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At this moment, two spacecraft that were launched from Earth in 1977 hurtle through space at more than 30,000 mph (48,280 km/h). They are both several billion miles away, farther from Earth than any other man-made object. On Aug. 25, 2012, one of them crossed into interstellar space, making the first spacecraft to leave the solar system

Voyager 1 and 2 carry coded messages to potential alien civilizations. They have already taught scientists a great deal about the heliosheath , the outermost layer of the solar system. But none of this is even what they were designed for.

The Voyager spacecrafts were built to fly past the outer planets ( Jupiter , Saturn , Neptune and Uranus ) and study them closely, the first time in human history they'd been observed up close. The spacecraft succeeded magnificently, advancing planetary science by vast leaps. It was only after they’d accomplished their primary mission that they continued on to become Earth’s most far-ranging explorers.

Yet it was a matter of extremely good luck and timing that the missions were possible at all -- and an equal stroke of bad luck that almost scuttled the Voyager project before it ever left the ground. These ambitious missions were the product of new advances in the science and math of orbital trajectories, but they were almost cast by the wayside in favor of the expensive space shuttle program. Virtually every unmanned space mission undertaken today relies on knowledge and experience gained by the Voyagers.

We’ll take a close look at the ungainly Voyager space probes and all the technical equipment they carry on board. We’ll trace their trajectory from the development stages to their ultimate fate light years away from Earth. There will be stops at the largest planets in our solar system along the way. And if you’re wondering what's on the golden records each Voyager carries as messages for alien life forms, we’ll give them a spin. Will any aliens ever find them?

Voyager 1 and 2: The Grand Tour

Voyager equipment, to neptune and beyond, voyager golden record.

The 1970s were a transitional period for the U.S. space effort. The Apollo program was coming to a close, and NASA was trying to figure out what form manned spaceflight would take. The Mariner missions expanded our knowledge of the inner planets by sending space probes to fly past (and in some cases orbit) Mars , Venus and Mercury . There were tentative plans to send a Mariner mission to visit some of the outer planets, but using chemical rocket propulsion, such a trip would take 15 years or more.

At the same time, important advances were being made in the science of gravity-assisted orbital trajectories . While the math and physics involved are pretty complicated, the basic idea is that a spacecraft can use the gravity of a nearby planet to give it a large boost in velocity as long as the spacecraft follows the proper orbit. The higher the mass of the planet, the stronger the gravitational force, and the bigger the boost. That meant that once a space probe reached Jupiter (the most massive planet in our solar system ), it could use Jupiter’s gravity like a slingshot and head out to explore the more distant planets.

In 1965, an engineer named Gary Flandro noticed that in the mid-1970s, the outer planets would be aligned in such a way as to make it possible for a spacecraft to visit them all using a series of gravity-assisted boosts [source: Evans ]. This particular alignment wasn't just a once-in-a-lifetime event -- it wouldn't occur again for another 176 years. It was an amazing coincidence that the technical ability to accomplish such a mission was developed a few years before the planets lined up to allow it.

Initially, the ambitious project, known as the Grand Tour, would have sent a series of probes to visit all the outer planets. In 1972, however, budget projections for the project were approaching $900 million, and NASA was planning development of the space shuttle [source: Evans ]. With the immense shuttle development costs looming, the Grand Tour was cancelled and replaced with a more modest mission profile. This would be an extension of the Mariner program, referred to as the Mariner Jupiter-Saturn mission (MJS) . Based on the Mariner platform and improved with knowledge gained from Pioneer 10’s 1973 fly-by of Jupiter, the new probes eventually took the name Voyager. Design was completed in 1977. Optimistic NASA engineers thought they might be able to use gravity-assisted trajectories to reach Uranus and Neptune if the initial mission to visit Jupiter and Saturn (and some of their moons) was completed successfully. The idea of the Grand Tour flickered back to life.

The final Voyager mission plan looked like this: Two spacecraft (Voyager 1 and Voyager 2) would be launched a few weeks apart. Voyager 1 would fly past Jupiter and several of Jupiter’s moons from a relatively close distance, scanning and taking photos. Voyager 2 would also fly past Jupiter, but at a more conservative distance. If all went well, both probes would be catapulted toward Saturn by Jupiter’s gravity. Voyager 1 would then investigate Saturn, specifically the rings, as well as the moon Titan. At that point, Voyager 1’s trajectory would take it out of the solar system’s ecliptic (the plane of the planets’ orbits), away from all other planets, and eventually out of the solar system itself.

Meanwhile, Voyager 2 would visit Saturn and several of Saturn’s moons. If it was still functioning properly when that was completed, it would be boosted by Saturn’s gravity to visit Uranus and Neptune before also leaving the ecliptic and exiting the solar system. This was considered a long shot, but amazingly, everything worked as planned.

Next, what kind of hardware did the Voyagers carry into space?

Voyager 2 launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on board a Titan-Centaur rocket on Aug. 20, 1977. Voyager 1 launched on Sept. 5, 1977. Why is the numbering reversed? Once en route to the outer planets, Voyager 1 passed by Voyager 2 and reached Jupiter first. NASA thought the public would be confused if Voyager 2 started reporting back first, so the numbering doesn't follow the launch order.

Both Voyager spacecraft are identical. They don't have a sleek, aerodynamic design because there's no aerodynamic friction in space to worry about. Weighing 1,592 pounds (722 kilograms), they're made up of a main bus, a high-gain antenna, three booms that held scientific instruments and the power supply, and two other antennae.

