Voyager 1
Mission overview
Voyager 1 explored Jupiter and Saturn and is now the most distant human-made object, in interstellar space.
Mission data
Identity and engineering data from Wikidata (type-verified match · Q48469) · launch date 1977-09-05 confirmed
| International designator | 1977-084A | Wikidata · catalogued |
| Operator | National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Wikidata · catalogued |
| Manufacturer | Jet Propulsion Laboratory | Wikidata · catalogued |
Full field-level provenance
- International designator: Wikidata (Wikimedia Foundation) — community-curated structured knowledge base · Wikidata · wdt · P247 · catalogued value · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Operator: Wikidata (Wikimedia Foundation) — community-curated structured knowledge base · Wikidata · wdt · P137 · catalogued value · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Manufacturer: Wikidata (Wikimedia Foundation) — community-curated structured knowledge base · Wikidata · wdt · P176 · catalogued value · retrieved 2026-07-11
Sourced from Wikidata (community-maintained structured data, whose statements link to their own citations where provided); each value carries its Wikidata QID. A field with conflicting Wikidata values is omitted. Launch date is used only to cross-check the catalogue, never to override it. Fields Wikidata did not provide, or where conflicting values exist, are omitted, never invented.
Primary-source verification
Committed mission facts cross-checked against the official NASA primary source — NASA Science — Voyager 1.
| Launch date | 1977-09-05 | Confirmed by primary |
Verified by corroboration against the official agency document: a launch date is “Confirmed by primary” only when the page literally states it; a launch mass only when the page states a figure equal to it within catalogue rounding (±0.5%). Source precedence is primary agency > peer-reviewed > official mission page > structured secondary > Wikidata; a primary source outranks Wikidata but no engineering value is transcribed from the page — an uncorroborated value is kept as its original (secondary) source, never re-labelled primary. Checked 2026-07-12.
Derived values
Computed from source-backed inputs via standard formulae — not observations. Every input and constant is traced below.
- Time since launch48.8 yearscalculated
Formula & inputs
Formula: Δt = reference − launch (v1.0.0, impl v1.0.0)
Inputs:
- launchDate = 2804 days (JD-like) · NASA JPL
Limitations: A time-dependent value: it is elapsed time as of the stated reference instant, not a fixed total.; Elapsed time since launch is not the same as time spent operating at the target.
Uncertainty: not propagated (inputs carry no catalogued uncertainty)
Computed as of 2026-06-29.
Outcome & discoveries
Discovered volcanic activity on Io and detail in Saturn's rings; crossed into interstellar space in 2012.
- ★Active volcanism on Jupiter's moon Io
- ★Crossed the heliopause into interstellar space
Mission profile
Knowledge connections
- Operated byNASA
- Mission targetSaturn
- Operated byNASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Part of programVoyager program
- Mission targetJupiter
- CapturedPale Blue Dot
- CapturedThe Solar System Family Portrait
- Tracked byDeep Space Network (DSN)
- Associated withHigh-Gain Antenna (Spacecraft)
- Associated withHeliopause
- Carries instrumentVoyager Imaging Science Subsystem
- Carries instrumentVoyager Cosmic Ray Subsystem (CRS)
- Associated withLaunch of the Voyagers
- Associated withVoyager 1 Enters Interstellar Space
- Associated withMost Distant Human-Made Object
- Associated withFirst Object to Reach Interstellar Space
- Associated withLongest-Operating Interplanetary Spacecraft
- Associated withThe Termination Shock
- Associated withThe Heliosheath
Related missions
| Mission | Type | Agency | Launch | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voyager 2Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune | Grand tour and interstellar | NASA | 1977-08-20 | Active |
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- NASA JPLJet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics
Orbital data, ephemerides, and small-body parameters for planets, asteroids, and comets.