Editing Voyager 2 (section)

=== Encounter with Saturn ===
{{Further|Exploration of Saturn}}
The closest approach to Saturn occurred at 03:24:05 UT on August 26, 1981.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/EventQuery.jsp |title=NASA – NSSDCA – Master Catalog – Event Query |website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov |access-date=October 5, 2018 |archive-date=March 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326020912/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/EventQuery.jsp |url-status=live }}</ref> When ''Voyager 2'' passed behind Saturn, viewed from Earth, it utilized its radio link to investigate Saturn's upper atmosphere, gathering data on both temperature and pressure. In the highest regions of the atmosphere, where the pressure was measured at {{Convert|70|mbar|psi|abbr=unit}},<ref>{{cite web |title=Saturn Approach |url=https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/science/saturn/ |publisher=[[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]] |access-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230809220343/https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/science/saturn/ |archive-date=August 9, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''Voyager 2'' recorded a temperature of {{Convert|82|K|C F|abbr=unit|lk=on}}. Deeper within the atmosphere, where the pressure was recorded to be {{Convert|1200|mbar|psi|abbr=unit}}, the temperature rose to {{Convert|143|K|C F|abbr=unit}}.<ref name="jet propulsion laboratory" /> The spacecraft also observed that the north pole was approximately {{Convert|10|C-change|F-change}} cooler at {{Convert|100|mbar|psi|abbr=unit}} than mid-latitudes, a variance potentially attributable to seasonal shifts<ref name="jet propulsion laboratory" /> (''see also [[Saturn#Best viewing|Saturn Oppositions]]'').

After its Saturn fly-by, ''Voyager 2''{{'}}s scan platform experienced an anomaly causing its azimuth actuator to seize. This malfunction led to some data loss and posed challenges for the spacecraft's continued mission. The anomaly was traced back to a combination of issues, including a design flaw in the actuator shaft bearing and gear lubrication system, corrosion, and debris build-up. While overuse and depleted lubricant were factors,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Laeser |first1=Richard P. |publisher=[[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]] |title=Engineering the voyager uranus mission |journal=[[Acta Astronautica]] |year=1987 |volume=16 |pages=75–82 |doi=10.1016/0094-5765(87)90096-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_acta-astronautica_1987_16/page/80/mode/2up |access-date=September 8, 2023 |bibcode=1986inns.iafcQ....L}}</ref> other elements, such as dissimilar metal reactions and a lack of relief ports, compounded the problem. Engineers on the ground were able to issue a series of commands, rectifying the issue to a degree that allowed the scan platform to resume its function.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Jet Propulsion Laboratory |author1-link=JPL |title=Lesson 394: Voyager Scan Platform Problems |url=https://llis.nasa.gov/lesson/394 |website=NASA Public Lessons Learned System |publisher=[[NASA]] |access-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230908075606/https://llis.nasa.gov/lesson/394 |archive-date=September 8, 2023 |date=May 30, 1995 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''Voyager 2'', which would have been diverted to perform the Titan flyby if ''Voyager 1'' had been unable to, did not pass near Titan due to the malfunction, and subsequently, proceeded with its mission to explore the Uranian system.<ref>{{cite book|author=Bell, Jim|title=The Interstellar Age: Inside the Forty-Year Voyager Mission|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KXPoAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT93|date=February 24, 2015|publisher=Penguin Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-698-18615-6|page=93|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160904191620/https://books.google.com/books?id=KXPoAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT93|archive-date=September 4, 2016}}</ref>{{rp|94}}

{{Gallery| align = center
| style="width:175px;"
|File:Saturn (planet) large.jpg|alt1=''Voyager 2'' Saturn approach view | ''Voyager 2'' [[Saturn]] approach view
|File:Voyager 2 - Saturn - 3115 7854 2.png|alt2=North, polar region of Saturn imaged in orange and UV filters | North, polar region of [[Saturn]] imaged in orange and UV filters
|File:Voyager 2 - Titan - 3128 7866 2.png|alt5=Atmosphere of Titan imaged from 2.3&nbsp;million km | Atmosphere of [[Titan (moon)|Titan]] imaged from 2.3&nbsp;million&nbsp;km
|File:Voyager 2 - Titan - 3092 7807 2.png|alt6=Titan occultation of the Sun from 0.9&nbsp;million km | [[Titan (moon)|Titan]] [[occultation]] of the [[Sun]] from 0.9&nbsp;million&nbsp;km
|File:Voyager 2 - Saturn Rings - 3085 7800 2.png|alt8="Spoke" features observed in the rings of Saturn | "Spoke" features observed in the [[rings of Saturn]]
}}