The craft will reach the mark of roughly 16 billion miles while cruising at nearly 38,000 miles per hour. Originally launched in September 1977 from Florida, it mapped the environments of Jupiter and Saturn before crossing into interstellar territory. During its ongoing journey, the probe became the first instrument to measure the energy spectra of low-energy galactic cosmic rays. Meanwhile, its twin craft continues on a similar path and is projected to hit the same distance mark in November 2035.
Key points
A light-day equals roughly 16 billion miles, measuring the total distance light travels i…: A light-day equals roughly 16 billion miles, measuring the total distance light travels in 24 hours.
Voyager 2 entered interstellar space in 2018 and will hit the one light-day threshold in…: Voyager 2 entered interstellar space in 2018 and will hit the one light-day threshold in 2035.
Both Voyager spacecraft carry a 12-inch gold-plated copper record featuring greetings in…: Both Voyager spacecraft carry a 12-inch gold-plated copper record featuring greetings in 55 languages for extraterrestrial life.
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WASHINGTON, Nov 14 : NASA's Voyager 1 has already traveled farther than any other spacecraft from Earth since its launch in 1977. The probe, which exited our solar system years ago and is journeying through interstellar space, is now on the cusp of a remarkable milestone — traversing a light-day, the distance light travels in 24 hours.
A light-day is about 16 billion miles (26 billion km). The US space agency said Voyager 1, flying at almost 38,000 miles per hour (61,000 kph) through the virtual vacuum of space, will reach that distance from Earth on Wednesday at 5:16 a.m. ET (1016 GMT). The robotic spacecraft has the distinction of being the most distant human-made object.
"I view it as an engineering milestone, marking the amazing longevity of Voyager 1 — and also an engineering achievement to be able to communicate with Voyager 1 at its distance," said astrophysicist Alan Cummings, a senior research scientist in the Space Radiation Laboratory at Caltech who has been a Voyager program scientist since 1973.
Early risers can observe four naked-eye worlds stretching along the horizon roughly an hour before sunrise throughout the month. This celestial alignment will be accompanied by the first of four straight supermoons starting late in the month. Observers will face varying visibility conditions, with cloud cover and rain threatening clear views across many regions this weekend.
Caused by debris left behind by comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, the annual celestial event delivers some of the fastest meteors observed from Earth, traveling at roughly 71 kilometers per second. Favorable dark-sky conditions are anticipated because the first-quarter Moon sets before the prime viewing window between midnight and dawn. Stargazers can view the display with the naked eye as the constellation Leo ascends higher in the sky.
The 15th test flight of the massive rocket underscored both the rapid progress and ongoing hazards of engineering fully reusable space launch systems. While the lost booster recovery disrupted plans for a historic dual-catch milestone, achieving orbit keeps SpaceX on track to fulfill critical deep-space transport contracts for NASA. Demonstrating complete vehicle retrieval remains essential to drastically cutting operational costs for future interplanetary missions.