'Voyager 1" Mission Background: Scientific Instruments

These are the scientific instruments used by “Voyager 1:”


Imaging Science System (ISS) (disabled) which utilized a two-camera system (narrow-angle/wide-angle) to provide imagery of Jupiter, Saturn and other objects along the trajectory.


Radio Science System (RSS) (disabled) which utilized the telecommunications system of the Voyager spacecraft to determine the physical properties of planets and satellites (ionospheres, atmospheres, masses, gravity fields, densities) and the amount and size distribution of material in Saturn’s rings and the ring dimensions.


Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer (IRIS) (disabled) which investigates both global and local energy balance and atmospheric composition. Vertical temperature profiles are also obtained from the planets and satellites as well as the composition, thermal properties, and size of particles in Saturn’s rings, the most extensive planetary ring system of any planet in the Solar System. Interferometry refers to a family of techniques in which waves, usually electromagnetic, are superimposed in order to extract information about the waves, while a spectrometer (spectrophotometer, spectrograph or spectroscope) is an instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically used in spectroscopic analysis to identify materials.  
Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) (active) was designed to measure atmospheric properties, and to measure radiation.


Triaxial Fluxgate Magnetometer (MAG) (active) was designed to: investigate the magnetic fields, a mathematical description of the magnetic influence of electric currents and magnetic materials, primarily in the near field, of Jupiter and Saturn; the interaction of the solar wind, a stream of charged particles ejected from the upper atmosphere of the Sun, with the magnetospheres (formed when a stream of charged particles, such as the solar wind, interacts with and is deflected by the magnetic field of a planet or a similar body), of these planets; and the magnetic field of interplanetary space, the space around the Sun and planets of the Solar System, the region dominated by the interplanetary medium, extending out to the heliopause where the influence of the galactic environment starts to dominate over the magnetic field and particle flux from the Sun, out to the boundary between the solar wind, a stream of charged particles ejected from the upper atmosphere of the Sun, and the magnetic field of interstellar space (the physical space within a  galaxy not occupied by stars or their planetary systems), if crossed. A magnetometer is a measuring instrument used to measure the strength or direction of magnetic fields.


Plasma Spectrometer (PLS) (defective) instigates the macroscopic properties of the plasma ions and measures electrons ion the energy range from 5 ev to 1 keV.


Low Energy Charged Particle Instrument (LECP) (active) measures the differential in energy fluxes and angular distributions of ions, electrons and the differential in energy ion composition.  


Cosmic Ray System (CRS) (active) determines the origin and acceleration process, life history, and dynamic contribution of interstellar cosmic rays, the nucleosynthesis of elements in cosmic-ray sources, the behavior of cosmic rays in the interplanetary medium, and the trapped planetary energetic-particle environment; cosmic rays are energetic charged subatomic particles, originating in outer space.


Planetary Radio Astronomy Investigation (PRA) (disabled) utilizes a sweep-frequency radio receiver to study the radio-emission signals from Jupiter and Saturn; radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies.


Photopolarimeter System (PPS) (defective) has utilized a telescope with a polarizer, an optical filter that passes light of a specific polarization and blocks waves of other polarizations, to gather information on surface texture and composition of Jupiter and Saturn and information on atmospheric scattering properties and destiny for both planets; a polarimeter is a scientific instrument used to measure the angle of rotation caused by passing polarized light through an optically active substance.


Plasma Wave System (PWS) (active) provides continuous, sheath-independent measurements of the electron-density profiles at Jupiter and Saturn as well as basic information on local wave-particle interaction, useful in studying the magnetospheres; in physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized.


See: VSAT