NASA shuts off Voyager 1 probe
Yahoo • • general
Key Points:
- Voyager 1, the farthest human-made object from Earth, has shut down one of its three remaining instruments as NASA aims to prolong its mission nearing 50 years.
- Launched in 1977 with a five-year mission to study outer planets, the Voyager probes have exceeded expectations, continuing to operate while gradually reducing capabilities due to declining nuclear battery power.
- Both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are now in interstellar space, with Voyager 1 located 15.8 billion miles from Earth, where radio signals take nearly 24 hours to arrive.
- Despite its vast distance, Voyager 1 would still require about 70,000 years to reach the nearest star if it were traveling in that direction, highlighting the immense scale of space.
