Futura - Voyager 1

Voyager 1 is a space probe that was launched by NASA on September 5, 1977. Part of the Voyager program to study the outer Solar System, Voyager 1 was launched 16 days after its twin, Voyager 2. Having operated for 43 years, 8 months and 18 days as of May 24, 2021 UTC, the spacecraft still communicates with the Deep Space Network to receive routine commands and to transmit data to Earth. Real-time distance and velocity data is provided by NASA and JPL. At a distance of 152.6 AU (22.8 billion km; 14.2 billion mi) from Earth as of April 24, 2021, it is the most distant man-made object from Earth. The probe’s objectives included flybys of Jupiter, Saturn, and Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Although the spacecraft’s course could have been altered to include a Pluto encounter by forgoing the Titan flyby, exploration of the moon took priority because it was known to have a substantial atmosphere. Voyager 1 studied the weather, magnetic fields, and rings of the two planets, and was the first probe t