NASA's Voyager 1 to reach '1 light-day' on November 18
What's the story
NASA's Voyager 1 is on the verge of making history by becoming the first human-made object to cover a distance of one light-day from Earth. The milestone will be achieved on November 18, after nearly five decades of continuous travel through interstellar space. At this distance, a signal from Earth would take an entire day to reach Voyager 1, showing just how vast our universe really is.
Space travel
Voyager 1 has been traveling through space for 5 decades
Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 has been hurtling through space at a constant speed of 60,798km/h.
The probe reached this impressive velocity in 1980 after a gravity assist from Saturn.
It became the most distant human-made object in space in 1998 and overtook Voyager 2 on December 15, 1977.
The upcoming milestone comes nearly three decades after Voyager 1 surpassed Pioneer 10 to become the farthest human-made object from Earth.
Mission longevity
How long will we be able to communicate with Voyager?
Originally intended to last just four years, Voyager 1 has continued its journey into space long after completing its primary mission.
The probe has two radio transmitters but has been using one, the 'X-band,' for years.
It sends data back at a low rate of 160 bits per second, similar to dial-up internet speed.
At this rate, it will likely shut down its final science instruments in the 2030s and lose contact with Earth in 2036 due to power depletion.
Space exploration
NASA inviting people to join 'shine Bright for Voyager's Light-Day'
Voyager 1 became the first human-made probe to cross the heliosphere, a region where influences from interstellar space are stronger than those from the Sun.
Interestingly, even though it was launched before Voyager 2, its faster route allowed it to exit the asteroid belt before its twin.
NASA is inviting people worldwide to join in "shine Bright for Voyager's Light-Day" by creating a symbolic wave of golden light around Earth after sunset on November 18.