![voyager i photos NASA Logo](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/themes/nasa/assets/images/nasa-logo@2x.png)
![](http://entertainmentzone.fun/777/templates/cheerup/res/banner1.gif)
Suggested Searches
- Climate Change
- Expedition 64
- Mars perseverance
- SpaceX Crew-2
- International Space Station
- View All Topics A-Z
Humans in Space
Earth & climate, the solar system, the universe, aeronautics, learning resources, news & events.
![voyager i photos Sols 4214–4215: The Best-Laid Plans…](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/4212mh0007060011502019c00-dxxx-e1718325911969.jpg)
Sols 4214–4215: The Best-Laid Plans…
![voyager i photos Hubble Observes a Cosmic Fossil](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/hubble-ngc2005-potw2424a.jpg)
Hubble Observes a Cosmic Fossil
![voyager i photos Voyager 1 Returning Science Data From All Four Instruments](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/voyager-7-copy-ac.jpg)
Voyager 1 Returning Science Data From All Four Instruments
- Search All NASA Missions
- A to Z List of Missions
- Upcoming Launches and Landings
- Spaceships and Rockets
- Communicating with Missions
- James Webb Space Telescope
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Why Go to Space
- Commercial Space
- Destinations
- Living in Space
- Explore Earth Science
- Earth, Our Planet
- Earth Science in Action
- Earth Multimedia
- Earth Science Researchers
- Pluto & Dwarf Planets
- Asteroids, Comets & Meteors
- The Kuiper Belt
- The Oort Cloud
- Skywatching
- The Search for Life in the Universe
- Black Holes
- The Big Bang
- Dark Energy & Dark Matter
- Earth Science
- Planetary Science
- Astrophysics & Space Science
- The Sun & Heliophysics
- Biological & Physical Sciences
- Lunar Science
- Citizen Science
- Astromaterials
- Aeronautics Research
- Human Space Travel Research
- Science in the Air
- NASA Aircraft
- Flight Innovation
- Supersonic Flight
- Air Traffic Solutions
- Green Aviation Tech
- Drones & You
- Technology Transfer & Spinoffs
- Space Travel Technology
- Technology Living in Space
- Manufacturing and Materials
- Science Instruments
- For Kids and Students
- For Educators
- For Colleges and Universities
- For Professionals
- Science for Everyone
- Requests for Exhibits, Artifacts, or Speakers
- STEM Engagement at NASA
- NASA's Impacts
- Centers and Facilities
- Directorates
- Organizations
- People of NASA
- Internships
- Our History
- Doing Business with NASA
- Get Involved
- Aeronáutica
- Ciencias Terrestres
- Sistema Solar
- All NASA News
- Video Series on NASA+
- Newsletters
- Social Media
- Media Resources
- Upcoming Launches & Landings
- Virtual Events
- Sounds and Ringtones
- Interactives
- STEM Multimedia
![voyager i photos](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/hall-shoreline-of-gsl-2019.jpg?w=1024)
NASA Satellites Find Snow Didn’t Offset Southwest US Groundwater Loss
![voyager i photos Investigating the Origins of the Crab Nebula With NASA’s Webb](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/webb-stsci-01j04ajb8zf5kwsnd3jnj0x9hb-3k.png)
Investigating the Origins of the Crab Nebula With NASA’s Webb
![voyager i photos A large propeller plane takes off from a runway, surrounded by brown and green grasses with low buildings out of focus in the background. The plane is white with a blue stripe down the middle, and has a NASA logo on the tail. The sky is a hazy blue with some clouds.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/8p1a5473.jpeg?w=1024)
NASA-Led Mission to Map Air Pollution Over Both U.S. Coasts
![voyager i photos A woman with long, wavy hair and a bright smile sits at a round table during a formal event, surrounded by other attendees. She is wearing a brown cardigan and a patterned blouse.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/lakita-issrdc-2022.jpg?w=500)
Lakita Lowe: Leading Space Commercialization Innovations and Fostering STEM Engagement
![voyager i photos NASA’s Repository Supports Research of Commercial Astronaut Health](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/51472315354-c49f4aa62a-k.jpg)
NASA’s Repository Supports Research of Commercial Astronaut Health
![voyager i photos NASA astronaut Doug “Wheels” Wheelock and Axiom Space astronaut Peggy Whitson prepare for a test of full-scale mockups of spacesuits developed by Axiom Space and SpaceX’s Starship human landing system developed for NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/hls-crew-elevator-demo-20240503-dsc00109.jpg?w=1024)
NASA Astronauts Practice Next Giant Leap for Artemis
![voyager i photos NASA Announces New System to Aid Disaster Response](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/prturkiyeeq-020624a.jpg)
NASA Announces New System to Aid Disaster Response
![voyager i photos Tropical Solstice Shadows](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/solstice-comparison-horz-notext.webp)
Tropical Solstice Shadows
![voyager i photos](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ce6-after-notext.png?w=1024)
NASA’s LRO Spots China’s Chang’e 6 Spacecraft on Lunar Far Side
![voyager i photos The Next Full Moon is the Strawberry Moon](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/21150556633-8578763f47-o.jpg)
The Next Full Moon is the Strawberry Moon
![voyager i photos WL20 group of stars is located in the Rho Ophiuchi star-forming region](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1-spitzer-rho-oph-wl20-labeled.jpg?w=1024)
NASA’s Webb Reveals Long-Studied Star Is Actually Twins
![voyager i photos Aaron Burton](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/aaronburtonsmall.jpg)
Aaron Burton
![voyager i photos A silver-colored airplane research model sits in a wind tunnel facility. The model consists of a section of a scaled-down fuselage on the floor, with a single wing mounted vertically on it. The metallic wall of the wind tunnel is visible in the background.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/20230608-144923-nasa-ldg-full-model-ls.png?w=1024)
Globetrotting NASA Research Model Increases Accuracy
![voyager i photos Illustration showing several future aircraft concepts flying over a mid-sized city with a handful of skyscrapers.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/explore-flight-HI-RES-no-meatball.jpg?w=1024)
ARMD Solicitations
![voyager i photos Team “Rumble Ready” from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, comprised of (from left to right) Professor Mark Gonda, Nicole Xie, Junaid Bodla, Jordan Ragsac, Krishi Gajjar, Gerald McAllister III, and Leara Dominguez, took home first place at the 2024 Gateways to Blue Skies Forum held May 30-31 at NASA Ames Research Center. They are standing in a row posing for the photo; the team members are wearing blue t-shirts, black pants, and tennis shoes.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/img-1864.jpg?w=1024)
Winners Announced in Gateways to Blue Skies Aeronautics Competition
![voyager i photos Two boxes with university and NASA stickers stacked inside spaceplane mounted under circular window](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/virggal-ucb-purdue-payloads-sp16-t0241-t0293-20240607.jpg?w=1024)
Flight Test Sheds New Light on In-Space 3D Printing, Propellant Slosh
![voyager i photos Simulated Roman image full of synthetic galaxies](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/roman-simulation-banner.jpg?w=1024)
NASA’s Roman Mission Gets Cosmic ‘Sneak Peek’ From Supercomputers
![voyager i photos Ed Stone, former director of JPL and project scientist for the Voyager mission, died on June 9, 2024. A friend, mentor, and colleague to many, he was known for his straightforward leadership and commitment to communicating with the public.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1-ed-stone-portrait-voyager-model.webp?w=1024)
Ed Stone, Former Director of JPL, Voyager Project Scientist, Dies
![voyager i photos Helping student’s Summer Slide With NASA STEM. Three young students, a girl and two boys, having fun while they blow into straws to launch their soda-straw rockets.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/52154664239-c204ff1706-k.jpg?w=1024)
Slow Your Student’s ‘Summer Slide’ and Beat Boredom With NASA STEM
![voyager i photos Students watch a sounding rocket launch at sunrise.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/wff-2023-068-004.jpg?w=1024)
NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility to Launch Student Experiments
![voyager i photos NASA astronaut and Expedition 64 Flight Engineer Victor Glover reviews procedures on a computer for the Monoclonal Antibodies Protein Crystal Growth (PCG) experiment inside the Harmony module.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/50719482511-1049728744-o.jpg?w=1024)
NASA Joins National Space Council in Celebration of Black Space Week
![voyager i photos NASA Astronaut Official Portrait Frank Rubio](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/jsc2017e114795_0.jpg?w=819)
Astronauta de la NASA Frank Rubio
![voyager i photos 2021 Astronaut Candidates Stand in Recognition](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/51732141513-ebd913d411-k.jpg?w=1024)
Diez maneras en que los estudiantes pueden prepararse para ser astronautas
![voyager i photos Astronaut Marcos Berrios](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/astronaut_candidate_marcos_berrios.jpg?w=819)
Astronauta de la NASA Marcos Berríos
Voyager 1 takes the first image of the earth-moon system in a single frame.
