NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft was launched in 1977 to study our solar system’s outer planets and beyond. In 1986, the probe became the first of its kind.
Why it matters: Data science technologies available to today’s researchers play a key role in shaping our understanding of the solar system. It not only uncovers new findings from the latest data, it also allows researchers to glean new information from previously collected data. Thanks to this tech, researchers reviewing decades-old data from NASA’s Voyager 2 probe have uncovered exciting secrets locked below the surface of Uranus‘ moons.
NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft was launched in 1977 to study our solar system’s outer planets and beyond. In 1986, the probe became the first of its kind to visit Uranus, returning never before seen images and data about the ice giant during its five-and-a-half-hour fly-by on the way to Neptune. During the trip, the probe discovered and provided data about 10 new moons orbiting the planet, two new rings (in addition to nine previously known rings), and information about Uranus‘ tilted, off-axis magnetic field.