The main bus is the body of the Voyager. It's a 10-sided box 5.9 feet (1.8 meters) across, and it contains some scientific instruments, electronics and a fuel tank for the rocket thrusters. The thrusters are used to reorient the craft as it moves through space.

Mounted on top of the main bus, the high-gain antenna is 12 feet (3.7 meters) across and looks like a satellite dish. This antenna is how the Voyagers receive commands from Earth and send the data they gather back. No matter where a Voyager spacecraft flies, the high-gain antenna always points toward Earth.

One of the booms extending off of the main bus carries Voyager’s radioisotope thermoelectric power supply . Pellets of plutonium dioxide release heat through natural decay. This heat is converted into electricity using a series of thermocouples. Although the power output isn't very strong, it powers the electronics and instruments on board the Voyagers for a very long time. Power isn't expected to deplete completely until 2020. The power supply was placed on a boom to keep the radiation from interfering with the other scientific instruments.

The other two booms carry a series of instruments. These include:

• Magnetometer
• Cosmic ray detector
• Plasma detector
• Photopolarimeter
• Infrared interferometer
• Spectrometer
• Ultraviolet spectrometer
• Low energy charged particle detector
• Plasma wave detector

[source: Evans, Dethloff & Schorn ]

Perhaps the most significant instruments on board the Voyagers, as far as the public is concerned, are the cameras. Also mounted on the instrument boom, the cameras have a resolution of 800x800, with both wide-angle and narrow-field versions. The cameras returned unprecedented photos of the outer planets and gave us views of our solar system that we had never before witnessed (including the famous departure shot showing both Earth and Earth’s moon in the same frame). The boom carrying the cameras could be moved independently from the rest of the craft.

The Voyager’s computer system was very impressive as well. Knowing the craft would be on its own much of the time, with the lag between command and response from Earth growing longer the farther the craft went into space, engineers developed a self-repairing computer system . The computer has multiple modules that compare the data they receive and the output instructions they decide on. If one module differs from the others, it's assumed to be faulty and is eliminated from the system, replaced by one of the backup modules. It was tested shortly after launch, when a delay in boom deployment was misread as a malfunction. The problem was corrected successfully.

In the next section, we’ll find out what we learned from the Voyager missions.

While the Voyagers themselves did all the data gathering, there were important mission elements on the ground as well. The Voyagers’ signals became increasingly difficult to detect as they flew out into the outer solar system, so NASA improved a worldwide network of radio receiving stations to better detect them. A series of 230-foot (70-meter) radio dishes pull in the Voyager data and send signals out to it, maintaining almost continuous communication [source: Evans ].

Although the lifetime mission cost for Voyager exceeded $750 million, by 1989 the spacecrafts had returned enough scientific data to fill 6,000 editions of the Encyclopedia Britannica [source: Evans ]. The science modules on board were chosen from proposals submitted by research teams across the United States. The information about Jupiter , Saturn , Uranus and Neptune (and many of their moons) that we learned from the Voyager missions wasn't just vast in quantity, but also in influence. It shaped science textbooks in schools across the U.S., informed public perceptions of the solar system and laid the foundation for the modern space program. Much of what we know about the outer planets came from Voyager. That’s not to mention the thousands of photographs taken from vantage points humans had never experienced before. Those brilliant images of Jupiter and Saturn fired the public’s imagination and fueled enthusiasm for future space exploration.

From Voyager, we learned more about the weather on Jupiter; the rings around Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus; volcanic activity on Jupiter's moon Io; the masses and densities of Saturn’s moons; the atmospheric pressure on Titan, Saturn's largest moon; the magnetic field of Uranus; and a persistent weather system on Neptune as large as Earth , known as the Great Dark Spot . By the time Voyager 2 reached Neptune, it was 1989. More than 10 years had passed since launch, and many of the scientists working on the original mission had moved on. Voyager had passed by Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus in 1979, 1981 and 1986, respectively.

So where are they now? The two Voyagers aren't together. Voyager 1 is moving north (relative to the orientation of Earth out of the solar system), while Voyager 2 is moving south. In 2007, they both entered the heliosheath, the outermost section of the solar system. There, the solar wind meets interstellar magnetic fields and forms a boundary with a shock wave. The Voyagers traversed the shock wave and sent data back, giving astronomers their first idea of the shape and location of the heliosheath. On Sept. 21, 2013, Voyager scientists reported that Voyager 1 left the solar system on Aug. 25, 2012.

Although some instruments on the Voyagers are no longer working, they do continue to send back important information. Imagine a car that has been on the road continuously since 1977, and you'll get some idea of how amazing these spacecraft are. At their current distance, it takes radio signals traveling at the speed of light more than 14 hours to reach Earth. The craft are running low on fuel for their orienting thrusters and will have to power down some instruments in the coming years as their plutonium runs out as well. By 2020, they will be dark and silent.

Yet they will continue on their current trajectory, moving over 30,000 mph (48,280 km/h), arcing out into the Milky Way for tens of thousands of years. With no atmosphere in space, they will never corrode, and there is little for them to crash into in interstellar space. It will take them about 40,000 years before they even come within light years of another star . The Voyagers may be traveling for hundreds of thousands or even millions of years.

What if the Voyagers meet an intelligent alien civilization some day? We’ve left a message for them.