![voyager i photos The headshot image of NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/cropped-nasa-logo-wallpaper-300x300.jpeg)
Voyager 1 snapped this picture from a distance of 7.25 million miles. It was the first to include both the Earth and the Moon in a single frame taken by a spacecraft.
- Become A Member
- Gift Membership
- Kids Membership
- Other Ways to Give
- Explore Worlds
- Defend Earth
How We Work
- Education & Public Outreach
- Space Policy & Advocacy
- Science & Technology
- Global Collaboration
Our Results
Learn how our members and community are changing the worlds.
Our citizen-funded spacecraft successfully demonstrated solar sailing for CubeSats.
Space Topics
- Planets & Other Worlds
- Space Missions
- Space Policy
- Planetary Radio
- Space Images
The Planetary Report
The exoplanet issue.
The expanding frontier of discovery.
Get Involved
Membership programs for explorers of all ages.
Get updates and weekly tools to learn, share, and advocate for space exploration.
Volunteer as a space advocate.
Support Our Mission
- Renew Membership
- Society Projects
The Planetary Fund
Accelerate progress in our three core enterprises — Explore Worlds, Find Life, and Defend Earth. You can support the entire fund, or designate a core enterprise of your choice.
- Strategic Framework
- News & Press
The Planetary Society
Know the cosmos and our place within it.
Our Mission
Empowering the world's citizens to advance space science and exploration.
- Explore Space
- Take Action
- Member Community
- Account Center
- “Exploration is in our nature.” - Carl Sagan
Rae Paoletta • Mar 03, 2022
The best space pictures from the Voyager 1 and 2 missions
Launched in 1977, NASA’s Voyager 1 and 2 missions provided an unprecedented glimpse into the outer solar system — a liminal space once left largely to the imagination. The spacecraft provided views of worlds we’d never seen before, and in some cases, haven’t seen much of since.
The Voyager probes were launched about two weeks apart and had different trajectories, like two tour guides at the same museum. Only Voyager 2 visited the ice giants — Uranus and Neptune — for example.
The Voyagers hold a unique position in the pantheon of space history because they’re still making it; even right now, Voyagers 1 and 2 are the only functioning spacecraft in interstellar space. Both hold a Golden Record that contains sights and sounds of Earth in case alien life were to find one of the spacecraft.
As the Voyager missions voyage on, it’s good to look back at how they captured our solar system before leaving it.
This content is hosted by a third party (youtube.com), which uses marketing cookies. Please accept marketing cookies to watch this video.
Your support powers our mission to explore worlds, find life, and defend Earth. Give today!
For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your web browser .
Voyager 1: Facts about Earth's farthest spacecraft
Voyager 1 continues to explore the cosmos along with its twin probe, Voyager 2.
![voyager i photos Artist's illustration of Voyager 1 probe looking back at the solar system from a great distance.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2rzDuuKcnCjrLPrZnPE4qE-320-80.jpg)
The Grand Tour
Voyager 1 jupiter flyby, voyager 1 visits saturn and its moons, voyager 1 enters interstellar space, voyager 1's interstellar adventures, additional resources.
Voyager 1 is the first spacecraft to travel beyond the solar system and reach interstellar space .
The probe launched on Sept. 5, 1977 — about two weeks after its twin Voyager 2 — and as of August 2022 is approximately 14.6 billion miles (23.5 billion kilometers) away from our planet, making it Earth 's farthest spacecraft. Voyager 1 is currently zipping through space at around 38,000 mph (17 kilometers per second), according to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory .
When Voyager 1 launched a mission to explore the outer planets in our solar system nobody knew how important the probe would still be 45 years later The probe has remained operational long past expectations and continues to send information about its journeys back to Earth.
Related: Celebrate 45 years of Voyager with these amazing images of our solar system (gallery)
Elizabeth Howell, Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before that, since 2012. Elizabeth's on-site reporting includes two human spaceflight launches from Kazakhstan, three space shuttle missions in Florida, and embedded reporting from a simulated Mars mission in Utah.
Size: Voyager 1's body is about the size of a subcompact car. The boom for its magnetometer instrument extends 42.7 feet (13 meters). Weight (at launch): 1,797 pounds (815 kilograms). Launch date: Sept. 5, 1977
Jupiter flyby date: March 5, 1979
Saturn flyby date: Nov. 12, 1980.
Entered interstellar space: Aug. 25, 2012.
The spacecraft entered interstellar space in August 2012, almost 35 years after its voyage began. The discovery wasn't made official until 2013, however, when scientists had time to review the data sent back from Voyager 1.
Voyager 1 was the second of the twin spacecraft to launch, but it was the first to race by Jupiter and Saturn . The images Voyager 1 sent back have been used in schoolbooks and by many media outlets for a generation. The spacecraft also carries a special record — The Golden Record — that's designed to carry voices and music from Earth out into the cosmos.
According to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) , Voyager 1 has enough fuel to keep its instruments running until at least 2025. By then, the spacecraft will be approximately 13.8 billion miles (22.1 billion kilometers) away from the sun.
The Voyager missions took advantage of a special alignment of the outer planets that happens just once every 176 years. This alignment allows spacecraft to gravitationally "slingshot" from one planet to the next, making the most efficient use of their limited fuel.
NASA originally planned to send two spacecraft past Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto and two other probes past Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune . Budgetary reasons forced the agency to scale back its plans, but NASA still got a lot out of the two Voyagers it launched.
Voyager 2 flew past Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune , while Voyager 1 focused on Jupiter and Saturn.
Recognizing that the Voyagers would eventually fly to interstellar space, NASA authorized the production of two Golden Records to be placed on board the spacecraft. Sounds ranging from whale calls to the music of Chuck Berry were placed on board, as well as spoken greetings in 55 languages.
The 12-inch-wide (30 centimeters), gold-plated copper disks also included pictorials showing how to operate them and the position of the sun among nearby pulsars (a type of fast-spinning stellar corpse known as a neutron star ), in case extraterrestrials someday stumbled onto the spacecraft and wondered where they came from.
