Voyager 1
What is Voyager 1?
Probes & telescopes· Launched 1977-09-05 – 49th year in flight (interstellar). The farthest human-made object. Launched in 1977, it left the heliosphere in 2012 and recedes 1.5 million km farther every day, carrying the Golden Record.
The orbit of Voyager 1 at this moment: https://nowsky.org/solar/orbit?fw=probe%3Avoyager1 — replayed live, no login.
Mission timeline
- Voyager 1 launch
- Voyager 1 enters interstellar space
- Voyager 1 passes one light-day from Earth(planned)
Spacecraft specs
| Launch | 1977-09-05 |
|---|---|
| Distance | ~172 AU (as of Sept 2026) — farthest human object |
| Speed | 17 km/s (60,000 km/h) |
| Signal delay | ~23.6 h — passes one light-day in Nov 2026 |
| Status | interstellar cruise — a couple of instruments still on |
Figures are representative approximations. Distances that change over time are extrapolated from 2026-07-01. Source: compiled from NASA and IAU public data.
Frequently asked
- When did Voyager 1 launch?
- 1977-09-05.
- How far is Voyager 1 from Earth?
- ~172 AU (as of Sept 2026) — farthest human object.
- How fast is Voyager 1 travelling?
- 17 km/s (60,000 km/h).
- What is the status of Voyager 1 now?
- interstellar cruise — a couple of instruments still on.
- What is the next milestone for Voyager 1?
- 18 Nov 2026 — Voyager 1 passes one light-day from Earth.
The eyes that remain — what is still switched on
Voyager 1's camera was switched off for good after the Pale Blue Dot in 1990. What remains alive has nothing to do with pictures: a magnetometer, a plasma-wave instrument that listens to oscillations in the plasma, a cosmic-ray detector, and a low-energy charged-particle detector. These four are humanity's only on-site instruments measuring the density, magnetic field and radiation of interstellar space.
With power falling about 4 W a year, the team began switching off instrument heaters in 2019. That the cosmic-ray detector kept working below −60 °C, outside its design range, was unexpected luck. In 2025 one more cosmic-ray subsystem was turned off to concentrate the remaining power on the core instruments. If all goes to plan one instrument can stay on until around 2030, after which Voyager flies on through interstellar space in silence.
The mission in depth
Voyager 1 is the farthest human-made object. Launched in 1977, it swung past Jupiter (1979) and Saturn (1980), then crossed into interstellar space in 2012. It still recedes at 17 km/s (60,000 km/h); its signals take more than 23½ hours to reach us — and in November 2026 it becomes the first human object more than a light-day away.
In 1990, at Carl Sagan's urging, it turned its camera back for one last picture: Earth from six billion kilometers — the Pale Blue Dot, the single pixel that became our most famous portrait of home.
Its radioisotope power is fading — NASA aims to keep at least one instrument running into the 2030s, with radio contact possible until roughly 2036 — but the spacecraft itself, Golden Record aboard, will drift the galaxy — passing within 1.6 light-years of another star in 40,000 years. Replay its 49-year trajectory in the orbit view.
Even confirming Voyager 1 had left the heliosphere was a drama: with its plasma sensor broken, scientists had to wait for a 2012 solar blast to 'ring' the surrounding plasma like a bell, then work backward to the interstellar density. Power drops ~4 watts a year, so the team has switched off most of the ten instruments to stretch the mission, keeping a couple (magnetometer, plasma-wave) alive; there is no single expiration date — but the voyage continues regardless, passing near another star in 40,000 years.
Related
Figures are representative approximations. Simulated positions use J2000 mean elements.