FILE - The Voyager spacecraft. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has been traveling for nearly 50 years into deep space.
In that time, it has accomplished historical feats and gathered invaluable data about our solar system.
But next month, it’ll mark yet another historic milestone as the spacecraft will reach approximately one light-day away from Earth – that’s about 16 billion miles away – the furthest any spacecraft has ever traveled.
Where is Voyager 1 going?
Dig deeper:
Voyager 1 is trekking across the cosmos and headed toward a star called AC +79 3888, also known as Gliese 445, according to NASA.
The spacecraft is expected to pass the star in about 40,000 years.
Big picture view:
Voyager 1’s mission is to travel where no spacecraft has traveled before.
It discovered active volcanoes on Jupiter’s moon Io and collected detailed information on Saturn’s rings, just to name a few of its accomplishments.
Voyager 2
Voyager 2 is Voyager 1’s twin. Though it was launched before 1, Voyager 2’s mission was to explore all four of the solar system’s largest planets and collect data on them.
After making its way to Neptune, NASA extended the spacecraft’s mission to explore interstellar space and beyond, just like its twin.
The Golden Record
The backstory:
Voyagers 1 and 2 carry a time capsule on board to potentially communicate with extraterrestrials, should they encounter them.
Known as the Golden Record, the messages on these 12-inch gold-plated copper disks contain sounds and images selected to portray life and culture on Earth.
Each record is encased in an aluminum jacket, along with a cartridge and needle. Instructions in a symbolic language on how to play the record are also included.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from NASA’s Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 mission websites. This story was reported from San Jose.