Both spacecraft are powered by three radioisotope thermoelectric generators , devices that convert the heat released by the radioactive decay of plutonium to electricity. Both probes were outfitted with 10 scientific instruments, including a two-camera imaging system, multiple spectrometers, a magnetometer and gear that detects low-energy charged particles and high-energy cosmic rays . Mission team members have also used the Voyagers' communications system to help them study planets and moons, bringing the total number of scientific investigations on each craft to 11.
Voyager 1 almost didn't get off the ground at its launch , as its rocket came within 3.5 seconds of running out of fuel on Sept. 5, 1977.
But the probe made it safely to space and raced past its twin after launch, getting beyond the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter before Voyager 2 did. Voyager 1's first pictures of Jupiter beamed back to Earth in April 1978, when the probe was 165 million miles (266 million kilometers) from home.
According to NASA , each voyager probe has about 3 million times less memory than a mobile phone and transmits data approximately 38,000 times slower than a 5g internet connection.
To NASA's surprise, in March 1979 Voyager 1 spotted a thin ring circling the giant planet. It found two new moons as well — Thebe and Metis. Additionally, Voyager 1 sent back detailed pictures of Jupiter's big Galilean moons ( Io , Europa , Ganymede and Callisto ) as well as Amalthea .
Like the Pioneer spacecraft before it , Voyager's look at Jupiter's moons revealed them to be active worlds of their own. And Voyager 1 made some intriguing discoveries about these natural satellites. For example, Io's many volcanoes and mottled yellow-brown-orange surface showed that, like planets, moons can have active interiors.
Additionally, Voyager 1 sent back photos of Europa showing a relatively smooth surface broken up by lines, hinting at ice and maybe even an ocean underneath. (Subsequent observations and analyses have revealed that Europa likely harbors a huge subsurface ocean of liquid water, which may even be able to support Earth-like life .)
Voyager 1's closest approach to Jupiter was on March 5, 1979, when it came within 174,000 miles (280,000 km) of the turbulent cloud tops. Then it was time for the probe to aim for Saturn.
Scientists only had to wait about a year, until 1980, to get close-up pictures of Saturn. Like Jupiter, the ringed planet turned out to be full of surprises.
One of Voyager 1's targets was the F ring, a thin structure discovered only the year previously by NASA's Pioneer 11 probe. Voyager's higher-resolution camera spotted two new moons, Prometheus and Pandora, whose orbits keep the icy material in the F ring in a defined orbit. It also discovered Atlas and a new ring, the G ring, and took images of several other Saturn moons.
One puzzle for astronomers was Titan , the second-largest moon in the solar system (after Jupiter's Ganymede). Close-up pictures of Titan showed nothing but orange haze, leading to years of speculation about what it was like underneath. It wouldn't be until the mid-2000s that humanity would find out, thanks to photos snapped from beneath the haze by the European Space Agency's Huygens atmospheric probe .
The Saturn encounter marked the end of Voyager 1's primary mission. The focus then shifted to tracking the 1,590-pound (720 kg) craft as it sped toward interstellar space.
Two decades before it notched that milestone, however, Voyager 1 took one of the most iconic photos in spaceflight history. On Feb. 14, 1990, the probe turned back toward Earth and snapped an image of its home planet from 3.7 billion miles (6 billion km) away. The photo shows Earth as a tiny dot suspended in a ray of sunlight.
Voyager 1 took dozens of other photos that day, capturing five other planets and the sun in a multi-image "solar system family portrait." But the Pale Blue Dot picture stands out, reminding us that Earth is a small outpost of life in an incomprehensibly vast universe.
Voyager 1 left the heliosphere — the giant bubble of charged particles that the sun blows around itself — in August 2012, popping free into interstellar space. The discovery was made public in a study published in the journal Science the following year.
The results came to light after a powerful solar eruption was recorded by Voyager 1's plasma wave instrument between April 9 and May 22, 2013. The eruption caused electrons near Voyager 1 to vibrate. From the oscillations, researchers discovered that Voyager 1's surroundings had a higher density than what is found just inside the heliosphere.
It seems contradictory that electron density is higher in interstellar space than it is in the sun's neighborhood. But researchers explained that, at the edge of the heliosphere, the electron density is dramatically low compared with locations near Earth.
Researchers then backtracked through Voyager 1's data and nailed down the official departure date to Aug. 25, 2012. The date was fixed not only by the electron oscillations but also by the spacecraft's measurements of charged solar particles.
On that fateful day — which was the same day that Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong died — the probe saw a 1,000-fold drop in these particles and a 9% increase in galactic cosmic rays that come from outside the solar system . At that point, Voyager 1 was 11.25 billion miles (18.11 billion km) from the sun, or about 121 astronomical units (AU).
One AU is the average Earth-sun distance — about 93 million miles (150 million km).
You can keep tabs on the Voyager 1's current distance and mission status on this NASA website .
Since flying into interstellar space, Voyager 1 has sent back a variety of valuable information about conditions in this zone of the universe . Its discoveries include showing that cosmic radiation out there is very intense, and demonstrating how charged particles from the sun interact with those emitted by other stars , mission project scientist Ed Stone, of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, told Space.com in September 2017 .
The spacecraft's capabilities continue to astound engineers. In December 2017, for example, NASA announced that Voyager 1 successfully used its backup thrusters to orient itself to "talk" with Earth . The trajectory correction maneuver (TCM) thrusters hadn't been used since November 1980, during Voyager 1's flyby of Saturn. Since then, the spacecraft had primarily used its standard attitude-control thrusters to swing the spacecraft in the right orientation to communicate with Earth.
As the performance of the attitude-control thrusters began to deteriorate, however, NASA decided to test the TCM thrusters — an idea that could extend Voyager 1's operational life. That test ultimately succeeded.
"With these thrusters that are still functional after 37 years without use, we will be able to extend the life of the Voyager 1 spacecraft by two to three years," Voyager project manager Suzanne Dodd, of NASA's Jet Propulsion, Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, said in a statement in December 2017 .
Mission team members have taken other measures to extend Voyager 1's life as well. For example, they turned off the spacecraft's cameras shortly after the Pale Blue Dot photo was taken to help conserve Voyager 1's limited power supply. (The cameras wouldn't pick up much in the darkness of deep space anyway.) Over the years, the mission team has turned off five other scientific instruments as well, leaving Voyager 1 with four that are still functioning — the Cosmic Ray Subsystem, the Low-Energy Charged Particles instrument, the Magnetometer and the Plasma Wave Subsystem. (Similar measures have been taken with Voyager 2, which currently has five operational instruments .)
The Voyager spacecraft each celebrated 45 years in space in 2022, a monumental milestone for the twin probes.
"Over the last 45 years, the Voyager missions have been integral in providing this knowledge and have helped change our understanding of the sun and its influence in ways no other spacecraft can," says Nicola Fox, director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, in a NASA statement .
"Today, as both Voyagers explore interstellar space, they are providing humanity with observations of uncharted territory," said Linda Spilker, Voyager's deputy project scientist at JPL in the same NASA statement.
"This is the first time we've been able to directly study how a star, our Sun, interacts with the particles and magnetic fields outside our heliosphere, helping scientists understand the local neighborhood between the stars, upending some of the theories about this region, and providing key information for future missions." Spilker continues.
Voyager 1's next big encounter will take place in 40,000 years when the probe comes within 1.7 light-years of the star AC +79 3888. (The star is roughly 17.5 light-years from Earth.) However, Voyager 1's falling power supply means it will probably stop collecting scientific data around 2025.
