Voyager 1

Voyager 1 is humanity's farthest outpost, having entered interstellar space in August 2012 after launching on 5 September 1977. It conducted groundbreaking flybys of Jupiter in 1979 and Saturn in 1980, revealing active volcanoes on Io and intricate rings around Saturn. As of 2026, Voyager 1 is over 24 billion kilometers from Earth and still transmitting data, making it both the most distant spacecraft and the longest-operating scientific mission in history, at 49 years. It is 30% lighter than the runner-up, Voyager 2, and its twin's data transmission rate is 160 bits per second—slower than the average dial-up connection, yet it continues to send back invaluable information about the interstellar medium. Voyager 1's legacy as the first interstellar probe outshines #3 Hubble Space Telescope in terms of sheer distance achieved.