Voyager 1 set to cross new frontier

NASA says spacecraft floating in heliosheath, and on the verge of crossing over to the interstellar space

After sending stunning images of Jupiter and other planets of our solar system, Voyager 1 is poised to go where no man-made probe has gone before. It may soon leave the sun's solar system to explore the realms of other stars, scientists associated with the mission have indicated.

The indication came on the eve of the the 35th anniversay of the launch of the space probe. Voyager 1 was sent into space on Septemer 5, 1977, soon after Voyager 2, its twin, was fired into space on August 20.

The twin spacecraft, the longest-operating ones, have contributed immensely to our understanding of the planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune (see 'Notable discoveries of Voyager mission').

Notable discoveries of Voyager mission

Geysers on Neptune's frozen moon Trito. The southern pole of Triton is covered with nitrogenised ice – it's so cold that even nitrogen converts to ice ( 40 degrees below absolute zero)
Unravelling of the complex structure of Saturn's rings
Finding that the magnetic fields of Uranus and Nepture are tilted as compared to the axes of their rotation
The two spacecraft unravelled the mystery behind Jupiter's red and white spots. It turned out the red spot was a massive hurricane-like storm system. Each one of the white spots was a storm system, offering a clue about Jupiter's tumultous atmosphere
One of Jupiter's moon, lo,had highly active volcanoes, Voyager 1 found

Timing uncertain

Photo Gallery: Voyagers' space odyssey

Voyagers' space odyssey

NASA