You can learn much more about both Voyagers' design, scientific instruments and mission goals at JPL's Voyager site . NASA has lots of in-depth information about the Pale Blue Dot photo, including Carl Sagan's large role in making it happen, here . And if you're interested in the Golden Record, check out this detailed New Yorker piece by Timothy Ferris, who produced the historic artifact. Explore the history of Voyager with this interactive timeline courtesy of NASA.
Bibliography
- Bell, Jim. " The Interstellar Age: Inside the Forty-Year Voyager Mission ," Dutton, 2015.
- Landau, Elizabeth. "The Voyagers in popular culture," Dec. 1, 2017. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/the-voyagers-in-popular-culture
- PBS, "Voyager: A history in photos." https://www.pbs.org/the-farthest/mission/voyager-history-photos/
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].
Get the Space.com Newsletter
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!
Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, " Why Am I Taller ?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace
- Daisy Dobrijevic Reference Editor
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket suffers rare last-second abort during Starlink satellite launch (video)
Former SpaceX employees sue company, Elon Musk for retaliation, sexual harassment
Who is Dr. Kovich in 'Star Trek: Discovery'? The mystery explained
Most Popular
- 2 10 top tips for planning your 2027 solar eclipse trip
- 3 Where is the center of the universe?
- 4 Could nearby stars have habitable exoplanets? NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory hopes to find out
- 5 This Week In Space podcast: Episode 115 — Our Friendly Mr. Sun
Things are finally looking up for the Voyager 1 interstellar spacecraft
Two of the four science instruments aboard the Voyager 1 spacecraft are now returning usable data after months of transmitting only gibberish, NASA scientists have announced.
![voyager i photos Voyager 1](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/NSEdPEbDCFxgytGKxnTW8D-320-80.jpg)
I was once sitting with my father while Googling how far away various things in the solar system are from Earth. He was looking for exact numbers, and very obviously grew more invested with each new figure I shouted out. I was thrilled. The moon? On average, 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers) away. The James Webb Space Telescope ? Bump that up to about a million miles (1,609,344 km) away. The sun? 93 million miles (149,668,992 km) away. Neptune ? 2.8 billion miles (4.5 billion km) away. "Well, wait until you hear about Voyager 1," I eventually said, assuming he was aware of what was coming. He was not.
"NASA's Voyager 1 interstellar spacecraft actually isn't even in the solar system anymore," I announced. "Nope, it's more than 15 billion miles (24 billion km) away from us — and it's getting even farther as we speak." I can't quite remember his response, but I do indeed recall an expression of sheer disbelief. There were immediate inquiries about how that's even physically possible. There were bewildered laughs, different ways of saying "wow," and mostly, there was a contagious sense of awe. And just like that, a new Voyager 1 fan was born.
It is easy to see why Voyager 1 is among the most beloved robotic space explorers we have — and it is thus easy to understand why so many people felt a pang to their hearts several months ago, when Voyager 1 stopped talking to us.
Related: After months of sending gibberish to NASA, Voyager 1 is finally making sense again
For reasons unknown at the time, this spacecraft began sending back gibberish in place of the neatly organized and data-rich 0's and 1's it had been providing since its launch in 1977 . It was this classic computer language which allowed Voyager 1 to converse with its creators while earning the title of "farthest human made object." It's how the spacecraft relayed vital insight that led to the discovery of new Jovian moons and, thanks to this sort of binary podcast, scientists incredibly identified a new ring of Saturn and created the solar system's first and only "family portrait." This code, in essence, is crucial to Voyager 1's very being.
Plus, to make matters worse, the issue behind the glitch turned out to be associated with the craft's Flight Data System, which is literally the system that transmits information about Voyager 1's health so scientists can correct any issues that arise. Issues like this one. Furthermore, because of the spacecraft's immense distance from its operators on Earth, it takes about 22.5 hours for a transmission to reach the spacecraft, and then 22.5 hours to receive a transmission back. Alas, things weren't looking good for a while — for about five months, to be precise.
But then, on April 20, Voyager 1 finally phoned home with legible 0's and legible 1's.
Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
![voyager i photos Earth as a](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vuM6nnqAWCHydSmoBSR2UN-320-80.jpg)
"The team had gathered early on a weekend morning to see whether telemetry would return," Bob Rasmussen, a member of the Voyager flight team, told Space.com. "It was nice to have everyone assembled in one place like this to share in the moment of learning that our efforts had been successful. Our cheer was both for the intrepid spacecraft and for the comradery that enabled its recovery."
And then, on May 22 , Voyager scientists released the welcome announcement that the spacecraft has successfully resumed returning science data from two of its four instruments, the plasma wave subsystem and magnetometer instrument. They're now working on getting the other two, the cosmic ray subsystem and low energy charged particle instrument, back online as well. Though there technically are six other instruments onboard Voyager, those had been out of commission for some time.
The comeback
Rasmussen was actually a member of the Voyager team in the 1970s, having worked on the project as a computer engineer before leaving for other missions including Cassini , which launched the spacecraft that taught us almost everything we currently know about Saturn. In 2022, however, he returned to Voyager because of a separate dilemma with the mission — and has remained on the team ever since.
"There are many of the original people who were there when Voyager launched, or even before, who were part of both the flight team and the science team," Linda Spilker, a planetary scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory , who also worked on the Voyager mission, told Space.com in the This Week from Space podcast on the TWiT network. "It's a real tribute to Voyager — the longevity not only of the spacecraft, but of the people on the team."
To get Voyager 1 back online, in rather cinematic fashion, the team devised a complex workaround that prompted the FDS to send a copy of its memory back to Earth. Within that memory readout, operators managed to discover the crux of the problem — a corrupted code spanning a single chip — which was then remedied through another (honestly, super interesting ) process to modify the code. On the day Voyager 1 finally spoke again, "you could have heard a pin drop in the room," Spilker said. "It was very silent. Everybody's looking at the screen, waiting and watching."
![voyager i photos The rocket that launched Voyager 1 in 1977.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jfkdP3K2Nvkos6sVqc9xPX-320-80.jpg)
Of course, Spilker also brought in some peanuts for the team to munch on — but not just any peanuts. Lucky peanuts.
It's a longstanding tradition at JPL to have a peanut feast before major mission events like launches, milestones and, well, the possible resurrection of Voyager 1. It began in the 1960s, when the agency was trying to launch the Ranger 7 mission that was meant to take pictures of and collect data about the moon's surface. Rangers 1 through 6 had all failed, so Ranger 7 was a big deal. As such, the mission's trajectory engineer, Dick Wallace, brought lots of peanuts for the team to nibble on and relax. Sure enough, Ranger 7 was a success and, as Wallace once said, "the rest is history."
Voyager 1 needed some of those positive snacky vibes.
"It'd been five months since we'd had any information," Spilker explained. So, in this room of silence besides peanut-eating-noises, Voyager 1 operators sat at their respective system screens, waiting.
"All of a sudden it started to populate — the data," Spilker said. That's when the programmers who had been staring at those screens in anticipation leapt out of their seats and began to cheer: "They were the happiest people in the room, I think, and there was just a sense of joy that we had Voyager 1 back."
![voyager i photos flight team of voyager 1](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/axQzfqinYqiyRHe99Vzzqg-320-80.png)
Eventually, Rasmussen says the team was able to conclude that the failure probably occurred due to a combination of aging and radiation damage by which energetic particles in space bombarded the craft. This is also why he believes it wouldn't be terribly surprising to see a similar failure occur in the future, seeing as Voyager 1 is still roaming beyond the distant boundaries of our stellar neighborhood just like its spacecraft twin, Voyager 2 .
