The Voyager probes are humanity’s longest running spacecraft as they have been flying since 1977. Both Voyager 2 and Voyager 1 are now in interstellar space, and though their power sources are gradually fading, they are still operational as of now.
It might seem counter-intuitive, but Voyager 2 was the first to be launched on August 20, 1977 – about two weeks before the launch of Voyager 1. Both spacecraft were equipped with an extensive array of instruments to gather data about the outer planets and their systems, in addition to carrying a slow-scan colour TV camera capable of taking images of the planets and their moons.
