances are rather great. If we assume the Voyager travels in the galactic plane, it would have to cross at least 12 kilo parsecs (which already considers only "X% of stars are in this volume, not interstellar matter or dark matter). That would mean about 700 million years; the known human civilisation has only really existed for ten millennia or so. 700 million years ago, there were no animals on land.
        – Luaan
        10 hours ago










      • I like much more that version of the future, that we once find the Voyagers and take it back to home, into a museum.
        – peterh
        4 hours ago













      up vote
      24
      down vote



      accepted







      up vote
      24
      down vote



      accepted






      It does:



      Galileo: Launched in 1989, orbited Jupiter for 7 years.

      Cassini-Huygens: Orbited Saturn for 13 years.

      New Horizons: Fly-by of Jupiter and Pluto.

      Juno: Currently in orbit around Jupiter.



      NASA (and ESA) have created multiple outer planet probes. But they are costly and there is no reason to repeat what has already been done. So each mission has a different aim and purpose. Often this means not doing a fly-by, but getting the probe in orbit around the planet.



      Uranus and Neptune have not been re-visited. They are very distant. Getting a probe out to them is possible. Getting something out to them in a reasonable amount of time and then getting it in orbit is much harder, and they are, perhaps, less intrinsically interesting than Jupiter and Saturn.



      The voyagers did carry gold disks, but this was not a serious attempt to contact alien intelligence. It has a symbolic purpose. A record of humanity will exist somewhere in the galaxy long after we are gone.






      share|improve this answer














      It does:



      Galileo: Launched in 1989, orbited Jupiter for 7 years.

      Cassini-Huygens: Orbited Saturn for 13 years.

      New Horizons: Fly-by of Jupiter and Pluto.

      Juno: Currently in orbit around Jupiter.



      NASA (and ESA) have created multiple outer planet probes. But they are costly and there is no reason to repeat what has already been done. So each mission has a different aim and purpose. Often this means not doing a fly-by, but getting the probe in orbit around the planet.



      Uranus and Neptune have not been re-visited. They are very distant. Getting a probe out to them is possible. Getting something out to them in a reasonable amount of time and then getting it in orbit is much harder, and they are, perhaps, less intrinsically interesting than Jupiter and Saturn.



      The voyagers did carry gold disks, but this was not a serious attempt to contact alien intelligence. It has a symbolic purpose. A record of humanity will exist somewhere in the galaxy long after we are gone.







      share|improve this answer














      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer








      edited 13 hours ago









      kubanczyk

      20816




      20816










      answered 22 hours ago









      James K

      32.6k249107




      32.6k249107












      • The gold disks (and their carriers) won't have moved outside of our galaxy by the time humanity is expected to no longer exist?
        – horse hair
        11 hours ago






      • 3




        No, the voyagers are not travelling fast enough to escape from the galaxy's gravitational well, so will remain in the Milky Way. Eventually a stellar collision is possible, but stars are small (compared to space, which is really really big). So the voyagers will travel in the galaxy for billions of years, longer than life will continue on Earth.
        – James K
        10 hours ago






      • 2




        @horsehair Even if they could leave the galaxy, they're moving rather slow. If we ignore they don't have nearly enough velocity (as if gravity no longer affected the probe), galactic distances are rather great. If we assume the Voyager travels in the galactic plane, it would have to cross at least 12 kilo parsecs (which already considers only "X% of stars are in this volume, not interstellar matter or dark matter). That would mean about 700 million years; the known human civilisation has only really existed for ten millennia or so. 700 million years ago, there were no animals on land.
        – Luaan
        10 hours ago










      • I like much more that version of the future, that we once find the Voyagers and take it back to home, into a museum.
        – peterh
        4 hours ago


















      • The gold disks (and their carriers) won't have moved outside of our galaxy by the time humanity is expected to no longer exist?
        – horse hair
        11 hours ago






      • 3




        No, the voyagers are not travelling fast enough to escape from the galaxy's gravitational well, so will remain in the Milky Way. Eventually a stellar collision is possible, but stars are small (compared to space, which is really really big). So the voyagers will travel in the galaxy for billions of years, longer than life will continue on Earth.
        – James K
        10 hours ago






      • 2




        @horsehair Even if they could leave the galaxy, they're moving rather slow. If we ignore they don't have nearly enough velocity (as if gravity no longer affected the probe), galactic distances are rather great. If we assume the Voyager travels in the galactic plane, it would have to cross at least 12 kilo parsecs (which already considers only "X% of stars are in this volume, not interstellar matter or dark matter). That would mean about 700 million years; the known human civilisation has only really existed for ten millennia or so. 700 million years ago, there were no animals on land.
        – Luaan
        10 hours ago










      • I like much more that version of the future, that we once find the Voyagers and take it back to home, into a museum.
        – peterh
        4 hours ago
















      The gold disks (and their carriers) won't have moved outside of our galaxy by the time humanity is expected to no longer exist?
      – horse hair
      11 hours ago




      The gold disks (and their carriers) won't have moved outside of our galaxy by the time humanity is expected to no longer exist?
      – horse hair
      11 hours ago




      3




      3




      No, the voyagers are not travelling fast enough to escape from the galaxy's gravitational well, so will remain in the Milky Way. Eventually a stellar collision is possible, but stars are small (compared to space, which is really really big). So the voyagers will travel in the galaxy for billions of years, longer than life will continue on Earth.
      – James K
      10 hours ago




      No, the voyagers are not travelling fast enough to escape from the galaxy's gravitational well, so will remain in the Milky Way. Eventually a stellar collision is possible, but stars are small (compared to space, which is really really big). So the voyagers will travel in the galaxy for billions of years, longer than life will continue on Earth.
      – James K
      10 hours ago




      2




      2




      @horsehair Even if they could leave the galaxy, they're moving rather slow. If we ignore they don't have nearly enough velocity (as if gravity no longer affected the probe), galactic distances are rather great. If we assume the Voyager travels in the galactic plane, it would have to cross at least 12 kilo parsecs (which already considers only "X% of stars are in this volume, not interstellar matter or dark matter). That would mean about 700 million years; the known human civilisation has only really existed for ten millennia or so. 700 million years ago, there were no animals on land.
      – Luaan
      10 hours ago




      @horsehair Even if they could leave the galaxy, they're moving rather slow. If we ignore they don't have nearly enough velocity (as if gravity no longer affected the probe), galactic distances are rather great. If we assume the Voyager travels in the galactic plane, it would have to cross at least 12 kilo parsecs (which already considers only "X% of stars are in this volume, not interstellar matter or dark matter). That would mean about 700 million years; the known human civilisation has only really existed for ten millennia or so. 700 million years ago, there were no animals on land.
      – Luaan
      10 hours ago












      I like much more that version of the future, that we once find the Voyagers and take it back to home, into a museum.
      – peterh
      4 hours ago




      I like much more that version of the future, that we once find the Voyagers and take it back to home, into a museum.
      – peterh
      4 hours ago










      up vote
      15
      down vote













      Like James K's answer details, probes have been sent to the outer planets even after the Voyagers.



      However, the specific trajectory used by Voyager missions has not been reused. In fact, it was the specific position of the planets that inspired the whole program, initially called the Grand Tour.



      Voyager trajectory, from Wikipedia (public domain)



      The relative position of the outer planets in their orbits in late 1970's allowed a space probe to visit many of them and to achieve great speeds using a sequence of gravity assist maneuvers. This position only repeats once every 175 years, so it is very likely that future space probes in 2150's will take advantage of it.






      share|improve this answer

















      • 6




        There's not really much point in a “Grand Tour” trajectory any more. Sure, a mission to the outer solar system will always benefit from a gravity assist from Jupiter, but there's not much another flyby at Saturn or Uranus would gain you. For more thorough science than has already been done, you'll need orbiting probes like Galileo / Cassini / Juno. It's really serendipitous that the Grand Tour was possible in exactly the decade where it was most useful.
        – leftaroundabout
        16 hours ago








      • 2




        Surely the monumental advances in imaging in the intervening 175 years could make another flyby worthwhile.
        – nasch
        12 hours ago






      • 3




        @nasch Hopefully such missions won't be nearly as expensive as they are now, and we can do one as a sort of nostalgia mission. It can be earth's little once-every-175-year tradition.
        – corsiKa
        11 hours ago










      • @corsika, using chemical rockets, how quaint.
        – prl
        9 hours ago















      up vote
      15
      down vote













      Like James K's answer details, probes have been sent to the outer planets even after the Voyagers.



      However, the specific trajectory used by Voyager missions has not been reused. In fact, it was the specific position of the planets that inspired the whole program, initially called the Grand Tour.