When NASA realized that the Voyagers would eventually travel beyond the edge of our solar system , they decided it might be a good idea to include some kind of message to any intelligent aliens who might some day find them. A committee headed by astronomer Carl Sagan put these messages together. They're contained on gold-plated copper discs, which are engraved much like a vinyl record album. A portion of the disc contains audio information, including a variety of music, greetings spoken in 55 different languages (including some that are very obscure or long extinct) and a selection of nature sounds. The discs also include 122 images, encoded as vibrations on the disc with instructions for decoding.

On each disc’s cover plate are several symbols that depict the method of playing back the record (a stylus and mounting platter are included as well). The image decoding instructions are revealed, describing the “image start” signal, the aspect ratio of the images, and a reproduction of the first image, so the aliens would know if they got it right. A star map clearly showing the location of Earth completes the picture.

If the aliens wonder how long the Voyager they find has been traveling, they can examine the piece of uranium-238 attached to the main bus near the record. Examining the isotope ratios (assuming they know the half-life of uranium-238), they could then deduce how long the sample had been in space.

What music will the aliens hear when they play the record? Mostly traditional music from a variety of cultures, such as Native Americans chants, Scottish bagpipes and African ritual music. It is also something of a “greatest hits” collection of classical music. The most contemporary songs are “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry and a jazz number by Louis Armstrong.

The images on the record are varied, and include maps of Earth, images of the other planets in our solar system, pictures of various animals and several images of humans. Carl Sagan wrote a book about the record, called "Murmurs of Earth." A companion CD-ROM was released decades later.

The Voyager discs are similar to a plaque that was placed aboard Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11, although the creators of the Voyager discs spent a lot of time making sure the aliens could decode it. Many Earth scientists could not decode the information on the Pioneer plaque. At the time, some voiced concerns that any hostile aliens finding the Voyager disc would have a map leading them directly to Earth. However, the Voyagers will spend tens of thousands of years in interstellar space before they are anywhere near another star, so the matter isn’t really an immediate concern. If the discs are ever found, it may be so far in the future that humans no longer exist.

For more interesting articles about space exploration, try the next page.

In "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" (the first Star Trek film), much of the plot revolved around a strange electronic life form known as V’Ger. By the end of the film, it is revealed that V’Ger is one of the Voyager space probes (Voyager 6, which never existed in the real world) that has either gained sentience on its own or been given sentience by an alien race. It wants to eradicate all of humanity, but instead evolves into yet another form of life.

Within the fictional Star Trek universe, there is some dispute as to V’Ger’s place in Trek history. Some suggest that V’Ger created the Borg, a cold, logical alien race that would become the primary villains in "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Others think the Borg encountered V’Ger, but that the cyborg aliens existed before the chance meeting.

Voyager Space FAQ

What is the temperature of interstellar space, how far away is voyager 2, how far away is voyager 1, do the voyagers have a camera, what is the difference between voyager 1 and 2, lots more information, related articles.

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More Great Links

• Voyager Web site
• Evans, Ben. "NASA's Voyager Missions: Exploring the Outer Solar System and Beyond." Springer; 1st ed 2004. 2nd printing edition (April 15, 2008).
• Dethloff, Henry C & Schorn, Ronald A. "Voyager's Grand Tour: To the Outer Planets and Beyond." Smithsonian (March 17, 2003).
• NASA. “Voyager 2 Proves Solar System Is Squashed.” http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/

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The most distant human-made object

No spacecraft has gone farther than NASA's Voyager 1. Launched in 1977 to fly by Jupiter and Saturn, Voyager 1 crossed into interstellar space in August 2012 and continues to collect data.

Mission Type

What is Voyager 1?

Voyager 1 has been exploring our solar system for more than 45 years. The probe is now in interstellar space, the region outside the heliopause, or the bubble of energetic particles and magnetic fields from the Sun.

• Voyager 1 was the first spacecraft to cross the heliosphere, the boundary where the influences outside our solar system are stronger than those from our Sun.
• Voyager 1 is the first human-made object to venture into interstellar space.
• Voyager 1 discovered a thin ring around Jupiter and two new Jovian moons: Thebe and Metis.
• At Saturn, Voyager 1 found five new moons and a new ring called the G-ring.

In Depth: Voyager 1

Voyager 1 was launched after Voyager 2, but because of a faster route, it exited the asteroid belt earlier than its twin, having overtaken Voyager 2 on Dec. 15, 1977.

Voyager 1 at Jupiter

Voyager 1 began its Jovian imaging mission in April 1978 at a range of 165 million miles (265 million km) from the planet. Images sent back by January the following year indicated that Jupiter’s atmosphere was more turbulent than during the Pioneer flybys in 1973–1974.

Beginning on January 30, Voyager 1 took a picture every 96 seconds for a span of 100 hours to generate a color timelapse movie to depict 10 rotations of Jupiter. On Feb. 10, 1979, the spacecraft crossed into the Jovian moon system and by early March, it had already discovered a thin (less than 30 kilometers thick) ring circling Jupiter.

Voyager 1’s closest encounter with Jupiter was at 12:05 UT on March 5, 1979 at a range of about 174,000 miles (280,000 km). It encountered several of Jupiter’s Moons, including Amalthea, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, returning spectacular photos of their terrain, opening up completely new worlds for planetary scientists.

The most interesting find was on Io, where images showed a bizarre yellow, orange, and brown world with at least eight active volcanoes spewing material into space, making it one of the most (if not the most) geologically active planetary body in the solar system. The presence of active volcanoes suggested that the sulfur and oxygen in Jovian space may be a result of the volcanic plumes from Io which are rich in sulfur dioxide. The spacecraft also discovered two new moons, Thebe and Metis.