To be sure, the spacecraft isn't fully fixed yet — but it's lovely to know things are finally looking up, especially with the recent news that some of its science instruments are back on track. And, at the very least, Rasmussen assures that nothing the team has learned so far has been alarming. "We're confident that we understand the problem well," he said, "and we remain optimistic about getting everything back to normal — but we also expect this won't be the last."
![voyager i photos The trajectory of the Voyagers.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/thF6sxmBiqscoCT3SYk9N5-320-80.jpg)
In fact, as Rasmussen explains, Voyager 1 operators first became optimistic about the situation just after the root cause of the glitch had been determined with certainty. He also emphasizes that the team's spirits were never down. "We knew from indirect evidence that we had a spacecraft that was mostly healthy," he said. "Saying goodbye was not on our minds."
"Rather," he continued, "we wanted to push toward a solution as quickly as possible so other matters on board that had been neglected for months could be addressed. We're now calmly moving toward that goal."
The future of Voyager's voyage
It can't be ignored that, over the last few months, there has been an air of anxiety and fear across the public sphere that Voyager 1 was slowly moving toward sending us its final 0 and final 1. Headlines all over the internet, one written by myself included , have carried clear, negative weight. I think it's because even if Voyager 2 could technically carry the interstellar torch post-Voyager 1, the prospect of losing Voyager 1 felt like the prospect of losing a piece of history.
"We've crossed this boundary called the heliopause," Spilker explained of the Voyagers. "Voyager 1 crossed this boundary in 2012; Voyager 2 crossed it in 2018 — and, since that time, were the first spacecraft ever to make direct measurements of the interstellar medium." That medium basically refers to material that fills the space between stars. In this case, that's the space between other stars and our sun, which, though we don't always think of it as one, is simply another star in the universe. A drop in the cosmic ocean.
"JPL started building the two Voyager spacecraft in 1972," Spilker explained. "For context, that was only three years after we had the first human walk on the moon — and the reason we started that early is that we had this rare alignment of the planets that happens once every 176 years ." It was this alignment that could promise the spacecraft checkpoints across the solar system, including at Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Those checkpoints were important for the Voyagers in particular. Alongside planetary visits come gravity assists, and gravity assists can help fling stuff within the solar system — and, now we know, beyond.
As the first humanmade object to leave the solar system, as a relic of America's early space program, and as a testament to how robust even decades-old technology can be, Voyager 1 has carved out the kind of legacy usually reserved for remarkable things lost to time.
![voyager i photos The](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GPeK4YKojCEEgnykkMByDC-320-80.jpg)
"Our scientists are eager to see what they’ve been missing," Rasmussen remarked. "Everyone on the team is self-motivated by their commitment to this unique and important project. That's where the real pressure comes from."
Still, in terms of energy, the team's approach has been clinical and determined.
— NASA's Voyager 1 sends readable message to Earth after 4 nail-biting months of gibberish
— NASA engineers discover why Voyager 1 is sending a stream of gibberish from outside our solar system
— NASA's Voyager 1 probe hasn't 'spoken' in 3 months and needs a 'miracle' to save it
"No one was ever especially excited or depressed," he said. "We're confident that we can get back to business as usual soon, but we also know that we're dealing with an aging spacecraft that is bound to have trouble again in the future. That's just a fact of life on this mission, so not worth getting worked up about."
Nonetheless, I imagine it's always a delight for Voyager 1's engineers to remember this robotic explorer occupies curious minds around the globe. (Including my dad's mind now, thanks to me and Google.)
As Rasmussen puts it: "It's wonderful to know how much the world appreciates this mission."
Originally posted on Space.com .
Monisha Ravisetti is Space.com's Astronomy Editor. She covers black holes, star explosions, gravitational waves, exoplanet discoveries and other enigmas hidden across the fabric of space and time. Previously, she was a science writer at CNET, and before that, reported for The Academic Times. Prior to becoming a writer, she was an immunology researcher at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. She graduated from New York University in 2018 with a B.A. in philosophy, physics and chemistry. She spends too much time playing online chess. Her favorite planet is Earth.
Vera C. Rubin Observatory: The groundbreaking mission to make a 10-year, time-lapse movie of the universe
2 new helium leaks discovered on Boeing's Starliner — forcing NASA astronauts to skip sleep to fix them
Does gum really take 7 years to digest?
![](http://entertainmentzone.fun/777/templates/cheerup/res/banner1.gif)
Most Popular
- 2 Mysterious 4,000-year-old 'palace' with maze-like walls found on Greek island of Crete
- 3 James Webb telescope discovers most distant supernova ever seen
- 4 Leatherback turtle dives deeper than a Navy sub, smashing world record in the process
- 5 Hot Tub of Despair: The deadly ocean pool that traps and pickles creatures that fall in
- 2 32 times artificial intelligence got it catastrophically wrong
- 3 The 1st 'major lunar standstill' in more than 18 years is about to occur. Here's how to see it.
- 4 Have days on Earth always been 24 hours?
- 5 Scientists inserted a window in a man's skull to read his brain with ultrasound
share this!
June 15, 2024
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:
fact-checked
reputable news agency
NASA's Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, is doing science again after problem
by Adithi Ramakrishnan
![Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Voyager 1](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2020/voyager1.jpg)
NASA's Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, is sending science data again.
Voyager 1's four instruments are back in business after a computer problem in November, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said this week. The team first received meaningful information again from Voyager 1 in April, and recently commanded it to start studying its environment again.
Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 is drifting through interstellar space, or the space between star systems. Before reaching this region, the spacecraft discovered a thin ring around Jupiter and several of Saturn's moons. Its instruments are designed to collect information about plasma waves, magnetic fields and particles.
Voyager 1 is over 15 billion miles (24.14 billion kilometers) from Earth. Its twin Voyager 2—also in interstellar space —is more than 12 billion miles (19.31 billion kilometers) away.
© 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Explore further
Feedback to editors
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2024/maternal-care.jpg)
Extended maternal care is a central factor to animal and human longevity, modeling study suggests
6 hours ago
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2024/ai-shows-how-field-cro.jpg)
AI shows how field crops develop: Software can simulate future growth based on a single initial image
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2024/threefold-improvement.jpg)
Researchers improve solid oxide fuel cell threefold
7 hours ago
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2024/a-smarter-way-to-strea.jpg)
To streamline drug discovery, team develops algorithmic framework to identify optimal molecular candidates
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2024/direct-evidence-found.jpg)
Direct evidence found for dairy consumption in the Pyrenees in the earliest stages of the Neolithic
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2024/satellites-find-that-s.jpg)
Satellites find that snow didn't offset southwestern US groundwater loss
8 hours ago
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2024/origins-of-cumulative-2.jpg)
Origins of cumulative culture in human evolution—researchers identify contributions to today's culture and technology
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2024/black-holes-created-in.jpg)
Astronomers find black holes created in mergers carry information about their ancestors
9 hours ago
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2024/einsteins-other-theory.jpg)
Einstein's other theory of gravity could have the recipe to relieve 'Hubble trouble'
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2024/improving-fingerprint.jpg)
Improving fingerprint detection with carbon-coated nanoparticles
10 hours ago
Relevant PhysicsForums posts
Very bright geo satellite in my night sky, question about the silicon-burning process beyond iron.
Jun 16, 2024
How 'Messy' are Fusion Reaction Chains in Stars?
Jun 13, 2024
Some photos of the Moon
A question regarding heliocentric latitude.
