Voyager 1 to reach one light-day distance from Earth on Wednesday
The US space agency has invited the public to celebrate the milestone of the farthest human-made object reaching 16 billion miles away.
NASA's Voyager 1 is expected to reach a distance of one light-day from Earth on Wednesday, November 18, at 5:16 a.m. ET, according to reports from Telegraph India and Business Today. A light-day is the distance light travels in 24 hours, which is approximately 16 billion miles or 26 billion km.
The robotic spacecraft, which was launched in 1977, is currently travelling through interstellar space at almost 38,000 miles per hour. It is the most distant human-made object from Earth.
To mark the occasion, NASA has invited people worldwide to participate in the 'Shine Bright for Voyager' campaign after sunset on Tuesday, November 17. Participants are encouraged to shine lights towards the sky or use a digital tool to flash the letters V-G-R in Morse code.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will also host a moderated discussion on Thursday, November 19, at 12 pm EST. The event will feature mission officials and scientists discussing the status of Voyager 1 and Voyager 2.
Astrophysicist Alan Cummings, a senior research scientist at Caltech, described the event as an engineering milestone that highlights the longevity of the probe and the ability to communicate with it at such a distance.
Voyager 1 entered interstellar space in 2012, while its twin, Voyager 2, entered the region in 2018. Voyager 2 is expected to reach the one light-day milestone in November 2035.