35 years later, Voyager 1 is heading for the stars

Posted: Tue 7:46 AM, Sep 04, 2012

This artists rendering provided by NASA shows the Voyager spacecraft. Launched in 1977, the twin spacecraft are exploring the edge of the solar system. Thirty-five years after leaving Earth, Voyager 1 is reaching for the stars. Sooner or later, the workhorse spacecraft will bid adieu to the solar system and enter a new realm of space _ the first time a man-made object will have escaped to the other side. (AP Photo/NASA)

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - Thirty-five years after leaving Earth, the Voyager 1 spacecraft is reaching for the stars.

Voyager 1 is poised to exit the solar system and enter the space between stars. When that will happen isn't clear. But scientists say there have been signs that it is on the verge of crossing over.

It will be the first manmade object to leave the solar system.

Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, were launched in 1977 on a mission to tour Jupiter and Saturn. No one knew how long they'd live.

Voyager 2 went on to explore Uranus and Neptune. Voyager 1 used Saturn to fling itself toward the solar system's edge.

Wednesday marks the 35th anniversary of Voyager 1's launch.

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