Jun 12, 2024
Very last pulse from a neutron star
More from Astronomy and Astrophysics
Related Stories
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2024/voyager-1-returning-sc.jpg)
Voyager 1 returning science data from all four instruments
Jun 14, 2024
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2024/nasa-hears-from-voyage.jpg)
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
Apr 27, 2024
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2020/voyager1.jpg)
NASA listens for Voyager 2 spacecraft after wrong command cuts contact
Jul 31, 2023
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2024/nasas-voyager-1-resume.jpg)
NASA's Voyager 1 resumes sending engineering updates to Earth
Apr 22, 2024
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2023/nasa-hears-signal-from.jpg)
NASA hears signal from Voyager 2 spacecraft after mistakenly cutting contact
Aug 1, 2023
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2023/nasas-voyager-will-do.jpg)
NASA's Voyager will do more science with new power strategy
Apr 27, 2023
Recommended for you
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2024/researchers-uncover-ni.jpg)
Researchers uncover nitrogen's origin and early evolution on Earth
12 hours ago
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2024/study-of-meteorite-nor.jpg)
Study of meteorite 'Northwest Africa 14250' reveals composition of the early solar system
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2024/establishing-the-age-a.jpg)
Establishing the age and origin of Jupiter's Great Red Spot
13 hours ago
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2024/astronomers-discover-a-1.jpg)
Astronomers discover an Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting a nearby ultracool dwarf star
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2024/quebec-lake-meteorite.jpg)
Quebec lake meteorite impact yields rare rocks and evidence of extreme heat
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2024/nasas-perseverance-for-2.jpg)
NASA's Perseverance fords an ancient river to reach science target
Let us know if there is a problem with our content.
Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page. For general inquiries, please use our contact form . For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please adhere to guidelines ).
Please select the most appropriate category to facilitate processing of your request
Thank you for taking time to provide your feedback to the editors.
Your feedback is important to us. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages.
E-mail the story
Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email. Neither your address nor the recipient's address will be used for any other purpose. The information you enter will appear in your e-mail message and is not retained by Phys.org in any form.
Newsletter sign up
Get weekly and/or daily updates delivered to your inbox. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details to third parties.
More information Privacy policy
Donate and enjoy an ad-free experience
We keep our content available to everyone. Consider supporting Science X's mission by getting a premium account.
E-mail newsletter
NASA’s Voyager 1 Resumes Sending Engineering Updates to Earth
![voyager i photos Voyager](https://d2pn8kiwq2w21t.cloudfront.net/images/1-Voyager_2-copy.width-1024.jpg)
NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is depicted in this artist’s concept traveling through interstellar space, or the space between stars, which it entered in 2012.
After some inventive sleuthing, the mission team can — for the first time in five months — check the health and status of the most distant human-made object in existence.
For the first time since November , NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is returning usable data about the health and status of its onboard engineering systems. The next step is to enable the spacecraft to begin returning science data again. The probe and its twin, Voyager 2, are the only spacecraft to ever fly in interstellar space (the space between stars).
Voyager 1 stopped sending readable science and engineering data back to Earth on Nov. 14, 2023, even though mission controllers could tell the spacecraft was still receiving their commands and otherwise operating normally. In March, the Voyager engineering team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California confirmed that the issue was tied to one of the spacecraft’s three onboard computers, called the flight data subsystem (FDS). The FDS is responsible for packaging the science and engineering data before it’s sent to Earth.
![voyager i photos After receiving data about the health and status of Voyager 1 for the first time in five months, members of the Voyager flight team celebrate in a conference room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on April 20.](https://d2pn8kiwq2w21t.cloudfront.net/images/e1-PIA26275-voyager-copy-16.width-1024.jpg)
After receiving data about the health and status of Voyager 1 for the first time in five months, members of the Voyager flight team celebrate in a conference room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on April 20.
The team discovered that a single chip responsible for storing a portion of the FDS memory — including some of the FDS computer’s software code — isn’t working. The loss of that code rendered the science and engineering data unusable. Unable to repair the chip, the team decided to place the affected code elsewhere in the FDS memory. But no single location is large enough to hold the section of code in its entirety.
So they devised a plan to divide the affected code into sections and store those sections in different places in the FDS. To make this plan work, they also needed to adjust those code sections to ensure, for example, that they all still function as a whole. Any references to the location of that code in other parts of the FDS memory needed to be updated as well.
The team started by singling out the code responsible for packaging the spacecraft’s engineering data. They sent it to its new location in the FDS memory on April 18. A radio signal takes about 22 ½ hours to reach Voyager 1, which is over 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) from Earth, and another 22 ½ hours for a signal to come back to Earth. When the mission flight team heard back from the spacecraft on April 20, they saw that the modification worked: For the first time in five months, they have been able to check the health and status of the spacecraft.
Get the Latest News from the Final Frontier
During the coming weeks, the team will relocate and adjust the other affected portions of the FDS software. These include the portions that will start returning science data.
Voyager 2 continues to operate normally. Launched over 46 years ago , the twin Voyager spacecraft are the longest-running and most distant spacecraft in history. Before the start of their interstellar exploration, both probes flew by Saturn and Jupiter, and Voyager 2 flew by Uranus and Neptune.
Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages JPL for NASA.
News Media Contact
Calla Cofield
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
626-808-2469
![voyager i photos NASA Logo](https://science.nasa.gov/_nuxt/nasa-logo_2x.C0A3w2m0.png)
Images of Voyager
An in-depth look at the assembly and testing of the Voyager spacecraft.
Popular Tags
- Earth Observatory Image of the Day
- Hubble Space Telescope
- James Webb Space Telescope
- 2023 Technology Showcase for Planetary Science
- James Webb Space Telescope – Engineering images
- James Webb Space Telescope - Science images
- Earth Observer
![voyager i photos A side view of the entire Voyager spacecraft against a black backround.](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/spacecraft-profile.jpg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
Where is Voyager 1 now? Repairs bring space probe back online as journey nears 50 years
After many months of extremely long-distance repairs, NASA’s Voyager 1 space probe is fully operational once again.
“The spacecraft has resumed gathering information about interstellar space,” the agency announced last Thursday, and has resumed its normal operations.
The spacecraft , now travelling through interstellar space more than 15 billion miles from Earth, began sending back corrupted science and engineering data last November.
Over the ensuing months, engineers worked to troubleshoot the problem, a tedious and complicated process given the vast distance between Earth and Voyager 1. Each message took 22.5 hours to transmit, meaning each communication between engineers and the spacecraft was a nearly two day long process.
By April, NASA engineers had traced to root of the problem to a single chip in Voyager 1’s Flight Data System, allowing them to begin rearranging lines of computer code so that the spacecraft could continue transmitting data. Last month, NASA announced that it had restored functionality to two of the spacecraft’s science instruments, followed by the announcement last week that Voyager 1 had been fully restored to normal operations.
Voyager 1: Still traveling 1 million miles per day
Launched in 1977 along with its sister craft Voyager 2, the twin craft are robotic space probes that are now the longest operating spacecraft in history. Their initial mission was to study the outer planets of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, but they have continued their long journey in the ensuing decades, travelling farther and wider than any other man-made object in history.
In 1990, Voyager 1 transmitted the famous “ Pale Blue Dot ” photograph of Earth, taken when the spacecraft was 3.7 billion miles from the Sun.
By 2012, Voyager 1 became the first spacecraft to enter interstellar space, where they have continued transmit data on plasma waves, magnetic fields and particles in the heliosphere – the outermost region of space directly influenced by the Sun.