Voyager 1 at Saturn

Following the Jupiter encounter, Voyager 1 completed an initial course correction on April 9, 1979 in preparation for its meeting with Saturn. A second correction on Oct. 10, 1979 ensured that the spacecraft would not hit Saturn’s moon Titan.

Its flyby of the Saturn system in November 1979 was as spectacular as its previous encounter. Voyager 1 found five new moons, a ring system consisting of thousands of bands, wedge-shaped transient clouds of tiny particles in the B ring that scientists called “spokes,” a new ring (the “G-ring”), and “shepherding” satellites on either side of the F-ring—satellites that keep the rings well-defined.

During its flyby, the spacecraft photographed Saturn’s moons Titan, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, and Rhea. Based on incoming data, all the moons appeared to be composed largely of water ice. Perhaps the most interesting target was Titan, which Voyager 1 passed at 05:41 UT on November 12 at a range of 2,500 miles (4,000 km). Images showed a thick atmosphere that completely hid the surface. The spacecraft found that the moon’s atmosphere was composed of 90% nitrogen. Pressure ad temperature at the surface was 1.6 atmospheres and 356 °F (–180°C), respectively.

Atmospheric data suggested that Titan might be the first body in the solar system (apart from Earth) where liquid might exist on the surface. In addition, the presence of nitrogen, methane, and more complex hydrocarbons indicated that prebiotic chemical reactions might be possible on Titan.

Voyager 1’s closest approach to Saturn was at 23:46 UT on 12 Nov. 12, 1980 at a range of 78,000 miles(126,000 km).

Voyager 1’s ‘Family Portrait’ Image

Following the encounter with Saturn, Voyager 1 headed on a trajectory escaping the solar system at a speed of about 3.5 AU per year, 35° out of the ecliptic plane to the north, in the general direction of the Sun’s motion relative to nearby stars. Because of the specific requirements for the Titan flyby, the spacecraft was not directed to Uranus and Neptune.

The final images taken by the Voyagers comprised a mosaic of 64 images taken by Voyager 1 on Feb. 14, 1990 at a distance of 40 AU of the Sun and all the planets of the solar system (although Mercury and Mars did not appear, the former because it was too close to the Sun and the latter because Mars was on the same side of the Sun as Voyager 1 so only its dark side faced the cameras).

This was the so-called “pale blue dot” image made famous by Cornell University professor and Voyager science team member Carl Sagan (1934-1996). These were the last of a total of 67,000 images taken by the two spacecraft.

Voyager 1’s Interstellar Mission

All the planetary encounters finally over in 1989, the missions of Voyager 1 and 2 were declared part of the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM), which officially began on Jan. 1, 1990.

The goal was to extend NASA’s exploration of the solar system beyond the neighborhood of the outer planets to the outer limits of the Sun’s sphere of influence, and “possibly beyond.” Specific goals include collecting data on the transition between the heliosphere, the region of space dominated by the Sun’s magnetic field and solar field, and the interstellar medium.

On Feb. 17, 1998, Voyager 1 became the most distant human-made object in existence when, at a distance of 69.4 AU from the Sun when it “overtook” Pioneer 10.

On Dec. 16, 2004, Voyager scientists announced that Voyager 1 had reported high values for the intensity for the magnetic field at a distance of 94 AU, indicating that it had reached the termination shock and had now entered the heliosheath.

The spacecraft finally exited the heliosphere and began measuring the interstellar environment on Aug. 25, 2012, the first spacecraft to do so.

On Sept. 5, 2017, NASA marked the 40th anniversary of its launch, as it continues to communicate with NASA’s Deep Space Network and send data back from four still-functioning instruments—the cosmic ray telescope, the low-energy charged particles experiment, the magnetometer, and the plasma waves experiment.

The Golden Record

Each of the Voyagers contain a “message,” prepared by a team headed by Carl Sagan, in the form of a 12-inch (30 cm) diameter gold-plated copper disc for potential extraterrestrials who might find the spacecraft. Like the plaques on Pioneers 10 and 11, the record has inscribed symbols to show the location of Earth relative to several pulsars.

The records also contain instructions to play them using a cartridge and a needle, much like a vinyl record player. The audio on the disc includes greetings in 55 languages, 35 sounds from life on Earth (such as whale songs, laughter, etc.), 90 minutes of generally Western music including everything from Mozart and Bach to Chuck Berry and Blind Willie Johnson. It also includes 115 images of life on Earth and recorded greetings from then U.S. President Jimmy Carter (1924– ) and then-UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim (1918–2007).

By January 2024, Voyager 1 was about 136 AU (15 billion miles, or 20 billion kilometers) from Earth, the farthest object created by humans, and moving at a velocity of about 38,000 mph (17.0 kilometers/second) relative to the Sun.

National Space Science Data Center: Voyager 1

A library of technical details and historic perspective.

Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration

A comprehensive history of missions sent to explore beyond Earth.

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45 years ago: voyager 1 begins its epic journey to the outer planets and beyond, johnson space center.

Forty-five years ago, the Voyager 1 spacecraft began an epic journey that continues to this day. The second of a pair of spacecraft, Voyager 1 lifted off on Sept. 5, 1977, 16 days after its twin left on a similar voyage. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, managed the two spacecraft on their missions to explore the outer planets. Taking advantage of a rare planetary alignment to use the gravity of one planet to redirect the spacecraft to the next, the Voyagers planned to use Jupiter’s gravity to send them on to explore Saturn and its large moon Titan. They carried sophisticated instruments to conduct their in-depth explorations of the giant planets. Both spacecraft continue to return data as they make their way out of our solar system and enter interstellar space.

