Voyager 1, launched in 1977, has traveled for nearly 50 years and is currently positioned at 166 AU from Earth, making it the first spacecraft to cross the heliopause and enter interstellar space according to NASA.
The spacecraft is currently traveling at approximately 61,195 kilometers per hour (38,025 miles per hour) and takes 23 hours, 5 minutes, and 36 seconds for signals from Earth to reach it at its present distance.
On November 15, 2026, Voyager 1 will achieve a historic milestone by becoming the first human-made object to reach one light-day away from Earth, positioned at 25.9 billion kilometers (16 billion miles) from our planet.
NASA's Eyes on the Solar System calculations show that the probe will reach one light-day from the Sun on January 28, 2027, after which it will continue its journey until running out of power in the early 2030s.
Despite this incredible achievement, NASA explains that Voyager 1 won't truly leave the Solar System's gravitational influence until it travels roughly halfway to Proxima Centauri, a journey that will take approximately 40,000 years at current speeds.
