Voyager 1, launched 35 years ago with messages of love from the Earthlings, is on the brink of history with a move into interstellar space, writes Richard Gray.

something sad/artistic about this. this lonely little spacecraft out there on the edge

“It is only when they see three specific signs that they will be sure mankind has left the solar system for the first time: the sudden dropping of solar wind from the sun, a dramatic increase in the level of cosmic rays, and a shift in the magnetic field around the spacecraft”