#nasa jet propulsion laboratory

40 years ago today, on September 5, 1977, Voyager 1 launched and forever changed our understanding of the universe. 12 days later, Voyager 2 took off. One month before the two spacecraft departed from Earth, Popular Science went in-depth with the scientists behind the Voyager program to find out how it was planned, @nasa’s goals for the spacecraft, and what would happen if something went wrong with Voyager 1 or 2. 

Read our original coverage here

(Pictured here—from the August 1977 issue of Popular Science—at NASAJet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., final touches are put on 1750-pound Voyager.)