Identical design, different trajectories. The live values below use the same method and time.
Interstellar mission
Voyager 1
Loading local ephemeris…
Distance from Earth— km— AU
From the Sun
— AU
Speed relative to the Sun
— km/s
Change in distance from Earth
— km/s
Signal to Earth
—
Round trip
—
Distance travelled today
— km
Relative to escape velocity
—×
Relativistic time difference
— s
Apparent magnitude of the Sun
— mag
Remaining Pu‑238
— %
Mission duration
—
Distance travelled since page load
0 km
Launch
Calculation for current UTC. The position is interpolated from daily geometric JPL vectors; it is not direct telemetry.
Interstellar mission
Voyager 2
Loading local ephemeris…
Distance from Earth— km— AU
From the Sun
— AU
Speed relative to the Sun
— km/s
Change in distance from Earth
— km/s
Signal to Earth
—
Round trip
—
Distance travelled today
— km
Relative to escape velocity
—×
Relativistic time difference
— s
Apparent magnitude of the Sun
— mag
Remaining Pu‑238
— %
Mission duration
—
Distance travelled since page load
0 km
Launch
Calculation for current UTC. The position is interpolated from daily geometric JPL vectors; it is not direct telemetry.
What sets them apart
Feature
Voyager 1
Voyager 2
Launch
5 Sep 1977
20 Aug 1977
Planets visited
Jupiter, Saturn
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Interstellar space
since 25 Aug 2012
since 5 Nov 2018
Active instruments on 11 Aug 2026
MAG, PWS
CRS, MAG, PWS
Flight direction
above the ecliptic
below the ecliptic
Final planetary target
Saturn
Neptune
Camera switched off
1990
1989
Golden Record
yes
yes
Same probes, different encounters
Two planetary paths side by side
The order of visits shows where the capabilities of the two probes diverged. The timings below are based on the NASA overview; spacing between items is for readability and does not indicate flight length or distance.
Voyager 1
Start
Jupiter
Saturn and Titan exploration
Continuation above the plane of the eclipticPlanetary visits ended at Saturn.
Voyager 2
Start
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Continuation below the plane of the eclipticAfter a flyby of Neptune.
Decisive meeting at Saturn
Voyager 1 had a chosen orbit for close-up exploration of Titan and Saturn's rings. The flyby took it north of the plane in which most planets orbit. Voyager 2 was directed at Saturn to continue on to Uranus.
Voyager 2 was the first to launch. However, Voyager 1 flew a faster and shorter route, so it reached both Jupiter and Saturn earlier. Therefore, the name of the probe does not in itself tell the order of its encounter with the planet.