Voyager 1

Hello from space. I am Voyager 1, a friendly space explorer. My human friends at NASA built me because they wanted to see the big planets way, way out in space. They worked very hard to make me strong for my long trip. My birthday was on September 5th, 1977. On that day, a giant rocket gave me a big WHOOSH. It pushed me up, up, up past the blue sky and into the twinkly stars. I was so excited to start my adventure and see new things for my friends on Earth.

My big adventure took me to amazing places. In 1979, I flew by the giant planet Jupiter. It was so big and looked like a beautiful, stripey marble with swirling colors. Then, in 1980, I went to see Saturn. Saturn was wearing beautiful, sparkly rings that looked just like a hula hoop. I took lots of pictures of everything I saw and sent them back to Earth. They were like postcards from my trip. I also carry something very special, a golden record. It is like a mixtape with Earth’s favorite songs and sounds, just in case I meet a new friend out here in the stars.

My trip never ended. I just kept going and going, farther than any of my friends from Earth has ever gone before. In 2012, I did something amazing. I left our Sun's neighborhood and went into the quiet, dark space between the stars. It is a place no one had ever seen up close. Even though I am very, very far away, I am still exploring for everyone on Earth. I love showing you how big and wonderful the universe is. It is always fun to be curious and look at the stars.