In the 1960s, mission designers at JPL noted that the next occurrence of a once-every-175-year alignment of the outer planets would happen in the late 1970s. A spacecraft could take advantage of this opportunity to fly by Jupiter and use its gravity to bend its trajectory to visit Saturn, and repeat the process to also visit Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Launching several missions to visit each planet individually would take much longer and cost much more. The original plan to send two pairs of Thermoelectric Outer Planet Spacecraft on these Grand Tours proved too costly leading to its cancellation in 1971. The next year, NASA approved a scaled-down version of the project to send a pair of Mariner-class spacecraft in 1977 to explore just Jupiter and Saturn, with an expected five-year operational life. On March 7, 1977, NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher announced the renaming of these Mariner Jupiter/Saturn 1977 spacecraft as Voyager 1 and 2. Scientists held out hope that one of them could ultimately visit Uranus and Neptune, thereby fulfilling most of the original Grand Tour’s objectives – Pluto would have to wait several decades for its first visit.

Each Voyager carried a suite of 11 instruments to study the planets during each encounter and to learn more about interplanetary space in the outer reaches of the solar system, including: 

• An imaging science system consisting of narrow-angle and wide-angle cameras to photograph the planet and its satellites.
• A radio science system to determine the planet’s physical properties.
• An infrared interferometer spectrometer to investigate local and global energy balance and atmospheric composition.
• An ultraviolet spectrometer to measure atmospheric properties.
• A magnetometer to analyze the planet’s magnetic field and interaction with the solar wind.
• A plasma spectrometer to investigate microscopic properties of plasma ions.
• A low-energy charged particle device to measure fluxes and distributions of ions.
• A cosmic ray detection system to determine the origin and behavior of cosmic radiation.
• A planetary radio astronomy investigation to study radio emissions from Jupiter.
• A photopolarimeter to measure the planet’s surface composition.
• A plasma wave system to study the planet’s magnetosphere.

Voyager 1 lifted off on Sept. 5, 1977, atop a Titan IIIE-Centaur rocket from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, now Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, in Florida. Two weeks after its launch, from a distance of 7.25 million miles, Voyager 1 turned its camera back toward its home planet and took the first single-frame image of the Earth-Moon system. The spacecraft successfully crossed the asteroid belt between Dec. 10, 1977, and Sept. 8, 1978.

Although Voyager 1 launched two weeks after its twin, it traveled on a faster trajectory and arrived at Jupiter four months earlier. Voyager 1 conducted its observations of Jupiter between Jan. 6 and April 13, 1979, making its closest approach of 216,837 miles from the planet’s center on March 5. The spacecraft returned 19,000 images of the giant planet, many of Jupiter’s satellites, and confirmed the presence of a thin ring encircling it. Its other instruments returned information about Jupiter’s atmosphere and magnetic field. Jupiter’s massive gravity field bent the spacecraft’s trajectory and accelerated it toward Saturn.

Voyager 1 began its long-range observations of Saturn on Aug. 22, 1980, passed within 114,500 miles of the planet’s center on Nov. 12, and concluded its studies on Dec. 14. Because of its interest to scientists, mission planners chose the spacecraft’s trajectory to make a close flyby of Saturn’s largest moon Titan – the only planetary satellite with a dense atmosphere – just before the closest approach to the planet itself. This trajectory, passing over Saturn’s south pole and bending north over the plane of the ecliptic, precluded Voyager 1 from making any additional planetary encounters. The spacecraft flew 4,033 miles from Titan’s center, returning images of its unbroken orange atmosphere and high-altitude blue haze layer. During the encounter, Voyager 1 returned 16,000 photographs, imaging Saturn, its rings, many of its known satellites and discovering several new ones, while its instruments returned data about Saturn’s atmosphere and magnetic field.

On Feb. 14, 1990, more than 12 years after it began its journey from Earth and shortly before controllers  permanently turned off its cameras to conserve power, Voyager 1 spun around and pointed them back into the solar system. In a mosaic of 60 images, it captured a “family portrait” of six of the solar system’s planets, including a pale blue dot called Earth more than 3.7 billion miles away. Fittingly, these were the last pictures returned from either Voyager spacecraft. On Feb. 17, 1998, Voyager 1 became the most distant human-made object, overtaking the Pioneer 10 spacecraft on their way out of the solar system. In February 2020, to commemorate the photograph’s 30th anniversary, NASA released a remastered version of the image of Earth as Pale Blue Dot Revisited .

On New Year’s Day 1990, both spacecraft officially began the Voyager Interstellar Mission as they inexorably made their escape from our solar system. On Aug. 25, 2012, Voyager 1 passed beyond the heliopause, the boundary between the heliosphere, the bubble-like region of space created by the Sun, and the interstellar medium. Its twin followed suit six years later. Today , 45 years after its launch and 14.6 billion miles from Earth, four of Voyager 1’s 11 instruments continue to return useful data, having now spent 10 years in interstellar space. Signals from the spacecraft take nearly 22 hours to reach Earth, and 22 hours for Earth-based signals to reach the spacecraft. Engineers expect that the spacecraft will continue to return data from interstellar space until about 2025 when it will no longer be able to power its systems. And just in case an alien intelligence finds it one day, Voyager 1 like its twin carries a gold-plated record that contains information about its home planet, including recordings of terrestrial sounds, music, and greetings in 55 languages. Engineers at NASA thoughtfully included Instructions on how to play the record.

