The farthest distance from Earth achieved by any extant (still existing and operational) space expedition is held by the Voyager 1 spacecraft. As of now, Voyager 1 is over 14 billion miles (about 23 billion kilometers) away from Earth. It was launched by NASA on September 5, 1977, and has been traveling through space for over four decades.
### Key Points about Voyager 1:
1. **Mission**: Originally part of the Voyager program to study the outer planets, Voyager 1 conducted close flybys of Jupiter and Saturn, providing a wealth of scientific data and images.
2. **Interstellar Mission**: After completing its primary mission, Voyager 1 continued its journey toward interstellar space. It crossed the heliopause (the boundary where the solar wind is stopped by the interstellar medium) in August 2012, entering interstellar space.
3. **Current Status**: Voyager 1 continues to send data back to Earth from its location in interstellar space. It carries instruments to study cosmic rays, magnetic fields, and plasma waves in this uncharted territory.
### Distance and Communication
- **Distance**: As of 2024, Voyager 1 is approximately 14.1 billion miles (22.7 billion kilometers) from Earth.
- **Communication**: The signals from Voyager 1, traveling at the speed of light, take more than 21 hours to reach Earth. Despite the vast distance, NASA maintains communication with Voyager 1 through the Deep Space Network.
Voyager 1 remains the most distant human-made object from Earth, continuously breaking new ground in our exploration of the solar system and beyond.
