�鶹��ý

Skip to content

What is the probability that Voyager 1 or 2 will hit a planet or star?

The likelihood of this happening is extraordinarily low, say our readers, because interstellar space is so vast

10 January 2024

In this Voyager 2 image of Saturn, obtained Aug. 11, 1981, from a range of 14.7 million kilometers (9.1 million miles), north is at the upper right edge of the disc. Seen above the planet are the satellites Dione (right) and Enceladus. This false-color print shows a green spot at the south edge of a yellow band; in true color, the spot would appear brown and the band white. A bright yellow spot slightly above and to the left in this image moves eastward relative to the green spot at a rate that allows it to pass the green feature in about 50 days. The convective clouds that appear between the two spots are typical of the region. Here, the smallest visible structures measure about 270 kilometers (170 miles). The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia01959-voyager-2-image-of-saturn — NASA/JPL

If they continue on their current trajectories, what is the probability Voyager 1 or 2 will crash into a planet or star in the (distant) future?

Mark Thompson
Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, UK

Both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have reached interstellar space. Currently, Voyager 1 is located 23 billion kilometres from Earth, while Voyager 2 has made it to a distance of 19 billion kilometres.

Since both have already passed by the planets in our solar system, they aren’t expected to crash into a planet or star for some time. However, the trajectories of the probes are influenced by the…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with �鶹��ý events and special offers.

Sign up

or

Existing subscribers

More from �鶹��ý

Explore the latest news, articles and features

Health

Our dreams become more emotive and symbolic as we approach death

News

Space

How to spot the Lyrid meteor shower tonight

News

Health

People are refusing transfusions from donors vaccinated against covid

News

Twisteddoodles uses Gen Z slang to explain chemistry

Twisteddoodles uses Gen Z slang to explain chemistry

Regulars

1

The biggest threat to Chernobyl is no longer radiation

2

Neanderthal infants were enormous compared with modern humans

3

Monkeys walk around a virtual world using only their thoughts

4

Largest ever map of universe captures 47 million galaxies and quasars

5

Exclusive report: Inside Chernobyl, 40 years after nuclear disaster

6

A key solution to climate change isn't happening – and that's good

7

How autoimmune conditions can unexpectedly drive mental illness

8

We’ve caught a comet switching its spin direction for the first time

9

My life as a meteorologist in Chernobyl under Russian occupation

10

Are Neanderthals descendants of modern humans?