Interstellar probe

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/interstellar-probe

1. What is the power generation?
2. What is the related scientific concepts?
3. How does a probe reach interstellar space?
4. Why did Voyager 1 become the first artificial object to enter interstellar space?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the power generation?Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) providing long-term electrical power
2. What is the related scientific concepts?Heliopause, solar wind, cosmic rays, interstellar medium, galactic cosmic rays
3. How does a probe reach interstellar space?The probe must reach escape velocity from the Sun and cross the heliopause, the boundary where the Sun’s wind stops pushing back the interstellar medium. It can use gravity assists from planets, like Voyager did with Saturn, to gain the needed speed.
4. Why did Voyager 1 become the first artificial object to enter interstellar space?Voyager 1 used a gravity assist from Saturn to get a higher speed and left the solar system faster than its sister ship. In August 2012 it crossed the heliopause and entered interstellar space.

Heliopause: The boundary where the Sun's solar wind pressure is balanced by the pressure of the interstellar medium.
Interstellar Medium (ISM): The diffuse matter and radiation filling the space between stellar systems within a galaxy.
Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG): A power-generating device that uses the heat from radioactive decay to produce electricity.