Edward C. Stone Biography and Timeline

Voyager Project Scientist

Becomes project scientist for the mission later known as Voyager.

Role range: 1972-2022

Voyager 2 Launch

Voyager 2 launches on the mission that will eventually perform humanity's first close reconnaissance of Neptune.

Voyager 1 Launch

Voyager 1 launches from Cape Canaveral to begin its outer-planet mission.

Role range: 1972-2022

Voyager 1 Asteroid Belt Crossing

Voyager 1 completes its passage through the asteroid belt while continuing toward Jupiter.

Voyager 1 Jupiter Science Phase Begins

Voyager 1 begins intensive approach observations of Jupiter and its satellites before closest approach.

First Close-Up of Amalthea

Voyager 1 obtains the first close spacecraft image of Amalthea, showing its elongated reddish shape.

Role range: 1936-2024

Voyager 1 Jupiter Flyby

Voyager 1 makes its closest approach to Jupiter and surveys its atmosphere, rings and moons.

Role range: 1936-2024

Jupiter Aurora Observations

Voyager instruments record ultraviolet emissions associated with Jupiter's powerful auroral regions.

Ganymede Grooved Terrain

Voyager imagery reveals extensive grooved terrain on Ganymede, demonstrating a complex geological history.

Role range: 1936-2024

Jupiter Lightning Discovery

Voyager observations detect lightning in Jupiter's atmosphere, demonstrating powerful electrical storms.

Role range: 1936-2024

Voyager 2 Jupiter Science Phase Begins

Voyager 2 begins its dedicated Jupiter observation campaign during approach to the Jovian system.

Voyager 2 Jupiter Flyby

Voyager 2 flies past Jupiter and extends observations of the planet and Jovian satellites.

Role range: 1936-2024

Voyager 1 Saturn Flyby

Voyager 1 flies past Saturn and studies the planet, rings and major moons.

Role range: 1972-2022

Saturn Rotation Measurement

Voyager measurements refine Saturn's rotation period using radio and atmospheric observations.

Voyager 2 Saturn Science Phase Begins

Voyager 2 begins long-range Saturn observations ahead of its August encounter.

Voyager 2 Saturn Flyby

Voyager 2 flies past Saturn and extends studies of the planet, rings and moons.

Role range: 1972-2022

Saturn Atmospheric Wind Speeds

Voyager 2 observations map fast zonal winds and persistent atmospheric features on Saturn.

Voyager 2 Uranus Mission Extension

Supports extending Voyager 2 beyond Saturn toward Uranus after the successful primary planetary encounters.

Role range: 1972-2022

Uranus Observation Campaign Begins

Voyager 2 begins long-range scientific observations of Uranus before the January 1986 flyby.

Two New Uranian Rings

Voyager 2 observations reveal two additional rings and new detail in the existing ring system.

Voyager 2 Uranus Flyby

Voyager 2 makes the only spacecraft flyby of Uranus and its moons.

Role range: 1972-2022

Ten New Uranian Moons

Voyager 2 observations reveal ten previously unknown moons orbiting Uranus.

Uranus Rotation Period

Voyager radio and magnetic measurements establish a rotation period of about seventeen hours for Uranus.

Neptune Observation Campaign Begins

Voyager 2 begins sustained approach observations of Neptune from tens of millions of miles away.

Triton Close Flyby

Voyager 2 passes close to Triton after its Neptune encounter and returns detailed surface observations.

Voyager 2 Neptune Flyby

Voyager 2 makes the first and only spacecraft flyby of Neptune.

Role range: 1972-2022

Neptune Ring System Imaging

Voyager 2 obtains the first detailed spacecraft images showing Neptune's system of dark rings.

Six New Neptunian Moons

Voyager 2 observations reveal six previously unknown moons in the inner Neptune system.

Voyager 2 Wide-Angle Camera Shutdown

Voyager 2's wide-angle imaging camera is switched off after completion of its planetary photography.

Voyager Neptune Science Return

Stone oversees the return of an extensive Neptune data set from all ten functioning Voyager 2 instruments.

Voyager Interstellar Mission Begins

The Voyager Interstellar Mission formally begins after completion of the spacecrafts' planetary encounters.

Role range: 1990- – 1989-

Voyager 1 Cameras Off

Voyager 1's imaging cameras are switched off after completion of the Solar System family portrait.

Role range: 1990-1990

Voyager 2 Photopolarimeter Shutdown

Voyager 2's photopolarimeter is switched off after degraded performance ends the experiment.

ACE Launch for Solar Wind Composition

Begins the Advanced Composition Explorer mission carrying instruments that measure the elemental and isotopic composition of solar-wind particles near the Sun-Earth L1 region.

ACE Solar Wind Operations Begin

Begins routine ACE science operations at the Sun-Earth L1 region, providing continuous solar-wind particle and magnetic-field measurements upstream of Earth.

Voyager Distance Record

Voyager 1 passes Pioneer 10 to become the most distant human-made object.

Role range: 1972-2022

Voyager 1 Infrared Instrument Shutdown

Voyager 1's infrared interferometer spectrometer is switched off to conserve limited electrical power.

Termination Shock

Voyager 1 crosses the solar-wind termination shock and enters the heliosheath.

Role range: 1972-2022

Voyager 1 Termination Shock Crossing

Leads interpretation of Voyager 1 measurements as the spacecraft crosses the termination shock where the supersonic solar wind abruptly slows and heats.

Voyager 1 Reaches 100 AU

Voyager 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach one hundred astronomical units from the Sun.