The voyage continues…

Data From NASA's Voyager 1 Point to Interstellar Future

New data from NASA's Voyager 1 indicate that the spacecraft is drawing ever closer to exiting our solar system and entering interstellar space.

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The Real Cost Of NASA Missions

How much are we really paying to explore the universe?

By Shannon Stirone | Published Nov 5, 2015 1:30 AM EST

Since its inception in 1958, NASA has accomplished some pretty spectacular feats of science. Our country has landed humans on the Moon six times. We’ve successfully put laboratories onto the surface of Mars, and we’ve flown by every single planet in our solar system, including the recently promoted asteroid-turned-dwarf planet, Ceres.

Despite decades of scientific and technological achievements, some people still think that funding NASA is a waste of money. However, when you do the calculations, it turns out we are actually getting a great value from this government-run agency.

What NASA Gives Us

We can thank the Cold War for NASA’s existence in the first place. After the launch of Sputnik in 1957, President Eisenhower realized we were losing the space race. So, on July 29th, 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was born. Upon signing the Space Act, Eisenhower said this about the new program: “There are many aspects of space and space technology which can be helpful to all people as the United States proceeds with its peaceful program of space and exploration. Every person has the opportunity to share through understanding in the adventures which lie ahead.”

For 57 years NASA has provided the world with new perspectives on our species and our place in the cosmos. After the Apollo 8 mission sent back the famous “Earthrise” image, we were able to see ourselves for the first time. There we were, a beautiful blue ball, where everyone lives. Then on Valentine’s day in 1990, the Voyager 1 spacecraft turned around on its way out of our solar system, and took the ultimate family portrait . This time, from a distance of 3.7 billion miles away, we were tiny, just a speck among the stars. It was because of moments like these that for decades when children were asked what they wanted to be when they grew up, they answered, “an astronaut!” This dream only existed because of NASA.

Gorgeous, super hi-res image of Pluto

Recently, the world was united once again in the spirit of space exploration as the New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto . Always the underdog of the solar system, and discovered only in 1930, we never really knew what Pluto looked like; it is 3 billion miles away, after all. On July 14th it seemed as though the world stopped; people tweeted, Facebooked, and cheered on the streets while humankind accomplished something great. And while no one could see the spacecraft, we all watched in awe as the nine-year journey came to a close and we flew past Pluto, only to find out it was more interesting than anyone could have ever imagined .

The Price Of Awe And Amazement

Getting inspired by science and discovery is one of the most rewarding parts of being a human. But exploring isn’t free, especially not in the space case. What is the price of awe and amazement?

Since the end of the Apollo program in 1972 NASA has operated with an average 0.5 percent of the total US budget. That’s not even a percent of the total 3 trillion dollars allocated to the U.S. in 2014. Although that may still seem like a lot of money, let’s compare it to the beginning of the Apollo program.

In 1961 , President John F. Kennedy decided that NASA would send humans to the Moon before the end of the decade. At that time, each U.S. citizen was paying $20 per year to NASA. JFK needed that number to go up to $26 a year to help get our astronauts to the Moon. In 2015 dollars, the Apollo era budget would have been equivalent to each American paying over $200 a year to the space administration. If NASA still had that sort of funding in 2015, that would make its budget a whopping $65 billion dollars per year, compared to its actual budget of $17.5 billion. Instead, in 2014 each American paid an average of $54 per year to NASA.

That money gets spread out over many different projects. So even though the Curiosity rover had an astounding $2.6 billion price tag, each citizen only paid about about $0.41 per year to put the SUV-sized robot on Mars.

Since 1972, NASA’s budget hasn’t increased, but has been cut by roughly 75 percent, and it’s stayed that way for 42 years. While the Apollo era budget was arguably not sustainable, it raises questions as to what might be possible if NASA once again had access to more financial support.

NASA has made a little bit of money go a long way. In addition to organizing science missions, the space agency employs over 60,000 people including private organizations. But NASA can’t do it all. Budget cuts are delaying the development of the Commercial Crew program , which would get astronauts launching from American soil again. In the meantime, we’ll be forced to continue buying tickets on the Russian Soyuz.

NASA’s budget has flatlined in recent decades

What Lies Ahead

Despite its ongoing budgetary battles, NASA continues to do good science.

Next on the horizon for NASA’s space exploration agenda is a flyby of Europa. The mission to Jupiter’s icy moon has created a lot of excitement for astrobiologists. Because Europa has more water in its oceans than all of the water combined on Earth, it has the potential to harbor life.

There won’t be another “Apollo moment” for our space program.

The quest to land humans on Mars in the 2030’s is also something scientists at NASA are trying to plan for.

It’s widely accepted that there won’t be another “Apollo moment” for our space program. NASA will probably never receive the amount of funding it did when JFK set his sights on the Moon. There also probably won’t be another Cold War, but there will always be this question: What else is out there?

We’ve barely scratched the surface of the solar system–there are so many more questions, and many more questions we don’t even know we have. The price of understanding is small, and for people around the globe to feel connected over a rocket launch, a rover landing, a photo, or a spacewalk is priceless. Let’s not stop. Let’s keep pushing forward and as NASA says, let’s continue to “dare mighty things.”

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Exclusive: NASA Explains How the Voyager Missions Could Live Until 2035

Saving a few watts of power here and there could buy the spacecraft a little more time to tell us about interstellar space.

