NASA Interview Opportunity: NASA’s Iconic Voyager Mission Reaches New Interstellar Milestone

Quick Summary:

Breaking Cosmic Boundaries: On Nov. 18, NASA’s record-breaking Voyager 1 will become the first human-made object to travel a full light-day from Earth.

Interstellar Calling Card: With more than 16 billion miles separating Voyager 1 and Earth, communications between them will take 24 hours each way.

49 years and counting: Voyager 1 launched on Sept. 5, 1977, and its twin, Voyager 2, launched on Aug. 20 of the same year. Both are now in interstellar space.

Shine Bright for Voyager’s Light‑Day: NASA is inviting the world to celebrate this milestone by grabbing a flashlight, glow stick, solar lantern, bike light, or even a cell phone’s light and pointing it to the sky after sunset on Nov. 17.

Interview Details:
One-on-one remote interviews are available on:
Tuesday, Nov. 17, from 6 a.m. - 2 p.m. EST
Click here to request an interview: https://forms.gle/j8bEvD88bCRnkXAr7
Requests sent via the above form will have scheduling priority. Please do not email requests.
**For more information check out:
www.nasa.gov/voyager
Real-time distances for Voyager probes

On November 18 humanity will achieve an extraordinary new milestone in space exploration as NASA’s iconic Voyager 1 spacecraft reaches a distance of one “light-day” from Earth. At a staggering 16.09 billion miles, the spacecraft will be so far away that a radio signal traveling at the speed of light will take 24 hours to reach home. Voyager 1 will cross this historic mile marker at 5:16 a.m. EST on Nov. 18. NASA’s Voyager team won’t receive its return call until the same time on Nov. 19.

As we celebrate this monumental milestone, NASA is inviting the world to join the celebration of humanity’s farthest reach by using NASA’s automated “V-G-R” flasher or Morse code to signal “V‑G‑R” toward the night sky on Nov. 17. Don’t forget to snap a picture or video of your light-day signal and share it on social platforms, tagging @NASA and joining the global Shine Bright for Voyager’s Light‑Day historic moment.

Voyager 1 launched on Sept. 5, 1977, following Voyager 2's launch on Aug. 20, 1977. Even after exploring for nearly half a century, both spacecraft are still operating and sending data back to Earth.

Voyager 1 holds two distinguished titles: the farthest human-made object in history, and the first to reach interstellar space. While many of its science instruments have been turned off to conserve energy, the probe is still returning data about the nature of this uncharted territory.

Voyager has transformed our understanding of the outer planets and their moons. It discovered active volcanoes on Jupiter’s moon Io, observing the first live eruptions ever witnessed on another world. Close-up views of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot revealed it to be a massive, rotating, high-pressure storm. Voyager 1 even measured Saturn’s atmosphere and discovered that the planet’s rings aren’t uniform sheets, debunking previous theories. Voyager 1 also took the first-ever “family portrait” of our solar system. One picture in that famous series became known as the “Pale Blue Dot” image, capturing Earth as a solitary pixel in a beam of sunlight snapped from beyond the orbit of Neptune.

Both Voyager spacecraft, equipped with a message from humanity etched into its famous Golden Record, will drift through the Milky Way galaxy forever.

Suggested Anchor Intro:
Tomorrow morning humanity’s most distant spacecraft will pass an extraordinary new milestone. NASA’s record-breaking Voyager 1 will reach a distance of one light-day from Earth, more than 16 billion miles away. The spacecraft will be so far away that a single call home will take 24 hours to reach us.

To celebrate this milestone, NASA is inviting the world to “shine bright” tonight to honor this historic moment.

Joining us now is xxx from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory / NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center to tell us more.

Suggested Questions:
1. The Voyager mission is one of the most iconic in human history, and it’s about to break a new record. Can you start by explaining what a light-day is?
2. NASA is hosting a global campaign called “Shine Bright for Voyager’s Light-Day.” Can you tell us how our viewers can join this historic moment?
3. Voyager 1 launched in 1977 and has covered a staggering amount of territory over nearly five decades. Can you recap some of its greatest achievements?
4. In 2012 Voyager 1 made history when it became the first human-made object to enter interstellar space. What does it mean to be in this region, and what are we learning about this uncharted territory?
5. What goes through your mind as we reach this milestone?
6. The Voyager probes will be celebrating an astounding 50 years of exploration next year. What’s next for them?
7. How can our viewers track Voyager 1’s distance in real time and keep up to date with the mission?

Additional questions:
8 .Some instruments on Voyager 1 have been turned off to conserve power, but the probe is still active and returning usable data. How does its journey through interstellar space compare to what it experienced while exploring the planets in our solar system?
9. How do NASA's newer missions like Europa Clipper and Dragonfly build on the successes of the Voyager mission?
10. Can you talk about the two Voyager spacecraft and their different journeys through the solar system?
11. Both Voyagers carry a piece of humanity with them, etched into iconic Golden Records. Almost like a calling card to the stars. What’s on these records and why were they placed on board?

See the following sources:

• https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/
• URL goes herehttps://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/where-are-voyager-1-and-voyager-2-now/
• https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/voyager/