NextPrevious

Astronomy and Space

Exploration

What did NASA mean when it said Voyager 1 and 2 would take a “grand tour” of the planets?

Once every 176 years the giant outer planets—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—align themselves in such a pattern that a spacecraft launched from Earth to Jupiter at just the right time might be able to visit the other three planets on the same mission. A technique called “gravity assist” used each planet’s gravity as a power boost to point Voyager toward the next planet. The first opportune year for the “grand tour” was 1977.



Close

This is a web preview of the "The Handy Science Answer Book" app. Many features only work on your mobile device. If you like what you see, we hope you will consider buying. Get the App