Which planet was Voyager 1's first planetary flyby target?

Which planet was Voyager 1’s first planetary flyby target? The answer is Jupiter, which Voyager 1 encountered in March 1979.

Voyager 1 launched from Cape Canaveral on September 5, 1977, as part of NASA’s ambitious outer-planet exploration program. Its first planetary encounter came on March 5, 1979, when it passed Jupiter at roughly 349,000 kilometers from the planet’s center.

The spacecraft returned the first close, detailed views of Jupiter and its major moons. One of its most dramatic discoveries was active volcanism on Io—the first active volcanoes observed beyond Earth. Voyager 1 also revealed new details about Jupiter’s faint ring system, magnetic environment, radiation belts, and cloud bands.

Voyager 2 had already launched on August 20, 1977, but followed a longer route and reached Jupiter on July 9, 1979. After Jupiter, Voyager 1 continued to Saturn, where its close Titan encounter altered its trajectory. Unlike Voyager 2, Voyager 1 was not sent onward to Uranus or Neptune.