25 August 2012: Voyager 1 enters interstellar space

On this day in 2012, the Voyager 1 spacecraft crossed into interstellar space, becoming the first manmade object to explore the space between the stars.

Voyager space probe © NASA/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Voyager: a snip at $865m
(Image credit: © NASA/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

What do a recording of Chuck Berry's Johnnie B Goode, a photograph of a woman licking an ice cream and the sound of a chimpanzee have in common? They are all heading away from Earth at over 56,000 km per hour. These sounds and images are part of an eclectic mix recorded onto a gold-plated 12-inch copper disc, currently hitching a ride through the galaxy on the Voyager 1 spacecraft.

Originally named after the Mariner missions, Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, blasted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Flight Center in August and September 1977 on a mission to study Jupiter and Saturn. But the probes, on separate trajectories, far exceeded their goals.

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Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

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