NASA sets Voyager 1 light-day events for Nov. 18

NASA said Voyager 1 would mark one light-day from Earth on Wednesday, Nov. 18. The spacecraft was the most distant human-made object.

Launched nearly 50 years ago in 1977, Voyager 1 had traveled more than 16 billion miles (25.9 billion kilometers). NASA said any light from Earth would take 24 hours to reach the spacecraft.

NASA said the milestone would be highlighted with two events. One event was scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 17. Participants would create a symbolic wave of golden light around Earth after sunset. NASA had created a website that allowed smart phones and tablets to flash VGR, Voyager’s call sign, in morse code.

On Thursday, Nov. 19 at 12 p.m. EST (9 a.m. PST), NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory would host a moderated discussion about Voyager 1 and 2. Mission members and NASA leadership would discuss the status of the probes, their scientific work in interstellar space and the challenges of operating them over vast distances. A preview of a NASA+ Voyager documentary planned for release in 2027 for the mission’s 50th anniversary was also scheduled.

The discussion would include Nicky Fox, Jonathan Lunine, Suzanne Dodd, Kareem Badaruddin and Jamie Rankin. Fox was associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Lunine was chief scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a professor of planetary science at Caltech. Dodd was Voyager project manager, Badaruddin was Voyager mission manager and Rankin was Voyager deputy project scientist at Princeton University.

NASA said Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were designed to explore the outer planets by taking advantage of a planetary alignment that occurs once every 176 years. Voyager 1 entered interstellar space in 2012, while Voyager 2 entered in 2018. Both continued to provide scientific observations beyond the heliosphere. NASA JPL built and operated the spacecraft and managed the Deep Space Network used to communicate with them. NASA’s Heliophysics Division funded the Voyager mission.