NASA\u2019s Voyager 1 spacecraft has been breaking distance records for decades. Launched almost 50 years ago, it became the farthest human-built object from Earth when it overtook the pathfinding Pioneer 10 probe in 1998. It was the first spacecraft to leave the solar system\u2019s protective bubble, and it will be humankind\u2019s first emissary to the stars.<\/p>\n
The cameras on Voyager 1, along with those on its twin spacecraft, Voyager 2, captured powerful megastorms in the outer solar system, the first images of dozens of moons and never-before-seen details of the gossamer rings around Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus. The images and data sent home have shaped theories of how the solar system formed and evolved, inspired subsequent missions and posed enough new questions to keep space scientists busy for decades.<\/p>\n