NASA’s Voyager 1, launched on 5 September 1977, continues to send data from beyond the Solar System. After visiting Jupiter and Saturn, it crossed into interstellar space in 2012. Now over 24 billion km from Earth, it still communicates using decades-old technology, powered by slowly fading radioisotope generators.

BulletsIn

• Launched 5 Sept 1977 to study Jupiter, Saturn
• Sent unprecedented planetary data before heading outward
• Crossed heliopause in Aug 2012 into interstellar space
• First spacecraft to directly sample this region
• Now over 160 AU from Earth, still moving away
• Radio signals take ~23 hours one way to reach Earth
• Communicates via 3.7 m high-gain antenna, 20W power
• Signals captured by NASA’s Deep Space Network
• Powered by 3 radioisotope thermoelectric generators
• Science instruments still collect unique interstellar data