Voyager 1 Crosses into Interstellar Space
August 25, 2012 · 21st Century
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft, launched September 5, 1977, crossed the heliopause at 121.6 astronomical units from the Sun, entering interstellar space. The probe's plasma instrument had failed, so confirmation relied on indirect measurement of an 80-fold increase in electron density detected through plasma oscillations triggered by a solar outburst. NASA announced the crossing thirteen months later in September 2013. Voyager 1 carries a golden record of Earth sounds and images into the space between stars.
Key Figures
Edward C. StoneDonald Gurnett
Locations
Cape Canaveral
Topics
space explorationinterstellar spaceheliosphereplasma physicsVoyager Golden Recorddeep space probes
Connected Events — 5 Connections
Extended human reach from Earth orbit to interstellar space, building on the space age Sputnik inaugurated Sputnik 1 Launched
Launched by the space agency established in 1958, representing decades of NASA deep-space exploration Formation of NASA
Titan later became a target for Voyager and the Huygens probe mission Huygens Discovers Saturn's Moon Titan
Tunguska catalyzed awareness of space hazards that later informed planetary science programs Tunguska Event Flattens Siberian Forest
The Golden Record travels aboard Voyager 1 into interstellar space Voyager Golden Record Assembled
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