Voyager 1 is the most distant human-made object, currently over 15 billion miles from Earth.

Voyager 1 was launched by NASA on September 5, 1977, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. While its primary mission was to fly by Jupiter and Saturn, it continued its journey toward the edge of our solar system. On August 25, 2012, it became the first human-made object to cross the heliopause and enter interstellar space, which is the region between stars.The spacecraft communicates via the Deep Space Network (DSN), a global array of massive radio antennas managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Its radio transmitter operates at only 22 watts, which is remarkably low power for such a vast distance. By the time the signal reaches Earth, it is billions of times weaker than the battery in a digital watch, requiring incredibly sensitive equipment to detect.As of 2024, Voyager 1 is moving at a velocity of approximately 38,000 miles per hour relative to the Sun. Despite its age, the probe continues to transmit scientific data about the plasma and magnetic fields of interstellar space. It is powered by three Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) that convert heat from the decay of plutonium-238 into electricity. NASA engineers expect to maintain contact with the probe until at least 2025, when its power levels will finally drop too low to operate its instruments.