The team running NASA’s nearly 46-year-old Voyager missions hope to get the pair of aging spacecraft to 19 billion miles from the Sun (about 208 AU, or 208 times the distance of Earth’s orbit) with at least one instrument on each spacecraft still sending home information about interstellar space.

To pull it off, they’re racing against nuclear physics, constantly searching for ways to keep the Voyagers’ instruments and radio transmitters running as the radioactive material that powers them steadily decays. But now NASA is considering a clever new plan that may buy the Voyagers a little more time.

Because the engineers who built Voyager 1 and 2 knew the spacecraft would venture too far from the Sun to use solar power, they opted for what’s called a radioisotope thermoelectric generator. A supply of radioactive material produces heat as it decays, and the generator converts that heat into electricity. But as the radioactive material decays, its power output also decreases, so every year, the Voyagers have four watts less power to run on.

At the moment, Voyager 1 is powering its four remaining instruments (one broke down a few years ago) with about 8.3 watts to spare; Voyager 2, with five instruments still running, has about 3.6 watts to spare. Unless the engineering team comes up with a plan, they’re going to have shut off one of Voyager 2’s instruments in less than a year in order to have enough power to keep the others — and communications with Earth — running.

This artist's concept shows NASA's two Voyager spacecraft exploring a turbulent region of space known as the heliosheath, the outer shell of the bubble of charged particles around our sun.

One idea on the table, called voltage management, could buy Voyager 2 another year and a half before its operators have to shut down an instrument.

Watts measure how much electrical power is flowing through a circuit; think of it as the electrical version of measuring how much water flows out of a faucet every minute. (That’s not a perfect metaphor, but it’s close enough to illustrate the point.)

Voltage, on the other hand, is the difference in electrical charge between two points in a circuit. Wind or water will flow from a spot with high pressure to a spot with low pressure, and electrons will do pretty much the same thing. By regulating that difference in electrical potential, engineers can get an instrument to use less power over time. It’s a fairly common energy-saving trick here on Earth, and Suzanne Dodd, project manager for Voyager, says NASA’s Mars rovers use voltage management, too.

“We haven’t implemented it yet; we haven’t needed to implement it yet. We were trying to see if that was something we could do on the spacecraft, and it appears that it will be,” Dodd tells Inverse . “We think it will work, and it should get us another year-plus, maybe two years in lifetime before we would have to turn off an instrument.”

Here’s the Background

Keeping the two Voyagers running this long has taken constant work — and a lot of creativity. At launch, no one expected these spacecraft to still be running 45 years in the future, after most of their original designers had passed on.

“[Flying] beyond Neptune, and certainly the 30-plus years we spent getting out to interstellar space, were not thought of at the time of launch,” says Dodd. “I’m confident that if you talk to an original designer — which would be very hard to do now because most of them have passed away — they would say they never would have expected it to last as long as it has.”

The Voyagers were designed to fly by the planets of the outer Solar System, giving humanity a closer look at the strange, giant worlds beyond the asteroid belt — following up on the earlier Pioneer 10 and 11 missions. Both Voyager spacecraft sent home stunning images of Jupiter and Saturn, and Voyager 2 became the first, and so far only, spacecraft to get anywhere near Uranus and Neptune. But with that mission complete, the Voyagers kept going, sending home valuable information about how solar wind and magnetic fields changed in the outer reaches of the Solar System — and eventually giving us our first real taste of interstellar space.

"The Mission/Test Imaging System at Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. MTIS receives scientific data from planetary spacecraft, such as the outer-planet Voyagers, then splits off data from the cameras and reconstructs it as photos. Other science data are then routed to the respective science teams. Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages NASA's planetary program missions, including Voyager, for NASA's Office of Space Science." United States, circa 1980s. (Photo by Archive Photos/Space Frontiers/Getty Images)

Keeping the spacecraft going has kept engineers on their toes.

“I would say that 100 percent of it has been figured out along the way,” says Dodd. “Absolutely nothing was known about flying for 45 years at 175 AU from us here on Earth, and we're into our 46th year now.”

In some ways, Dodd and her colleagues have found it easier to improvise with the decades-old Voyagers — and their relatively simple parts and systems — than they might have with more recent spacecraft.

“The simplicity of Voyager helps if you want to change things over time as the spacecraft gets older and the mission lasts longer,” says Dodd. “It's kind of like having an old car, and you can look under the hood and know what the key pieces are. When you have a new car, it's all driven by software and it's really hard to just go in there and tweak the carburetor and have it still run.”

But also like an old car, the venerable Voyagers have developed their own quirks over time. Voyager 1’s plasma science instrument broke down during the 2000s, and Voyager 2’s radio receiver has trouble picking up certain frequencies.

“I often describe it like you have two twin sisters that are identical at launch, but different pieces of them have failed over time,” says Dodd. “You can think of plasma as sort of a sense of touch, because it immediately can sense the density of the plasma that you're traveling through. So you've got one twin sister with no hearing and one twin sister with no sense of touch or feel.”

Why It Matters

At this point, the sheer length of the Voyager missions is scientifically useful in itself, especially to physicists who study the Sun, its magnetic field, and the wind of charged particles it blows out into space.

“You have this time record for 46 years of how the effects of the Sun change as you go further and further away from it,” says Dodd.

