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Forty years ago, NASA launched the Voyager missions: Two space probes, sent into space on August 20th, and September 5th, 1977.

The Voyager crafts were tasked with helping us learn more about our solar system, to see if there was life out there, and maybe let alien life know that we are here.

"We cast this message into the cosmos ... Of the 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy, some — perhaps many — may have inhabited planets and space faring civilizations," reads a message from President Jimmy Carter, that lives on the Golden Record, a collection of recordings, scientific formulas, songs and sounds from Earth, and other Earthling things that astronomer Carl Sagan deemed the most important for alien life to discover about our home planet.  

The Voyager crafts are still traveling today. Voyager 1 even left our solar system for interstellar space five years ago, but still faithfully transmits back data about the universe beyond. 

In honor of their four-decade journey, a new documentary about the intrepid probes called "The Farthest: Voyager in Space”airs on PBS tonight.

Carolyn Porco is a planetary scientist who started working on the Voyager mission in 1983, and also led the Imaging Team for the Cassini mission, the first probe to enter Saturn’s orbit. Carolyn is featured in tonight’s documentary, and examines Voyager's long legacy today on The Takeaway. 

This segment is hosted by Ray Suarez.