As part of their one-way mission, both Voyager spacecraft also carry copies of the “ Golden Records ,” gold plated copper discs containing sounds and images from Earth that were curated by the astronomer Carl Sagan.
Currently travelling roughly one million miles per day, Voyager 1 will continue it journey until at least early next year, when NASA estimates that diminishing power levels may “ prevent further operation .”
![voyager i photos NASA, California Institute of Technology, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory Page Header Title](https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/assets/images/logo_nasa_trio_black@2x.png)
- The Contents
- The Making of
- Where Are They Now
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Q & A with Ed Stone
golden record
Where are they now.
- frequently asked questions
- Q&A with Ed Stone
galleries / images voyager took
Images voyager took of jupiter.
Photography of Jupiter began in January 1979, when images of the brightly banded planet already exceeded the best taken from Earth. Voyager 1 completed its Jupiter encounter in early April, after taking almost 19,000 pictures and many other scientific measurements. Voyager 2 picked up the baton in late April and its encounter continued into August. They took more than 33,000 pictures of Jupiter and its five major satellites.
For a summary of the more important science results from the Voyager encounters with Jupiter, click here .
Jupiter and two moons.
Portion of jupiter and moons., jupiter’s ring., jupiter’s moon io with active volcanoes., jupiter’s moon callisto., jupiter’s great red spot., closeup of jupiter’s great red spot..
- Gadgets & Tech Home
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://o.aolcdn.com/pslca/fotosrch/2/752cd95c73f248e8962d499d9edb3297.jpg)
NASA's Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, is doing science again after problem
DALLAS (AP) — NASA's Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, is sending science data again.
Voyager 1's four instruments are back in business after a computer problem in November, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said this week. The team first received meaningful information again from Voyager 1 in April, and recently commanded it to start studying its environment again.
Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 is drifting through interstellar space, or the space between star systems. Before reaching this region, the spacecraft discovered a thin ring around Jupiter and several of Saturn’s moons. Its instruments are designed to collect information about plasma waves, magnetic fields and particles.
Voyager 1 is over 15 billion miles (24.14 billion kilometers) from Earth. Its twin Voyager 2 — also in interstellar space — is more than 12 billion miles (19.31 billion kilometers) away.
This story was first published on June 14, 2024. It was updated on June 17, 2024 to correct the metric distance Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft are from Earth.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
06/17/2024 15:31 -0400
© Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
News, Photo and Web Search
More from the news wires.
- Vermont Legislature overrides governor, passing overdose prevention, renewable energy, tax measures
- Tobacco-like warning label for social media sought by US surgeon general who asks Congress to act
- AI experimentation is high risk, high reward for low-profile political campaigns
- Keeping children safe on social media: What parents should know to protect their kids
- 2 political outliers claim seats in European Parliament by leveraging social media's viral power
- What to stream this week: 'Kung Fu Panda 4' chops, PBS hits the disco and Kevin Hart chats
- How Elon Musk's $44.9B Tesla pay package compares with the most generous plans for other U.S. CEOs
- Lynn Conway, microchip pioneer who overcame transgender discrimination, dies at 86
- A week of disorder in Cleveland, as City Hall remains closed after ransomware attack
- More Top News Headlines
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://o.aolcdn.com/pslca/fotosrch/2/2157519527_GTY.jpg)
In Other News
- U.S: Over 75 million people in the US are under heat alerts. Go indoors and hydrate
- World: Netanyahu dissolves influential war Cabinet after key partner bolted from government
- Politics: Biden will announce deportation protection and work permits for spouses of US citizens
- Sports: Celtics win 18th NBA championship with 106-88 Game 5 victory over Dallas Mavericks
- Showbiz: That cool Tony Awards moment when Jay-Z joined Alicia Keys? Turns out it wasn't live
- Money: Tobacco-like warning label for social media sought by US surgeon general who asks Congress to act
- Tech: Tobacco-like warning label for social media sought by US surgeon general who asks Congress to act
- Science: Bird flu is highly lethal to some animals, but not to others. Scientists want to know why
- Health: If you can't stay indoors during this US heat wave, here are a few ideas
Copyright © 2024 Yahoo Inc. All rights reserved.
- About Our Ads
- Terms and Privacy Policy
- Privacy Dashboard
- Entertainment
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://o.aolcdn.com/pslca/fotosrch/2/752cd95c73f248e8962d499d9edb3297.jpg)
- NASA's Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, is doing science again after problem
DALLAS (AP) — NASA's Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, is sending science data again.
Voyager 1's four instruments are back in business after a computer problem in November, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said this week. The team first received meaningful information again from Voyager 1 in April, and recently commanded it to start studying its environment again.
Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 is drifting through interstellar space, or the space between star systems. Before reaching this region, the spacecraft discovered a thin ring around Jupiter and several of Saturn’s moons. Its instruments are designed to collect information about plasma waves, magnetic fields and particles.
Voyager 1 is over 15 billion miles (24.14 billion kilometers) from Earth. Its twin Voyager 2 — also in interstellar space — is more than 12 billion miles (19.31 billion kilometers) away.
This story was first published on June 14, 2024. It was updated on June 17, 2024 to correct the metric distance Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft are from Earth.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
06/17/2024 15:31 -0400
© Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
News, Photo and Web Search
More from the news wires.
- A year after the Titan's tragic dive, deep-sea explorers vow to pursue ocean's mysteries
- Bird flu is highly lethal to some animals, but not to others. Scientists want to know why
- Make mine medium-rare: Men really do eat more meat than women, study says
- How do cicadas make their signature sound, so eerie and amazingly loud?
- Wreck of the last ship of famed Anglo-Irish explorer Shackleton found off the coast of Canada
- What could make a baby bison white?
- Washington's Makah Tribe could once again harpoon whales as US waives conservation law
- No charges in killing of gray wolf in southern Michigan. Experts stumped about how it got there.
- Large whale group spotted off New England includes orca eating a tuna, dozens of endangered species
- More Science Headlines
![voyager i photos voyager i photos](https://o.aolcdn.com/pslca/fotosrch/2/3e5545cced8643f18c06942b9652dd35.jpg)
News Sections
In other news.
- U.S: Over 75 million people in the US are under heat alerts. Go indoors and hydrate
- World: Netanyahu dissolves influential war Cabinet after key partner bolted from government
- Politics: Biden will announce deportation protection and work permits for spouses of US citizens
- Sports: Celtics win 18th NBA championship with 106-88 Game 5 victory over Dallas Mavericks
- Showbiz: That cool Tony Awards moment when Jay-Z joined Alicia Keys? Turns out it wasn't live
- Money: Tobacco-like warning label for social media sought by US surgeon general who asks Congress to act
- Tech: Tobacco-like warning label for social media sought by US surgeon general who asks Congress to act
- Science: Bird flu is highly lethal to some animals, but not to others. Scientists want to know why
- Health: If you can't stay indoors during this US heat wave, here are a few ideas
Copyright © 2024 Yahoo Inc. All rights reserved.
- About Our Ads
- Terms and Privacy Policy
- Privacy Dashboard
![](http://entertainmentzone.fun/777/templates/cheerup/res/banner1.gif)
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Voyager 2 radioed thousands of images and voluminous amounts of other scientific data on the planet, its moons, rings, atmosphere, interior and the magnetic environment surrounding Uranus. Neptune In the summer of 1989, NASA's Voyager 2 became the first spacecraft to observe the planet Neptune, its final planetary target. Passing about 4,950 ...
