Which is the most distant human-made object?
Quick Answer
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft, launched in 1977, is the most distant human-made object, now more than 25 billion km from Earth.
The Full Story
Voyager 1 was launched on 5 September 1977 and flew past Jupiter in 1979 and Saturn in 1980. It is travelling outward at about 17 km per second, faster than any other spacecraft leaving the solar system. In August 2012 it crossed the heliopause, the boundary of the Sun's bubble of solar wind, becoming the first spacecraft to reach interstellar space. It is now more than 25 billion km away, so radio signals travelling at the speed of light take nearly a full day to reach it. Voyager 1 is expected to reach one light-day from Earth around late 2026.
Key Facts
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"The loneliest spacecraft — how far has Voyager 1 travelled?"