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. Realtime 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 manmade 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