SPACECRAFT · LIVE

Who is where in the Solar System

The farthest human-made object right now is Voyager 1, 172 AU from the Sun; a radio signal takes 23 h 55 min to get there. Distances update every second.

Seen from above with the Sun at the centre. Distances are on a logarithmic scale so the inner planets and the Voyagers fit in one picture. Webb sits right beside the Earth and is not drawn separately.

Voyager 1

NASA · 1977

The most distant human-made object. It crossed into interstellar space in 2012.

From the Sun: 172.087 AU25,743,797,081 km
From Earth: 25,818,934,213 km
A message takes: 23 h 55 min
Speed (around the Sun): 16.9 km/s

Voyager 2

NASA · 1977

The only craft to have visited Uranus and Neptune. It reached interstellar space in 2018.

From the Sun: 144.237 AU21,577,499,983 km
From Earth: 21,585,998,076 km
A message takes: 20 h 0 min
Speed (around the Sun): 15.3 km/s

New Horizons

NASA · 2006

Flew past Pluto in 2015 and Arrokoth in 2019; now crossing the Kuiper belt.

From the Sun: 65.848 AU9,850,789,476 km
From Earth: 9,867,812,662 km
A message takes: 9 h 8 min
Speed (around the Sun): 13.6 km/s

Lucy

NASA · 2021

Bound for the Trojan asteroids that share Jupiter’s orbit.

From the Sun: 5.130 AU767,490,743 km
From Earth: 909,446,003 km
A message takes: 50 min 33 s
Speed (around the Sun): 9.0 km/s

Psyche

NASA · 2023

On its way to the metal-rich asteroid 16 Psyche, due in 2029.

From the Sun: 1.745 AU261,082,348 km
From Earth: 270,089,864 km
A message takes: 15 min 0 s
Speed (around the Sun): 24.4 km/s

James Webb

NASA · ESA · CSA · 2021

Watching the first galaxies from the L2 point, about 1.5 million km from Earth.

From the Sun: 1.005 AU150,327,002 km
From Earth: 1,472,680 km
A message takes: 4.9 s
Speed (around the Sun): 30.3 km/s

Juice

ESA · 2023

Heading for Jupiter and its icy moons Ganymede, Callisto and Europa, due in 2031.

From the Sun: 0.897 AU134,239,971 km
From Earth: 19,280,333 km
A message takes: 1 min 4 s
Speed (around the Sun): 37.9 km/s

Solar Orbiter

ESA · NASA · 2020

The first craft to image the Sun’s poles up close.

From the Sun: 0.846 AU126,539,813 km
From Earth: 108,515,476 km
A message takes: 6 min 1 s
Speed (around the Sun): 24.7 km/s

Europa Clipper

NASA · 2024

On its way to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, due in 2030.

From the Sun: 0.842 AU125,892,654 km
From Earth: 50,713,009 km
A message takes: 2 min 49 s
Speed (around the Sun): 39.4 km/s

Parker Solar Probe

NASA · 2018

The craft that has come closest to the Sun, flying through its outer atmosphere, the corona.

From the Sun: 0.731 AU109,355,934 km
From Earth: 133,412,827 km
A message takes: 7 min 25 s
Speed (around the Sun): 12.0 km/s

BepiColombo

ESA · JAXA · 2018

The European–Japanese mission to study Mercury.

From the Sun: 0.409 AU61,149,496 km
From Earth: 133,670,173 km
A message takes: 7 min 25 s
Speed (around the Sun): 45.4 km/s

BepiColombo’s Mercury arrival begins - full replay

Positions come from NASA JPL Horizons once a day; the moments in between are worked out in your browser. Distances are measured from the centres of the Sun and the Earth.