Voyager missions: Twins that changed how we discern space giants

Who knows, someday, sometime, that might intrigue an intelligent al­ien if it does meet one and gets hacked

The two manmade objects most distant from Earth are slowly powering down. By 2025 or perhaps a little later, the Voyager twins will be completely bereft of po­­wer. However, both the spacecraft will keep travell­ing, heading further and further out of the Solar System.

The Voyager saga showcases in­credible engineering. Neither spa­ce­craft was expected to be functional for more than five years but it’s 44 years and counting. They have sent back huge amounts of data, and breathtaking images, which revolutionised our understanding of gas giants, ice giants, dwarf planets, weird rings and moons.

The mission idea sparked in 1965.