Where are Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 now?

Voyager 1 today: distance, speed and mission

Voyager 1 followed a faster route than Voyager 2 and is now the more distant probe. Its distance from Earth changes as both the spacecraft and Earth move. The live values above distinguish that distance from its distance to the Sun and show how long a radio signal takes to reach Earth.

The Voyager 1 profile explains what the numbers mean, which instruments remain active, why its cameras are off and how its route led beyond the heliopause. It also brings together the Jupiter and Saturn encounters, the Pale Blue Dot image and the next distance milestone.

Voyager 1: current position and distance

Where are Voyager 1 and Voyager 2?

Both NASA spacecraft are in interstellar space, beyond the heliosphere. Voyager 1 crossed this boundary in 2012 and Voyager 2 in 2018. They crossed at different locations, allowing their measurements to reveal the environment beyond the heliosphere in two different directions.

The trackers above show each spacecraft’s distance from Earth and from the Sun. These are separations between two bodies at a given moment, not the distance travelled since launch. The position-over-time page lets you explore earlier positions during the mission.

Voyager 1 · Voyager 2 · Explore positions over time

Questions about the Voyager spacecraft

How do the spacecraft generate electricity so far from the Sun?

Each Voyager has three radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). They convert heat from the radioactive decay of plutonium-238 into electricity. Available electrical power gradually declines, so the mission team switches off selected instruments and other systems.

Why do the Voyagers no longer send new photographs?

The cameras were switched off to free up power and memory for other scientific instruments. The software controlling the cameras was also removed from the spacecraft. Voyager 1 took its last images in 1990. You can view photographs from the mission in our gallery.

Why does the distance from Voyager to Earth sometimes decrease?

Earth orbits the Sun. During part of the year, its motion towards a spacecraft reduces their separation even while the spacecraft continues outwards from the Sun. A negative change in distance does not, by itself, indicate an error or a reversal of flight.

Is the displayed position a live message from the spacecraft?

No. This website loads locally stored trajectory data from NASA/JPL Horizons and interpolates between their time points to calculate the position for the current time. The numbers can therefore change continuously without a new connection to the spacecraft. Our methodology explains the process and its limitations.

Why does speed differ from the change in distance from Earth?

The tracker’s speed describes the spacecraft’s motion relative to the Sun. The change in distance from Earth describes how quickly the spacecraft and Earth move farther apart or closer together. These are different quantities, distinguished in our methodology.

All questions about the Voyager spacecraft