August 1977

The Voyager 2 spacecraft was launched on August 20, 1977. Its primary mission was to explore the outer planets of our solar system. Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Jupiter in July 1979, to Saturn in August 1981, to Uranus in January 1986, and to Neptune in August 1989. Voyager 2 then headed out of our solar system. Because of the remote possibility that it might be recovered by an extraterrestrial civilization, Voyager 2 (as well as Voyager 1) carried a twelve-inch copper phonograph record containing greetings in 54 languages, 117 pictures of Earth and humans, and a 90-minute selection of world music. The spacecraft's electricity is generated by the decay of plutonium pellets.