Voyager 1 nearing the end of the Solar System

Voyager 1 nearing the end of the Solar System

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) revealed yesterday that their craft Voyager 1 was nearing the end of the Solar System and is currently passing through a region known as the heliosheath. It was launched way back in 1977 and has now traveled to around 8.7 billion miles away from the Sun.

Heliosheath is a vast, turbulent expanse where Sun is no longer effective and the particles blown off its surface crash into the thin gas that drifts between the stars. However, the scientists are not yet sure about when the Voyager will move out of the Solar System and enter the vast outer Space.

Voyager project scientist from the California Institute of Technology, Dr Edward Stone said in a statement: “Voyager 1 has entered the final lap on its race to the edge of interstellar space.” The original lifetime of this spacecraft was expected to be 5 years though the journey has been spectacular ever since and NASA continues to explore the possibilities.

NASA launched another craft Voyager 2 just a couple of weeks before the launch of this Voyager 1. It is also on its way to the outer space on a different trajectory and is some 6.5 billion miles away.