Voyager 1 is one of two identical spacecraft that were launched by NASA in the summer of 1977. One by one, the Voyager twins lifted off from Cape Canaveral (FL) on journeys designed to take them close to Jupiter and Saturn. Their mission was simple, they would take closeup pictures of Jupiter and Saturn, as well as Saturn's rings, and the larger moons of both planets. Voyager 1 and 2 were built to last only five years. But after they had achieved all of their objectives they were still going strong and new ones were added. As Voyager 1 and 2 crossed the solar system, computer programers on Earth sent new instructions to the two spacecraft. The original mission to two planets became a four-planet extravaganza. And a five-year life expentency became a 12-year wish. Uranus and Neptune here we come!

Launched on September 5, 1977,Voyager 1 explored Jupiter and Saturn before being flung into deep space by Saturn's gravity. Courtesy NASA

Neptune, December 31, 1991 Courtesy Voyager 1, NASA

Voyager 1 and 2 together explored all the giant outer planets of our solar system. They also explored 48 moons, and the unusual systems of rings and magnetic fields found around those massive planets.

Voyager has been a huge success! If the Voyager mission had ended after the Jupiter and Saturn flybys, its successes would still have been impressive. But they doubled their planned itineraries, and the Voyagers sent back to Earth information that has revolutionized the science of planetary astronomy---answering key questions and raising new ones about the origin and evolution of the largest planets in our solar system.

Voyager 1 media.