Forty years ago, the twin Voyager spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida, sending back beautiful images of our Solar System, the like of which had never been seen before.
The Voyager mission marked humanity’s first 'grand tour' of the Solar System, and it remains the only time humanity's spacecraft have ever visited Uranus and Neptune.
Voyager 2 lifted off on 20 August 1977, followed shortly after by Voyager 1 on 5 September 1977.
Both probes conducted flybys of Jupiter and Saturn, with Voyager 2 continuing onward to also pass by Uranus and Neptune.
Today, the pair have traveled all the way beyond the edge of the Solar System, making them the farthest human-made objects in existence.
Remarkably, they are still transmitting information back to NASA, though in a much-reduced capacity as their fuel supplies dwindle.
A view of Uranus's moon Miranda, captured by the Voyager 2 spacecraft on 24 January 1986. Credit: NASA/JPL
Between them, the two Voyager spacecraft visited Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and have explored the outer reaches of the Solar System, the edge of the Sun’s domain and beyond.
The Voyager spacecraft returned thousands of images from the planets and moons of the Solar System over the years.
They showed us the intricacies of Jupiter's Great Red Spot and the complexity of Saturn’s rings.
Voyager 2 is still the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus and Neptune, giving us our first (and still best) glimpses of these icy worlds.
Here are some of the best of them.
A view of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io, captured by Voyager 1. Credit: NASA/JPLImage of Jupiter's moon Europa, captured by Voyager 2, 9 July 1979. Credit: NASA/JPLJupiter's rings seen as two light orange lines, captured by Voyager 2 from a distance of 1,450,000km (900,000 miles). Credit: NASA/JPLThe Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of Earth taken 14 February by NASA’s Voyager 1 at a distance of 3.7 billion miles (6 billion kilometres) from the Sun. Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechThe Voyager Family Portrait, a mosaic of frames taken by Voyager 1 in 1990, includes Earth as a pale blue dot, taken at a distance of 6 billion km. Credit: NASA/JPLThe broad light band crossing diagonally along the centre of this image is the first evidence of Jupiter's rings, as seen by the Voyager 1 spacecraft on 4 March 1979. The edge of the ring was 1,212,000km from the spacecraft and 57,000km from the visible cloud deck of Jupiter. Wobbly lines are background stars, their appearance affected by the spacecraft's motion. Credit: NASA/JPLPhotograph of Neptune reconstructed from two images taken by Voyager 2. Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechPhotos of Neptune captured Voyager 2 on 26 April 1989. Image on the right was taken 5 hours after that at left, during which time the planet rotated 100 degrees. Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechImage of Neptune produced from the last whole planet images taken through the green and orange filters on NASA's Voyager 2 narrow angle camera. Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechUranus's moon Ariel as seen by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPLA shot of crescent Uranus captured by Voyager 2 on 25 January 1986 from a range of 600,000 miles. Credit: NASANeptune's Great Dark Spot as seen by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPLA natural colour image of Triton's limb captured by Voyager 2 on 25 August 1989 from a distance of 210,000 km. Credit: NASA/JPLA global map of Triton produced using data from the Voyager 2 spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Lunar & Planetary InstituteTriton in the distance, as seen by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Lunar & Planetary InstituteAn image of Jupiter and its Great Red Spot, captured during the Voyager mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechVoyager 2's view of Neptune's moon Triton. Credit: NASA/JPL/USGSA view of Triton's South Pole, as seen by Voyager 2. About 50 dark plumes could be ice volcanoes erupting. Credit: NASA/JPLSaturn and its moons Tethys, Dion and Rhea, as seen by Voyager 2 in August 1981. Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechAn image of a volcanic explosion on Io, captured by the Voyager 1 spacecraft on 4 March at 17:30 (PST) from a distance of 490,000km. Credit: NASA/JPLA view of Saturn's rings captured by Voyager 2, 22 August 1981, from a distance of 2.5 million miles. Credit: NASA / JPL-CaltechUranus's rings, as seen by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPLA view of cloud streaks in Neptune's atmosphere, captured by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPLThe planet Jupiter, taken by Voyager 1 at a distance of 54 million km from its closest approach. The Great Red Spot dominates the picture and swirling, storm-like features are visible above and to the left of the Spot, showing the turbulent atmosphere. (Credit: NASA/JPL)
