Voyager 1 space probe is one light-day from Earth
NASA's Voyager 1 probe has reached the milestone of being one light-day away from Earth, marking a historic distance for human-made objects. Despite being nearly 50 years old, the probe continues to transmit data, providing ongoing insights into the solar system.
Why it matters
Voyager 1 remains the most distant human-made object, serving as a testament to long-term space exploration and the longevity of early space-age technology.
The Voyager 1 space probe is reaching one “light-day” from Earth. It is the very first time any spacecraft has achieved such a milestone. To put that into context, Voyager is currently over 24 billion kilometres - 16 billion miles - away from home. Incredibly, it’s still active and in touch with us, but the huge distance means the radio signals it’s sending back to us here on Earth take a day to arrive, and vice versa. NASA is inviting the planet to mark the milestone by flashing the mission's three-letter designation – VGR – at the sky in Morse code after sunset on November 17. Chris Smith speaks with Megan Argo, a space scientist at the University of Lancashire…
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