NASA is slowly powering down the Voyager probes. Here are 18 groundbreaking photos from their 45-year mission.

Marianne GuenotJun 28, 2022, 08:41 IST

This montage shows examples of striking images of the solar system Voyager 1 and 2 took on their missions.NASA/JPL/Insider

Almost 45 years after their launch, Voyager 1 and 2 are still operating.
But with power dwindling, the probes may soon reach the end of their scientific mission.

The Voyager probes are pioneers of science, making it further into space than any other man-made object.

NASA originally sent the twin probes on a four-year mission to Jupiter and Saturn in 1977; they exceeded all expectations, and are still going 45 years later.

Amazing photos of the solar system are among the achievements they beamed back before NASA shut the cameras down.

But now, they face a terminal problem: their power is running out, and NASA scientists are shutting down even more instruments on board to conserve energy.

As they near the end of their mission, here are 18 images from Voyager that changed science:

The Voyager probes were designed to visit Jupiter and Saturn.

The voyager probes wizzed through the solar system taking unprecedented pictures.NASA

This is what Voyager 1 saw on its approach to Jupiter.

A time-lapse Voyager 1 took as it approached Jupiter in 1979.NASA/JPL

The probes discovered two new moons orbiting Jupiter: Thebe and Metis....

Jupiter and two of its moons, as seen by the Voyager probes.NASA/JPL

...as well as a thin ring around Jupiter.

A false-color image of Jupiter's ring, discovered by the Voyager probes.NASA/JPL

Voyager 1's biggest discovery was volcanic activity at the surface of Io, one of Jupiter's moons.

A picture taken by the Voyager probes uncovered volcanoes at the surface of Io.NASA/JPL

Next stop: Saturn

NASA used three Voyager 2 images — taken through ultraviolet, violet and green filters — to make this photograph.NASA/JPL

Voyager taught scientists about the detail of Saturn's rings.

A Voyager probe took this false-color image of Saturn's rings on August 23, 1981.NASA

Voyager captured Enceladus, Saturn's moon, in unprecedented detail.

Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons, as seen by Voyager.NASA/JPL

This picture, taken as the probe flew away, provided a unique view of the planet.

Voyager 1 looked back to Saturn on November 16, 1980, to give this unique perspective on its rings, partially covered in shadow.NASA/JPL

By 1986, Voyager 2 had made it to Uranus

Voyager 2 captured these images, in true color (left) and false-color (right) of Neptune in 1986.NASA/JPL

Its pictures of Uranus' largest moons also uncovered 11 previously unseen moons.

The Voyager probes' pictures of Miranda, Uranus' moon, revealed its complicated geological past.NASA/JPL

Voyager 2 was the first spacecraft to observe Neptune from a close distance.

Neptune, seen in false color by Voyager 2 in 1989. Here, the red or white coloring means that sunlight is passing through a methane-rich atmosphere.NASA/JPL

A picture shows the blue Neptune in full.

Neptune, as seen by Voyager 2 in 1989.NASA/JPL

A picture shows Triton's rough surface.

Triton, as seen by Voyager 2 in 1989.NASA/JPL

Another shows Triton's southern hemisphere.

Neptune, as seen by Voyager 2 in 1989.NASA/JPL

It captured Neptune's rings.

Neptune's rings.NASA/JPL

Here, Voyager saw the crescent shape of Neptune's south pole as it departed.

Neptune, as seen by Voyager 2 in 1989.NASA/JPL

Voyager took 60 images of the solar system from about 4 billion miles away.

Voyager 1 provided the solar system's portrait in 1990.NASA/JPL

It gave us the Earth's most distant self-portrait, dubbed the "pale blue dot."

This is the Earth, seen from 4 billion miles away.NASA

Beyond the solar system

This artist's concept shows the general locations of NASA's two Voyager spacecraft. Voyager 1 (top) has sailed beyond our solar bubble into interstellar space, the space between stars.NASA/JPL-Caltech

Even after their instruments are switched off, the probes' mission continues.

A collage shows the two sides of NASA's golden record, which is onboard the Voyager probes.NASA/Insider

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NASA is slowly powering down the Voyager probes. Here are 18 groundbreaking photos from their 45-year mission.

The Voyager probes were designed to visit Jupiter and Saturn.

This is what Voyager 1 saw on its approach to Jupiter.

The probes discovered two new moons orbiting Jupiter: Thebe and Metis....

...as well as a thin ring around Jupiter.

Voyager 1's biggest discovery was volcanic activity at the surface of Io, one of Jupiter's moons.

Next stop: Saturn

Voyager taught scientists about the detail of Saturn's rings.

Voyager captured Enceladus, Saturn's moon, in unprecedented detail.

This picture, taken as the probe flew away, provided a unique view of the planet.

By 1986, Voyager 2 had made it to Uranus

Its pictures of Uranus' largest moons also uncovered 11 previously unseen moons.

Voyager 2 was the first spacecraft to observe Neptune from a close distance.

A picture shows the blue Neptune in full.

A picture shows Triton's rough surface.

Another shows Triton's southern hemisphere.

It captured Neptune's rings.

Here, Voyager saw the crescent shape of Neptune's south pole as it departed.

Voyager took 60 images of the solar system from about 4 billion miles away.

It gave us the Earth's most distant self-portrait, dubbed the "pale blue dot."

Beyond the solar system

Even after their instruments are switched off, the probes' mission continues.