In 1977 NASA launched Voyager 1 as part of its ambitious Voyager program to explore the outer planets and beyond. The spacecraft was equipped with imaging systems, magnetometers, plasma detectors—all cutting edge tech for the time. Its most exciting mission was to perform close-up observations of Jupiter and Saturn… along with their respective moons and rings during a rare planetary alignment that only comes every 176 years.
September 5, 1977: Launch of Voyager 1
Voyager 1 lifted off from Cape Canaveral aboard a Titan IIIE rocket. Although launched after its twin, Voyager 2, it followed a faster trajectory and quickly overtook it, thus earning the designation “Voyager 1.”
September 18, 1977: First Image of Earth and Moon Together
Thirteen days after launch, Voyager 1 looked back at the Earth and Moon, when it was about 7.25 million miles (11.66 million kilometers) away. This picture was the first of its kind in human history and changed our understanding of the cosmos.
March 5, 1979: Closest Approach to Jupiter
When Voyager 1 flew by Jupiter, it recorded hundreds of images of the planet’s clouded surface and turbulent storms. The spacecraft found new features of Jupiter, such as its faint ring system and an active volcanic plume on its moon Io (the first observation of current geological activity beyond the Earth).
November 12, 1980: Saturn Flyby
Voyager 1 had its first encounter with Saturn on November 1980, providing a multitude of high-resolution images of the complex collection rings and moons. The spacecraft discovered bizarre features within these rings — such as braided rings and “shepherd” moons that confine ring structure, opening up whole new branches of study in planetary ring dynamics.
February 14, 1990: The ‘Pale Blue Dot’
Over 4500 days (12 years and 5 months) into its voyage, Voyager 1 turned its camera back toward Earth in a final moment of reflection. This picture was clicked by the spacecraft from a distance of nearly 3.7 billion miles away. Earth appeared as a small blue dot.
February 17, 1998: Farthest Human-Made Object
Voyager 1 surpassed Pioneer 10 to become the most distant human-made object in space.
February 1, 2007: Instrument Shutdown
To conserve power for its long journey ahead, the Plasma Science (PLS) instrument was turned off. This was part of strategic shutdowns to prioritize essential systems as the spacecraft’s power supply diminished.
August 25, 2012: Entering Interstellar Space
Crossing the heliopause, where the solar wind ends and interstellar space begins, Voyager 1 became the first human-made object to do so. The mission yielded important information on cosmic rays and the interstellar medium, revealing an uncharted territory.
April 19, 2016: Further Power Conservation
The Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) was turned off to conserve energy. Despite the shutdown of several instruments, Voyager 1 continued to transmit data with the remaining operational equipment.
September 16, 2024: Thruster Revival
A fuel tube in one of Voyager’s thrusters was clogged, preventing Voyager 1 from communicating with Earth. Engineers at NASA managed this by initiating a set of backup thrusters that had not been active for 37 years. This clever hack allowed the spacecraft to stay oriented properly and continue communicating with Earth from the vast distance of 15 billion miles.
More than 47 years of spaceflight later, Voyager 1 remains a monumental testament to human engineering and exploration. Voyager 1 has helped us better understand the universe in so many ways, from beaming back the first picture of Earth and the Moon on their way out of our solar system to becoming one other spacecraft (along with its sister craft Voyager 2) that has entered interstellar space.
Images credit: Nasa