What a long, strange trip it has been for Voyager 1.

On Thursday, Nov. 5 the NASA space probe will be 90 astronomical units (AU) away from Earth after more than 26 years traveling through space. That's 90 times the distance between our planet and the Sun, which is the equivalent of 8.4 billion miles (13.5 billion kilometers).

This image shows an artist's depiction of Voyager 1 on its interstellar journey. NASA launched the probe in the summer of 1977 after lofting its twin Voyager 2 into space. Although launched first, Voyager 2 is closer to Earth than its twin, currently about 70 AU away or 6.5 billion miles (10.6 billion kilometers). Both spacecraft were sent on a tour of the Solar System, visiting Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune before heading out into interstellar space.

From its 90 AU perch, Voyager 1 is the farthest human-made object from Earth and is far from silent. The probe is collecting solar wind data as it travels through the outskirts of the Solar System, where the Sun's influence gives way to interstellar space. Both Voyager craft have enough fuel and thruster resources to operate until 2020. Researchers plan to discuss what some Voyager 1 data might reveal about the Solar System's termination shock, a region where solar wind speed slows from its million-mile-per-hour rate to about 250,000 miles (402,336 kilometers) an hour during a Space Science Update on the day it reaches its latest milestone.