Voyager 1

 Since its launch in 1977 Voyager 1 has become the farthest human-made object in history now drifting more than twenty-four billion kilometers from Earth. That distance is so immense that light itself takes over twenty-two hours to travel from the spacecraft to our planet. Even moving at seventeen kilometers per second it would take Voyager over seventy-three thousand years to reach Proxima Centauri the nearest star beyond our Sun. To cross the entire Milky Way it would require an astonishing two point seven billion years. Let that scale truly sink in

In its early journey Voyager 1 revealed the swirling storms of Jupiter and the elegant rings of Saturn giving humanity a close-up look at these distant giants and transforming our understanding of the solar system. After completing its planetary tour the spacecraft did not stop it kept going eventually crossing into interstellar space in 2012 becoming the first human-made object to enter the realm between the stars. This milestone marked a new chapter in our exploration of the cosmos

Voyager 1 carries a unique treasure the Golden Record a copper disc containing greetings in fifty-five languages music from every corner of the globe and sounds of Earth from waves to whales to the laughter of children a message in a bottle for any intelligent life that may encounter it

Despite aging instruments and declining power Voyager 1 continues to send faint signals across the dark void each transmission a testament to human curiosity and ingenuity. Every bit of data reminds us that our reach extends far beyond the cradle of our solar system

In the vast silence of space Voyager 1 sails on carrying the story of a small blue planet and the dreams of those who dared to leave it

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NASA • National Aeronautics and Space Administration