NASA's program of twin robotic probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, launched in 1977 to tour the outer planets. Both probes are still operating and have crossed into interstellar space, the most distant human-made objects from Earth.
Facts
Mission TypeRobotic outer planet and interstellar mission 1 Launch DateVoyager 2 launched first, on 20 August 1977. OutcomeOngoing; both probes are still transmitting from interstellar space as of the mid-2020s. 1 Mission Type
Mission Type (category)Robotic / Uncrewed Mission 1 Connections
Associated With
Repeated gravity assists made the Voyager grand tour of the outer planets possible.
Source NASA Solar System Exploration
Source NASA History Office
Operated By
Source NASA History Office
Spacecraft Of
Source Voyager 1 (Wikipedia)
Source Voyager 2 (Wikipedia)
Targets
Source Wikipedia: Ariel (moon)
Source Jupiter (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Miranda (moon)
Source Neptune (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Puck (moon)
Source Saturn (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Titania (moon)
Source Wikipedia: Triton (moon)
Source Umbriel (Wikipedia)
Source Uranus (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. NASA History Office
National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA Science, Voyager mission page (science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager)
Voyager 1 and its twin Voyager 2 are the only spacecraft ever to operate outside the heliosphere, the protective bubble of particles and magnetic fields generated by the Sun.
- Operated By: NASA
- Associated With: Voyager 2
View the Source 2. Voyager Program (Wikipedia)
Lead paragraph
The Voyager program is an American scientific program that employs two interstellar probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2
Lead paragraph, target
to explore the two gas giants Jupiter and Saturn
In Group: NASA Outer Solar System and Small-Body Missions, Lead sentence
The Voyager program is an American scientific program that employs two interstellar probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2.
View the SourceNASA Solar System Exploration
National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationAssociated With: Gravity AssistView the Source Neptune (Wikipedia)
Targets: Neptune, Article textQuote, Targets: Neptune, Article text
Voyager 2, which flew by Neptune on 25 August 1989, remains the only spacecraft to visit the planet.
Jupiter (Wikipedia)
Targets: Jupiter, Article textQuote, Targets: Jupiter, Article text
An additional eight satellites were discovered before the flyby of the Voyager 1 probe in 1979.
Saturn (Wikipedia)
Targets: Saturn, Article textQuote, Targets: Saturn, Article text
Based on radio emissions from the planet detected by Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, System III has a rotation period of 10h 39m 22.4s (810.8°/d).
Uranus (Wikipedia)
Targets: Uranus, Article textQuote, Targets: Uranus, Article text
As of 2026, it has been visited only once when in 1986 the Voyager 2 probe flew by the planet.
Wikipedia: Triton (moon)
Targets: Triton, Article textQuote, Targets: Triton, Article text
The 1989 flyby of Triton by the Voyager 2 spacecraft remains the only up-close visit to the moon as of 2026.
Wikipedia: Miranda (moon)
Targets: Miranda, Article textQuote, Targets: Miranda, Article text
The only close-up images of Miranda are from the Voyager 2 probe, which made observations of Miranda during its Uranus flyby in January 1986.
Wikipedia: Titania (moon)
Targets: Titania, Article textQuote, Targets: Titania, Article text
The Uranian system has been studied up close only once, by the spacecraft Voyager 2 in January 1986.
Wikipedia: Ariel (moon)
Targets: Ariel, Article textQuote, Targets: Ariel, Article text
As of 2019, much of the detailed knowledge of Ariel derives from a single flyby of Uranus performed by the space probe Voyager 2 in 1986, which managed to image around 35% of the moon's surface.
Umbriel (Wikipedia)
Targets: Umbriel, Article textQuote, Targets: Umbriel, Article text
Umbriel has been studied up close only once, by the spacecraft Voyager 2 in January 1986.
Wikipedia: Puck (moon)
Targets: Puck, Article textQuote, Targets: Puck, Article text
It was discovered in December 1985 by the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
Voyager 1 (Wikipedia)
Includes: Voyager 1, Lead paragraph, part-of
Voyager 1 is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977, as part of the Voyager program, to study the outer Solar System and the interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere.
Spacecraft Of: Voyager 1, Lead paragraph, mission-of
Voyager 1 is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977, as part of the Voyager program, to study the outer Solar System and the interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere.
View the SourceVoyager 2 (Wikipedia)
Includes: Voyager 2, Lead paragraph, part-of
Voyager 2 is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, as a part of the Voyager program.
Spacecraft Of: Voyager 2, Lead paragraph, mission-of
Voyager 2 is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, as a part of the Voyager program.
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