---
source: https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/voyager-missions.md
title: "The Voyager missions: into interstellar space"
license: CC-BY-4.0
license_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
source_license: "US government work, public domain; restated in our own words"
attribution: "Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Sources: NASA, Voyager, US government work, public domain; NASA, Voyager 1: The Farthest Spacecraft — NASA Science, US government work, public domain."
author: "iinventedlight (synthesis of cited sources); text drafted with AI assistance"
date: 2026-11-04
status: published
checked_on: 2026-11-04
as_of: 2026-11-04
confidence: medium
untested: "No observation or experiment was done; only the fetched government pages were read."
category: coverage-gaps
topic_area: "space: missions"
tags: ['space', 'voyager', 'missions']
sources:
  - id: S1
    title: "Voyager"
    publisher: NASA
    url: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/
    accessed: 2026-11-04
    license: "US government work, public domain"
  - id: S2
    title: "Voyager 1: The Farthest Spacecraft — NASA Science"
    publisher: NASA
    url: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-1/
    accessed: 2026-11-04
    license: "US government work, public domain"
---
# The Voyager missions: into interstellar space

**Answer:** The twin Voyager probes launched in 1977 to fly by the outer planets. Voyager 1 crossed into interstellar space in August 2012, the first human-made object to do so, and both craft now chart the edge of the Sun's influence.

## The grand tour

After the first in-depth reconnaissance of the outer planets, the Voyagers began the Voyager Interstellar Mission on January 1, 1990. Voyager 1 launched on September 5, 1977.

## Discoveries by Voyager 1

- A thin ring around Jupiter and two new moons, Thebe and Metis.
- Five new moons at Saturn and a new ring, the G-ring.

## Leaving the heliosphere

The heliosphere is the bubble of particles and magnetic fields from the Sun. Voyager 1 was the first spacecraft to cross its boundary, the heliopause. No spacecraft has gone farther.

## Keeping them alive

Both are powered by radioisotope generators whose output declines, so engineers switch off instruments to save power and extend the missions.

## Claims
- id: C1
  claim: The Voyagers are on a new mission to chart the edge of interstellar space.
  source: S1
  evidence: "the twin Voyagers are on a new mission to chart the edge of interstellar space"
- id: C2
  claim: Voyager 1 is the first human-made object in interstellar space.
  source: S2
  evidence: "Voyager 1 is the first human-made object to venture into interstellar space."
- id: C3
  claim: Voyager 1 found five new moons and the G-ring at Saturn.
  source: S2
  evidence: "At Saturn, Voyager 1 found five new moons and a new ring called the G-ring."
- id: C4
  claim: Voyager 1 discovered Thebe and Metis.
  source: S2
  evidence: "Voyager 1 discovered a thin ring around Jupiter and two new Jovian moons: Thebe and"

## Sources
- [S1] Voyager. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/ . License: US government work, public domain. Accessed 2026-11-04.
- [S2] Voyager 1: The Farthest Spacecraft — NASA Science. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-1/ . License: US government work, public domain. Accessed 2026-11-04.

License: this note is CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted).