Videos

Photo: NASA / Public domain

5 September 1977

Voyager

1 video perspective

Voyager 1 and 2: From the Grand Tour to Interstellar Space

A documentary on the Voyager probes, launched from Cape Canaveral in 1977, following them past Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune and out to interstellar space.

Published 23 Dec 2023

Photo: NASA/JPL / Public domain

20 August 1977

The Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 mission, launched from Earth in 1977, sent two probes to the outer planets, with both launches reported to have run into trouble. The mission carried no crew and its outcome is recorded as a success.

2 video perspectives

Would a Voyager 3 Still Carry a Golden Record? Storage Compared

The video looks at the golden records on Voyagers 1 and 2, launched in 1977, and asks whether a hypothetical Voyager 3 would carry one today.

Published 31 May 2025
Voyager 1 and 2: Planetary Flybys and the Road to Interstellar Space

A documentary tracing the Voyager probes from their 1977 launches through flybys of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune to their journey beyond the heliosphere.

Published 31 Jul 2026

Photo: NASA / Johns Hopkins APL / Southwest Research Institute / Public domain (US government work)

New Horizons

Nine and a half years to Pluto

Open mission

NASA's New Horizons launched in January 2006 and flew past Pluto on 14 July 2015, returning the first close images of the dwarf planet and its moons. It then went on to the Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth in 2019.

2 video perspectives

New Horizons at Pluto: Heart, Mountains and 20 Haze Layers

NASA's New Horizons probe flew past Pluto in 2015 after a nine-year journey, passing about 12,500 kilometers from the surface on 14 July.

Published 28 Jan 2018
New Horizons at Pluto: Flyby, Computer Reset and Ice Volcano

New Horizons flew by Pluto in July 2015 and returned the first close images of its surface.

Published 31 Jul 2018

Photo: NASA/JPL / Public domain (US government work)

Voyager 1

The farthest spacecraft, still sending data from interstellar space

Open mission

Voyager 1 launched from Cape Canaveral on 5 September 1977, flew past Jupiter and Saturn, and in August 2012 became the first spacecraft to cross into interstellar space. It was built for a five-year mission, and NASA is still receiving its data nearly five decades later.

8 video perspectives

Voyager Probes: Engineering Choices That Kept Them Running

An explainer on the engineering choices that let the Voyager probes keep working for about 45 years, including plutonium-238 power generators, backup thrusters, onboard computers and 8-track tape…

Published 11 Aug 2023
Voyager 1 and 2: From the Grand Tour to Interstellar Space

A long documentary on the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes, from the Grand Tour concept and spacecraft design to the golden record and the discoveries at Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and the edge…

Published 28 May 2025
Voyager 1 and 2: Launch, Grand Tour and Crossing into Interstellar

A documentary on NASA's twin Voyager probes, from the 1970s planetary alignment and the 1977 launches through the encounters with Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Published 21 Mar 2026
Voyager 1 Pale Blue Dot: Why the Cameras Looked Back in 1990

On February 14, 1990, after 12 years of travel, Voyager 1 was commanded to turn its cameras back toward the inner solar system at Carl Sagan's request.

Published 1 Nov 2026