Voyager Humanity's Farthest Journey

From NASA JPL marking the passage of the twin Voyager spacecraft beyond our solar system. We knew we were on a journey of discovery when we launched the Voyager spacecraft, but we had no idea how much there was to discover.

We had a sense that we knew what it felt like to be Magellan or Columbus.

Time after time we were surprised by seeing things that we had not expected or even imagined. From volcanoes erupting from the moon Io to the possibility of a liquid water ocean under the icy crust of Europa. Titan, where we found an atmosphere. Uranus' small moon Miranda, which had one of the most complex geologic surfaces we'd seen. Even at Neptune, Triton, 40 degrees above absolute zero, even there there were geysers erupting.

It's the only spacecraft that's gone by Uranus. It's the only spacecraft that's gone by Neptune. Everything we know about those planets we know from Voyager.

To see those first pictures coming in from the outer solar system, for the first time what had been a point of light in the sky was a place.

I really credit the people that designed the mission, both the engineers and the mission planners and scientists because not only did they build an extremely robust, durable spacecraft, but they had the vision to send it on a path such that it could get out into interstellar space and carry a gold record.

And here was this Noah's Ark of human culture that was being sent to the outer planets and then beyond to wander in the interstellar darkness for a billion years. On Valentine's Day 1990 Voyager 1 looked homeward. And what did it find? Not the frame-filling Apollo Earth, but, instead, that one-pixel Earth. That's here. That's home.

The Voyager spacecraft are in the outer layer of the heliosphere, the giant bubble the sun creates around itself with its supersonic wind. Voyager today is headed for the edge of interstellar space. That's the space between stars, and it's filled with material that has been injected by the explosion of stars,matter which came from a particular direction, creating a wind,which has shaped the bubble in which the solar system is surrounded.

Voyager really has changed our view of the solar system. This will be a milestone in space exploration: leaving the solar system,leaving the bubble and entering interstellar space for the first time.

[maccaxlee]

The Voyager record contains:

"This is a present from a small, distant world, a token of our sounds, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts and our feelings. We are attempting to survive our time so we may live into yours. ”

— U.S. President Jimmy Carter

I read that as I heard Ann Druyan say "That's here. That's home." and I actually cried, yes partly because her voice is capable of evoking emotions but these two messages are just so touching isn't it? This is why we do science.

[UberGewei]

It's wonderful to see our home from so far away.. and yes it is touching, It doesn't make me cry but i respect the Earth and all that it provides. It's just amazing that our science gave us the opportunity to take a look into space. But yet as far as we've got, We've only found nothing but liveless and dead planets. Seeing it from there from all the emptyness, cold & lifelessly, Looking at a bunch of pixels full warmt, color and life! That's just breathtaking . Isn't it?

[theskeptic]

We've always had the capability and potential to be more than we are now - videos like this prove it

[RaghavaVemuri]

Ok, It travelled so far.But how are we able to send/get signals and pictures from it (about 22.9 billion km???)

[TheCraigy]

The voyager probes were one of the few space programs to be launched for a purpose other than war, and seen as how its about to be the first man made object to leave the solar system, I'd say that's a pretty amazing accomplishment for humanity.

[NonStampCollector]

These videos are so epic that I can't watch them every day or every time a new one comes out. They spin my head too much. There's something so profound about this stuff that I can't just watch it as I stuff breakfast into the hole in my face. They deserve to be meditated upon.

[HalfFullYeah]

Man I love to read the comments here!
I love you all, curious and funny human brothers and sisters!
Feels good to be alive!
Cheers!

[romac]

The size of the universe and all of its' components of which I am sure we have only grasped a small fraction has never ceased in my over 50 years of contemplating this to absolutely BLOW ME AWAY. Overwhelming. Many thanx to NASA, JPL and each one involved in the exploration of outer space and the posting of these fine records of that exploration. I understand and applaud your zeal and your heart for this.

[lzoliB]

@talset2480 many scientists believe that it's improbable that they will ever meet anything in their billion year journeys. that sounds unlikely, but space is simply enormous . the small bits of matter that do exist are separated by huge fields of nothing. the gravity of stars will definitely direct them in different directions but that might very well be it.

[GJones-W]

296, 000 years to get to the NEAREST star, Sirius. To try to imagine the size of the universe, staggers the mind.

[gtf]

Who else here supports the idea of complete dedication by our species for space exploration? No tvs, no games, no sports. Just learning and discovery.

[gobblox]

I am curious if the probes still work in any form. I would like to believe they are more than mere cargo craft.

[HellaUtube]

those pictures are FANTASTIC!!! go Voyager go!!!

[Gunnar]

"Rest enough for the individual man, too much and too soon, and we call it death. But for Man, no rest and no ending. He must go on, conquest beyond conquest. First, this little planet and its winds and ways. And then all the laws of mind and matter that restrain him. Then the planets about him, and, at last, out across immensity to the stars. And when he has conquered all the depths of space, and all the mysteries of time, still he will be beginning..." - Things to Come

[jamestgreyiv]

Watching videos like this in 1080p really is a gift.

[nomticholas]

This video needs and DESERVES more views, a LOT more views.

[Mike]

The new ion drives like on deep space 1 are far faster and could easly catch up to Voyager in as little as 5 to 10 years.

[SodapopSays]

i want to be able to work on something like this one day... that'd be monumental.
thank you, spacerip, for always brightening my day.

[MixtepecXVida]

when did they launch voyager 1 and 2???

[JMXMCOC]

How did they retrievr if the space craft is far away in jupiter & maybe leaving the solar system