Voyager 1 to make distance history, set to become first human-made object to travel one light-day from Earth
Texas, November 15
Nearly five decades after embarking on its historic journey, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is poised to achieve an unprecedented distance milestone, becoming the first human-made object to travel one light-day away from Earth--a distance that light itself takes 24 hours to cover.
The robotic spacecraft, which has travelled farther from Earth than any other human-made object since its launch in 1977, is expected to cross the landmark on Wednesday, November 18, at 5:16:07 am EST (3:46:07 pm IST), according to NASA.
A light-day represents approximately 16 billion miles (26 billion kilometres), marking another remarkable achievement for the spacecraft that left the solar system years ago and is now travelling through interstellar space.
According to NASA, Voyager 1 will have taken 49 years, two months and 11 days to travel this distance from Earth, making it the first spacecraft to reach the milestone.
The achievement is particularly significant given the enormous distances involved in space exploration. A light-day measures the distance that light, travelling at approximately 186,000 miles per second, covers in 24 hours.
NASA explained that the milestone is about distance rather than time, with the spacecraft continuing its journey through interstellar space at nearly 38,000 miles per hour (61,000 kilometres per hour).
To put the distance into perspective, sunlight takes approximately eight minutes and 20 seconds to travel the 93 million miles (150 million kilometres) between the Sun and Earth. Similarly, light takes around four hours and 10 minutes to travel between Earth and Neptune, the most distant planet in the solar system.
Voyager 1's twin spacecraft, Voyager 2, also launched in 1977 but followed a different trajectory through the solar system, visiting Uranus and Neptune. According to NASA, Voyager 2 is expected to reach the one-light-day distance from Earth in November 2035.
The two spacecraft were launched to explore the outer planets, with Voyager 1 taking a trajectory that eventually carried it towards interstellar space. It entered interstellar space in 2012 and has continued transmitting information from beyond the solar system.
Despite travelling at nearly 38,000 miles per hour, Voyager 1's speed remains relatively slow compared with the speed of light, highlighting the vast distances separating celestial objects.
NASA said Voyager 1 is currently travelling in the direction of a star known as AC +79 3888, or Gliese 445, located more than 17 light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Minor.
The spacecraft is expected to pass within approximately 1.7 light-years of the star in around 40,000 years.
The upcoming milestone underscores the extraordinary longevity and reach of the Voyager mission, which has continued its journey through space for nearly 50 years, carrying humanity's exploration efforts farther than any other human-made object.
— ANI
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