      Voyager trajectory, from Wikipedia (public domain)



      The relative position of the outer planets in their orbits in late 1970's allowed a space probe to visit many of them and to achieve great speeds using a sequence of gravity assist maneuvers. This position only repeats once every 175 years, so it is very likely that future space probes in 2150's will take advantage of it.






      share|improve this answer

















      • 6




        There's not really much point in a “Grand Tour” trajectory any more. Sure, a mission to the outer solar system will always benefit from a gravity assist from Jupiter, but there's not much another flyby at Saturn or Uranus would gain you. For more thorough science than has already been done, you'll need orbiting probes like Galileo / Cassini / Juno. It's really serendipitous that the Grand Tour was possible in exactly the decade where it was most useful.
        – leftaroundabout
        16 hours ago








      • 2




        Surely the monumental advances in imaging in the intervening 175 years could make another flyby worthwhile.
        – nasch
        12 hours ago






      • 3




        @nasch Hopefully such missions won't be nearly as expensive as they are now, and we can do one as a sort of nostalgia mission. It can be earth's little once-every-175-year tradition.
        – corsiKa
        11 hours ago










      • @corsika, using chemical rockets, how quaint.
        – prl
        9 hours ago













      up vote
      15
      down vote










      up vote
      15
      down vote









      Like James K's answer details, probes have been sent to the outer planets even after the Voyagers.



      However, the specific trajectory used by Voyager missions has not been reused. In fact, it was the specific position of the planets that inspired the whole program, initially called the Grand Tour.



      Voyager trajectory, from Wikipedia (public domain)



      The relative position of the outer planets in their orbits in late 1970's allowed a space probe to visit many of them and to achieve great speeds using a sequence of gravity assist maneuvers. This position only repeats once every 175 years, so it is very likely that future space probes in 2150's will take advantage of it.






      share|improve this answer












      Like James K's answer details, probes have been sent to the outer planets even after the Voyagers.



      However, the specific trajectory used by Voyager missions has not been reused. In fact, it was the specific position of the planets that inspired the whole program, initially called the Grand Tour.



      Voyager trajectory, from Wikipedia (public domain)



      The relative position of the outer planets in their orbits in late 1970's allowed a space probe to visit many of them and to achieve great speeds using a sequence of gravity assist maneuvers. This position only repeats once every 175 years, so it is very likely that future space probes in 2150's will take advantage of it.







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered 17 hours ago









      jpa

      38113




      38113








      • 6




        There's not really much point in a “Grand Tour” trajectory any more. Sure, a mission to the outer solar system will always benefit from a gravity assist from Jupiter, but there's not much another flyby at Saturn or Uranus would gain you. For more thorough science than has already been done, you'll need orbiting probes like Galileo / Cassini / Juno. It's really serendipitous that the Grand Tour was possible in exactly the decade where it was most useful.
        – leftaroundabout
        16 hours ago








      • 2




        Surely the monumental advances in imaging in the intervening 175 years could make another flyby worthwhile.
        – nasch
        12 hours ago






      • 3




        @nasch Hopefully such missions won't be nearly as expensive as they are now, and we can do one as a sort of nostalgia mission. It can be earth's little once-every-175-year tradition.
        – corsiKa
        11 hours ago










      • @corsika, using chemical rockets, how quaint.
        – prl
        9 hours ago














      • 6




        There's not really much point in a “Grand Tour” trajectory any more. Sure, a mission to the outer solar system will always benefit from a gravity assist from Jupiter, but there's not much another flyby at Saturn or Uranus would gain you. For more thorough science than has already been done, you'll need orbiting probes like Galileo / Cassini / Juno. It's really serendipitous that the Grand Tour was possible in exactly the decade where it was most useful.
        – leftaroundabout
        16 hours ago








      • 2




        Surely the monumental advances in imaging in the intervening 175 years could make another flyby worthwhile.
        – nasch
        12 hours ago






      • 3




        @nasch Hopefully such missions won't be nearly as expensive as they are now, and we can do one as a sort of nostalgia mission. It can be earth's little once-every-175-year tradition.
        – corsiKa
        11 hours ago










      • @corsika, using chemical rockets, how quaint.
        – prl
        9 hours ago








      6




      6




      There's not really much point in a “Grand Tour” trajectory any more. Sure, a mission to the outer solar system will always benefit from a gravity assist from Jupiter, but there's not much another flyby at Saturn or Uranus would gain you. For more thorough science than has already been done, you'll need orbiting probes like Galileo / Cassini / Juno. It's really serendipitous that the Grand Tour was possible in exactly the decade where it was most useful.
      – leftaroundabout
      16 hours ago






      There's not really much point in a “Grand Tour” trajectory any more. Sure, a mission to the outer solar system will always benefit from a gravity assist from Jupiter, but there's not much another flyby at Saturn or Uranus would gain you. For more thorough science than has already been done, you'll need orbiting probes like Galileo / Cassini / Juno. It's really serendipitous that the Grand Tour was possible in exactly the decade where it was most useful.
      – leftaroundabout
      16 hours ago






      2




      2




      Surely the monumental advances in imaging in the intervening 175 years could make another flyby worthwhile.
      – nasch
      12 hours ago




      Surely the monumental advances in imaging in the intervening 175 years could make another flyby worthwhile.
      – nasch
      12 hours ago




      3




      3




      @nasch Hopefully such missions won't be nearly as expensive as they are now, and we can do one as a sort of nostalgia mission. It can be earth's little once-every-175-year tradition.
      – corsiKa
      11 hours ago




      @nasch Hopefully such missions won't be nearly as expensive as they are now, and we can do one as a sort of nostalgia mission. It can be earth's little once-every-175-year tradition.
      – corsiKa
      11 hours ago












      @corsika, using chemical rockets, how quaint.
      – prl
      9 hours ago




      @corsika, using chemical rockets, how quaint.
      – prl
      9 hours ago










      up vote
      7
      down vote













      It's a question of science return on investment. As @JamesK's answer notes, NASA has done several orbiters since the Voyagers. You get greater ROI when your probe can stay near the body you're interested and continue to observe it for a long time. The only Voyager type probe in that list is New Horizons, in the sense that Voyager type probes only do a flyby. In the case of Uranus, and points more distant, as @JamesK noted, it's extremely hard to get there in a reasonable time, and then slow down enough to enter orbit. So for them Voyager type probes have an advantage.






      share|improve this answer

























        up vote
        7
        down vote













        It's a question of science return on investment. As @JamesK's answer notes, NASA has done several orbiters since the Voyagers. You get greater ROI when your probe can stay near the body you're interested and continue to observe it for a long time. The only Voyager type probe in that list is New Horizons, in the sense that Voyager type probes only do a flyby. In the case of Uranus, and points more distant, as @JamesK noted, it's extremely hard to get there in a reasonable time, and then slow down enough to enter orbit. So for them Voyager type probes have an advantage.






        share|improve this answer























          up vote
          7
          down vote










          up vote
          7
          down vote









          It's a question of science return on investment. As @JamesK's answer notes, NASA has done several orbiters since the Voyagers. You get greater ROI when your probe can stay near the body you're interested and continue to observe it for a long time. The only Voyager type probe in that list is New Horizons, in the sense that Voyager type probes only do a flyby. In the case of Uranus, and points more distant, as @JamesK noted, it's extremely hard to get there in a reasonable time, and then slow down enough to enter orbit. So for them Voyager type probes have an advantage.






          share|improve this answer












          It's a question of science return on investment. As @JamesK's answer notes, NASA has done several orbiters since the Voyagers. You get greater ROI when your probe can stay near the body you're interested and continue to observe it for a long time. The only Voyager type probe in that list is New Horizons, in the sense that Voyager type probes only do a flyby. In the case of Uranus, and points more distant, as @JamesK noted, it's extremely hard to get there in a reasonable time, and then slow down enough to enter orbit. So for them Voyager type probes have an advantage.







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered 17 hours ago









          Sean Lake

          2,469716




          2,469716






















              up vote
              2
              down vote













              They never stop sending probes into space they are just in a differnt serries of craft much like an airplane why we don't use the first airplane model any more because we gotten more advance over the years same thing with probes, just got diffent names and differnt missions...






              share|improve this answer








              New contributor




              Matt Andrade is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
              Check out our Code of Conduct.






















                up vote
                2
                down vote













                They never stop sending probes into space they are just in a differnt serries of craft much like an airplane why we don't use the first airplane model any more because we gotten more advance over the years same thing with probes, just got diffent names and differnt missions...






                share|improve this answer








                New contributor




                Matt Andrade is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                Check out our Code of Conduct.




















                  up vote
                  2
                  down vote










                  up vote
                  2
                  down vote









                  They never stop sending probes into space they are just in a differnt serries of craft much like an airplane why we don't use the first airplane model any more because we gotten more advance over the years same thing with probes, just got diffent names and differnt missions...






                  share|improve this answer








                  New contributor




                  Matt Andrade is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.









                  They never stop sending probes into space they are just in a differnt serries of craft much like an airplane why we don't use the first airplane model any more because we gotten more advance over the years same thing with probes, just got diffent names and differnt missions...







                  share|improve this answer








                  New contributor




                  Matt Andrade is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.









                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer






                  New contributor




                  Matt Andrade is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.









                  answered 9 hours ago









                  Matt Andrade

                  211




                  211




                  New contributor




                  Matt Andrade is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.





                  New contributor





                  Matt Andrade is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.






                  Matt Andrade is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.






























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