Images Voyager Took. The Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft explored Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune before starting their journey toward interstellar space. Here you'll find some of those iconic images, including "The Pale Blue Dot" - famously described by Carl Sagan - and what are still the only up-close images of Uranus and Neptune.
Early Voyager 1 Images of Jupiter Full Resolution: TIFF (491.5 kB) JPEG (21.78 kB) 1996-09-26: Jupiter: Voyager: Imaging Science Subsystem: 400x400x3: PIA00029: First Close-up Image of Jupiter from Voyager ...
45 Years of Voyager I and II Launched in 1977, NASA's twin Voyager spacecraft inspired the world with pioneering visits to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. ... This photo of Jupiter was taken by NASA's Voyager 1 on the evening of March 1, 1979, from a distance of 2.7 million miles (4.3 million kilometers). The photo shows Jupiter's Great ...
1720x1720x3. PIA18182: Uranus as seen by NASA's Voyager 2. Full Resolution: TIFF (8.879 MB) JPEG (78.82 kB) 1989-10-02. Triton. Voyager. 932x1884x1. PIA14448:
Voyager 1 is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, ... The record, made under the direction of a team including Carl Sagan and Timothy Ferris, includes photos of the Earth and its lifeforms, a range of scientific information, spoken greetings from people such as the Secretary-General of the United Nations ...
Images Voyager Took. The Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft explored Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune before starting their journey toward interstellar space. Here you'll find some of those iconic images, including "The Pale Blue Dot" - famously described by Carl Sagan - and what are still the only up-close images of Uranus and Neptune. Jupiter.
Voyager 1 is the first human-made object to venture into interstellar space. In Depth: Voyager 1 ... encountered several of Jupiter's moons, including Amalthea, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, returning spectacular photos of their terrain, opening up completely new worlds for planetary scientists. The most interesting find was on Io ...
Images of Voyager Get an in-depth look at the science instruments aboard the Voyager spacecraft, plus diagrams illustrating the spacecraft's trajectory, orbit and mechanics. Here you'll also find a number of artist's concepts explaining the anatomy of our solar system and the Voyagers' journey to reach interstellar space.
Voyager 1 Perspective for Family Portrait Full Resolution: TIFF (2.496 MB) JPEG (336.9 kB) 2021-05-11: Voyager: 1241x427x3: PIA24572: Weak and Strong Plasma Oscillation Signals Full Resolution: TIFF (960.8 kB) JPEG (80.75 kB) 2021-11-30: Europa: Galileo Voyager: 1100x600x3: PIA24895: Three Views of Europa Full Resolution: ...
The Pale Blue Dot - Revisited. The Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of Earth taken Feb. 14, 1990, by NASA's Voyager 1 at a distance of 3.7 billion miles (6 billion kilometers) from the Sun. The image inspired the title of scientist Carl Sagan's book, "Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space," in which he wrote: "Look again at that ...
Sep 18, 1977. Image Article. Voyager 1 snapped this picture from a distance of 7.25 million miles. Voyager 1 snapped this picture from a distance of 7.25 million miles. It was the first to include both the Earth and the Moon in a single frame taken by a spacecraft. Voyager 1 snapped this picture from a distance of 7.25 million miles.
Callisto. Europa. Ganymede. Io. Saturn. Uranus. Neptune. Solar System. NSSDCA Photo Gallery: Voyager Index - An index of pages in the NSSDCA Photo Gallery which contain images produced by the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
On March 5, 1979, NASA's Voyager 1 flew by Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, in a historic encounter with the largest planet in our solar system. See the amazing photos here.
Voyager 1 took photos of Jupiter and two of its satellites (Io, left, and Europa). Prev Page 11 of 15 Next Prev Page 11 of 15 Next . Enhanced color view of Saturn's ring system captured by Voyager ...
Image: NASA / JPL / Ted Stryk. Saturn as seen by Voyager 1 The last picture from Voyager 1's approach to Saturn in which the entire planet and ring system can be seen in a single frame. Image: NASA/JPL/Björn Jónsson. Voyager 2's best view of Enceladus This was the Voyager mission's best view of Enceladus, captured by Voyager 2 on August 26 ...
Voyager 1, rather than Voyager 2, received the solar system photo assignment largely because of Voyager 1's improved viewpoint of the planets. Voyager 1 completed flybys of Jupiter and Saturn in 1979 and 1980, respectively. Voyager 2 flew past Jupiter in 1979, Saturn in 1981, Uranus in 1986 and Neptune last August.
Here is the 1st-ever photo of the Earth and moon in a single frame. Voyager 1 took the photo on September 18, 1977, when it was 7.25 million miles (11.66 million km) from Earth.
Voyager 1 took this photo of Jupiter and two of its satellites (Io, left, and Europa) on Feb. 13, 1979. Io is about 220,000 miles above Jupiter's Great Red Spot; Europa is about 375,000 miles ...
Voyager 1 is the first spacecraft to travel beyond the solar system and reach interstellar space . The probe launched on Sept. 5, 1977 — about two weeks after its twin Voyager 2 — and as of ...
"NASA's Voyager 1 interstellar spacecraft actually isn't even in the solar system anymore," I announced. "Nope, it's more than 15 billion miles (24 billion km) away from us — and it's getting ...
Voyager 1 is over 15 billion miles (24.14 billion kilometers) from Earth. ... Some photos of the Moon. Jun 13, 2024. A question regarding Heliocentric Latitude. Jun 12, 2024.
4.5. Very Good. Overall. Tiana Templeman. Contributor. The 3,258-passenger Voyager of the Seas is ideally suited to families with superb children's facilities catering to youngsters aged 6 months ...
The probe and its twin, Voyager 2, are the only spacecraft to ever fly in interstellar space (the space between stars). Voyager 1 stopped sending readable science and engineering data back to Earth on Nov. 14, 2023, even though mission controllers could tell the spacecraft was still receiving their commands and otherwise operating normally.
James Webb Space Telescope - Science images. Voyager. Earth Observatory Image of the Day. James Webb Space Telescope. James Webb Space Telescope - Engineering images. avatars. Earth Observer. Get an in-depth look at the science instruments aboard the Voyager spacecraft, plus diagrams illustrating the spacecraft's trajectory, orbit and mechanics.
Repairs bring space probe back online as journey nears 50 years. After many months of extremely long-distance repairs, NASA's Voyager 1 space probe is fully operational once again. "The ...
Voyager 1 completed its Jupiter encounter in early April, after taking almost 19,000 pictures and many other scientific measurements. Voyager 2 picked up the baton in late April and its encounter continued into August. They took more than 33,000 pictures of Jupiter and its five major satellites. For a summary of the more important science ...
Voyager 1 is over 15 billion miles (24.14 billion kilometers) from Earth. Its twin Voyager 2 — also in interstellar space — is more than 12 billion miles (19.31 billion kilometers) miles away.
Voyager 1 is over 15 billion miles (24.14 billion kilometers) from Earth. Its twin Voyager 2 — also in interstellar space — is more than 12 billion miles (19.31 billion kilometers) away. ... News, Photo and Web Search. Stories Photos Web. More from the News Wires. Tobacco-like warning label for social media sought by US surgeon general who ...
Voyager 1 is over 15 billion miles (24.14 billion kilometers) from Earth. Its twin Voyager 2 — also in interstellar space — is more than 12 billion miles (19.31 billion kilometers) away. ... News, Photo and Web Search. Stories Photos Web. More from the News Wires. A year after the Titan's tragic dive, deep-sea explorers vow to pursue ocean ...