Voyager 1 Has Traveled Through Space at 38,000 Mph Since 1977 And Still Hasn't Reached 1 Light-Day
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is approaching the milestone of being one light-day away from Earth, a distance it will reach in November 2026. This achievement highlights the probe's longevity and the ongoing challenges of communicating across vast interstellar distances.
Why it matters
Voyager 1 remains a vital source of data from outside the heliosphere, representing the furthest reach of human-made technology.
Add ScienceAlert on Google (NASA/JPL-Caltech) Voyager 1 has been on an incredible journey that's defied all expectations. And it's about to achieve yet another milestone.
The small car-sized spacecraft was the first human-made object to enter interstellar space, and for almost 50 years it's been hurtling away from Earth at 61,100 kilometers (38,000 miles) per hour.
Crazily, in all that time, the spacecraft still hasn't quite made it 1 light-day away from Earth.
But NASA scientists have calculated the precise moment that will happen, and we're only a few months away.
On 18 November 2026 at 2:16 AM PST, Voyager 1 will reach a distance of 25.9 billion kilometers from its home planet.
That's the same distance that light travels in a single day… and for Voyager 1, it will have taken the spacecraft more than 49 years.
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