Voyager 1
- Earth · 1977
- Jupiter · 1979
- Saturn & Titan · 1980
- Interstellar space · 2012
LUME MISSION OBSERVATORY · 03
Voyager
1 + 2
NASA’s Voyager 1 and 2 launched in 1977 to explore the giant planets. They now study interstellar space, beyond the bubble of particles flowing from the Sun. Follow what they saw and how their journeys continue.
Original LUME Gravity composition · Mission data: NASA Science and JPLMISSION STATUSInterstellar mission · ongoingPrimary sources linked below
Voyager 2 launch20 Aug 1977
Voyager 1 launch05 Sep 1977
V1 interstellar2012
V2 interstellar2018
ONE DESIGN · TWO TRAJECTORIES
Together at departure. Separate beyond Saturn.
Voyager 1 took the faster path past Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 2 continued through the only close reconnaissance ever made of Uranus and Neptune. Their routes now leave the Sun in different directions.
Voyager 2
- Earth · 1977
- Jupiter · 1979
- Saturn · 1981
- Uranus · 1986
- Neptune · 1989
- Interstellar space · 2018
Chronology and divergence shown schematically; distances are not to scale.
1979—1990 · THROUGH THEIR CAMERAS
The worlds they brought us close to.
The photographs below were made by the Voyager spacecraft. Follow the journey in the order the worlds came into view; each image opens its NASA record.
Voyager 1 · NASA/JPL · colour composite01 / 1979 · VOYAGER 1 + 2
Jupiter
A storm larger than Earth, seen in motion and detail.Voyager 1's colour-filter images revealed the intricate clouds around the Great Red Spot. The encounters also exposed active volcanoes on Io and a faint ring around Jupiter.
Voyager 1 · NASA/JPL/USGS · colour composite02 / 1980—81 · VOYAGER 1 + 2
Saturn
The rings became a world of their own.The two flybys exposed fine ring structure and a family of icy moons. Voyager 1 turned toward Titan's dense orange haze; Voyager 2 kept the route to Uranus and Neptune open.
Voyager 2 · NASA/JPL-Caltech03 / 1986 · VOYAGER 2
Uranus
An unfamiliar planet turned on its side.The only close encounter with Uranus revealed a pale atmosphere, dark rings and moons. Its almost featureless disc in visible light was itself a startling change after Jupiter and Saturn.
Voyager 2 · NASA/JPL04 / 1989 · VOYAGER 2
Neptune
Blue, storm-torn, at the edge of the tour.Voyager 2's final planetary encounter revealed dark storms, fast winds and Triton, where it observed active plumes.
Pale Blue Dot · Voyager 1 · NASA/JPL-Caltech14 FEB 1990 · VOYAGER 1
Then they looked back.
Beyond Neptune, Voyager 1 made a final family portrait of the solar system. Earth is a faint point in a scattered ray of sunlight. The cameras were switched off after this sequence; the journey continued without pictures.
Explore the original imageTHE INTERSTELLAR MISSION
The image ended. The measurement continues.
The cameras no longer observe planets. Surviving instruments measure particles, fields and plasma beyond the heliopause. As their radioisotope generators lose power, engineers progressively switch off systems to preserve the remaining science.
ENGINEERING ACROSS DECADES
Keeping Voyager operating.
Voyager’s longevity is also the record of mission teams who inherited an ageing spacecraft, studied decisions made decades earlier and found careful solutions under extraordinary constraints.
Contact restored
After the antenna shifted two degrees away from Earth, the Deep Space Network sent an interstellar ‘shout’. Full communication returned after a 37-hour round trip.
NASA mission recordCode rebuilt around failed memory
Engineers divided affected flight-software code and relocated it across the remaining memory. Readable engineering and science data returned.
NASA mission recordDormant thrusters revived
A team re-examined a failure accepted in 2004 and restored roll thrusters once considered unusable, creating a vital backup.
NASA mission recordPower preserved
A coordinated ‘Big Bang’ reconfiguration avoided another instrument shutdown in 2026 and should keep Voyager 2’s three remaining science instruments operating for at least an extra year.
NASA mission recordThese are selected, documented examples—not a complete account of the people or work sustaining Voyager.
THE GOLDEN RECORD
A record of Earth aboard each spacecraft.
Each Voyager carries a phonograph record selected as an account of its planet of origin.
The records also contain natural sounds and printed messages. NASA describes their possible discovery as dependent on an advanced spacefaring civilisation encountering either spacecraft.
GET TO KNOW THE MISSION
Curious about Voyager 1 and 2?
What are Voyager 1 and Voyager 2?
Two NASA robotic spacecraft launched in 1977. Both explored Jupiter and Saturn; Voyager 2 continued to Uranus and Neptune before their journeys extended into interstellar space.
What does interstellar space mean here?
The region beyond the heliosphere, the bubble formed by the solar wind. Voyager 1 crossed its boundary in 2012 and Voyager 2 in 2018.
Have they left the Solar System entirely?
Not in the broad gravitational sense. They are beyond the solar-wind bubble, but have not yet reached the distant Oort Cloud, a region of icy bodies still associated with the Sun.
What do they measure now?
Their remaining instruments study the environment beyond the heliosphere, including particles, magnetic fields and plasma waves. Declining electrical power limits what the spacecraft can operate.
Read the official explanations: NASA interstellar mission ↗ · NASA Voyager questions ↗
OFFICIAL SOURCES
NASA Science · Voyager missionNASA Science · Voyager 1NASA Science · Voyager 2NASA · Mission updatesNASA Science · Golden Record