NEWS & FEATURES
NASA Voyager 1 Encounters New Region in Deep Space
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has entered a new region at the far reaches of our solar system that scientists feel is the final area the spacecraft has to cross before reaching interstellar space.
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Voyager at 35: Break on Through to the Other Side
Thirty-five years ago today, NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft, the first Voyager spacecraft to launch, departed on a journey that would make it the only spacecraft to visit Uranus and Neptune and the longest-operating NASA spacecraft ever.
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Signs Changing Fast for Voyager at Solar System Edge
Two of three key signs of changes expected to occur at the boundary of interstellar space have changed faster than at any other time in the last seven years, according to new data from NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft.
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MISSION OVERVIEW
The twin Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft continue exploring where nothing from Earth has flown before. In the 33rd year after their 1977 launches, they each are much farther away from Earth and the Sun than Pluto. Voyager 1 and 2 are now in the "Heliosheath" - the outermost layer of the heliosphere where the solar wind is slowed by the pressure of interstellar gas. Both spacecraft are still sending scientific information about their surroundings through the Deep Space Network (DSN).
The primary mission was the exploration of Jupiter and Saturn. After making a string of discoveries there -- such as active volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io and intricacies of Saturn's rings -- the mission was extended. Voyager 2 went on to explore Uranus and Neptune, and is still the only spacecraft to have visited those outer planets. The adventurers' current mission, the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM), will explore the outermost edge of the Sun's domain. And beyond. › read more
VOYAGER 1
- DISTANCE
- FROM EARTH
- DISTANCE
- FROM THE SUN
- ROUNDTRIP LIGHT
- TIME FROM THE SUN
- (hh:mm:ss)
VOYAGER 2
- DISTANCE
- FROM EARTH
- DISTANCE
- FROM THE SUN
- ROUNDTRIP LIGHT
- TIME FROM THE SUN
- (hh:mm:ss)
Question: Are the distance counters rolling backwards?
Answer: Often they are, and it's actually not an error. This is caused by the fact that Earth moves around the sun more quickly than either Voyager spacecraft is departing from Earth. So, at certain times of the year, the distance between Earth and each Voyager actually decreases.
