NASA has scheduled a public light signal for Nov. 17 to mark Voyager 1’s expected distance from Earth, where a complete radio exchange now takes roughly two days.
NASA’s mission status page forecasts the crossing at 5:16:07 a.m. EST Nov. 18, with Voyager 1 then 16.094 billion miles (25.902 billion kilometers) from Earth. The one-light-day threshold describes how far light would travel in a full day. NASA says the milestone will not alter the spacecraft or its surroundings.
NASA’s Oct. 29 mission update said a radio signal needs about 24 hours to reach the probe and a reply takes about the same time to return. EconoTimes previously reported on the effect of the delay on Voyager 1’s radio exchanges.
NASA’s Shine Bright for Voyager’s Light-Day campaign begins after sunset Nov. 17. The website is set up to blink the identifier NASA uses for the probe — VGR — in Morse code through a phone or tablet screen. NASA encouraged participants to post photos or video and tag @NASA.
On Nov. 19, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will hold a moderated discussion at noon EST, then take questions from the audience. NASA has listed Nicky Fox, Jonathan Lunine, Suzanne Dodd, Kareem Badaruddin and Jamie Rankin as participants. The agenda includes the twin probes’ condition and scientific work, plus the practical difficulties of managing spacecraft far beyond the heliosphere. NASA will stream the event through NASA Live and plans to preview a Voyager documentary for NASA+ scheduled for 2027, the mission’s 50th anniversary.
Voyager 1 launched Sept. 5, 1977, and reached interstellar space in 2012; Voyager 2 crossed into interstellar space in 2018. NASA says the mission took advantage of an outer-planet alignment that recurs once every 176 years, and both probes continue gathering scientific observations beyond the heliosphere.
Foreign national media must RSVP by Nov. 12. U.S. media seeking to attend in person have until Nov. 16, while virtual media must register at least two hours before the discussion.