1981: A simulation of the space probe Voyager 2 preparing to leave our solar system to become the fourth interstellar craft. (Photo by MPI/Getty Images)

The Voyagers are the first working spacecraft to travel to interstellar space — a vastness into which we’ve looked with telescopes but never before actually sent a probe.

Along the way, they’re sending home the first real data about how the Sun’s magnetic field and the edges of its solar wind interact with the magnetic fields and charged particles of interstellar space. That data helps physicists build better models to explore how our Sun works and what interstellar space is like. And it will be decades, at least, before we get another chance at that.

What’s Next

Even with voltage management — and every other trick NASA engineers can pull out of their hats — the Voyagers’ team will eventually have to start shutting down instruments, one by one.

When the time comes, they’ll choose which instruments to shut down based partly on power consumption and partly on scientific usefulness. Dodd says the team will try to avoid shutting down the same instrument on both spacecraft, at least for as long as that’s an option. The last instruments standing will probably be the magnetometer and an instrument for measuring charged particles called the Plasma Wave Subsystem — two of the Voyagers’ least power-hungry instruments and also two that can reveal the most about what interstellar space is like.

“I would say our stretch goal is to get out to 208 AU, which would take us to about 2035 or in that ballpark, so another 10 to 12 years,” says Dodd. “The goal would be to get there with one instrument still operating.”

At that point, the last thing to go will be the Voyagers’ radio transmitters. When the spacecraft run out of power to keep those running, the mission here on Earth will be over, and the Voyagers will fly on in silence.

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Voyager 1 & 2

• Launched on September 5, 1977
• Surveyed the Jupiter and Saturn systems
• First spacecraft to reach interstellar space
• RTGs still operating
• Currently exploring beyond our solar system
• Launched on August 20, 1977
• Only spacecraft to visit Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
• Currently exploring the edge of the solar system

Each powered by:

• 3 Multi-Hundred Watt (MHW) RTGs stacked in a series on a boom, producing about 158 W e each, at launch.

As the electrical power decreases, power loads on the spacecraft must be turned off in order to avoid having demand exceed supply. As loads are turned off, some spacecraft capabilities are eliminated.

Voyager Goals & Accomplishments

Voyager 1 and 2 were designed to take advantage of a rare planetary alignment to explore the outer solar system. Voyager 1 targeted Jupiter and Saturn before continuing on to chart the far edges of our solar system. Voyager 2 targeted Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune before joining its sister probe on their interstellar mission.

Voyager proved to be one of the greatest missions of discovery in history. Among their many revelations about the solar system are:

• Rings around Jupiter
• Volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io
• Moons of Saturn that shepherd its rings
• New moons around Uranus and Neptune
• Geysers of liquid nitrogen on Neptune's moon Triton
• Revealed and crossed the farthest boundary of our solar system

Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to study all four of the solar system's giant planets at close range. The Voyagers are now exploring the outermost reaches of our sun's influence, where the solar wind mixes with the interstellar wind of our galaxy. Their long-lived power source has enabled these explorers to continue teaching us about our solar system for more than years after they left earth.

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Voyager Service

The Voyager service is a true mission of exploration, sending the Celestis spacecraft carrying cremated remains or DNA on a permanent celestial journey, well beyond the Moon.

“Fare well my clone” -- Sir Arthur C. Clarke

Next voyager mission, an infinite voyage.

As humans continue to reach out to explore and, eventually, to settle the solar system and beyond, it is entirely appropriate that our celebrations, rituals, and memorials accompany us. 

For many, the notion of a final voyage in space - permanently traversing the cosmos - offers the most appropriate memorial for a life devoted to exploration, adventure, and cosmic awareness. 

The Celestis Voyager Service launches a symbolic portion of cremated remains or a DNA sample into deep space, leaving the Earth-Moon system on an infinite journey.

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“Celestis will be fulfilling a pledge made to my mother in 1995, to launch both my mother and father together, side by side, and carry their spirits, memories, and the message of their life’s work into the cosmos on an infinite journey into deep space.”

-- Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, son of Majel Barrett and Gene Roddenberry

A new horizon for humanity

Until now, only the NASA New Horizons mission has provided a deep space memorial service.  A symbolic portion of the cremated remains of Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh is on NASA's New Horizons spacecraft as it leaves the solar system. 

With the Celestis Voyager Service, people everywhere can follow NASA’s example of honoring the departed with a mission to deep space.

Artist rendition of the New Horizons spacecraft

Advancing Science, Exploration, and Technology

As with all Celestis services, Voyager launches as a “secondary” payload on commercial and scientific spacecraft. Because missions to deep space are complex, relatively rare, and resource limited, often these missions include advanced technology, including solar sails, and are destined for distant locations – for example the Sun-Earth L1 stable gravity point, more than 1 million kilometers from Earth.

Choosing the Voyager Service for a loved one or yourself supports further deep space exploration by creating a new class of supporters and participants in these mission types.  In this way Voyager missions directly and indirectly contribute to the advance of space science, exploration, and technology.

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Early Voyager missions will be rare and limited in capacity, the participants being special emissaries from planet Earth throughout the solar system – a mission of purpose. Contact us if you have questions or to make a reservation. 

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Launch to deep space of a personalized, individual flight capsule containing cremated remains or DNA sample.

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Attend all Celestis launch events including launch site tour, astronaut dinner, memorial service, and launch viewing from a preferred location. Most events are webcast, permitting participation by friends and loved ones unable to attend.

Celestis produces a custom video of the experience, provided to each participant’s family. An official Certificate of Mission Completion, specifying mission accomplishments, is also included.

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NASA engineers discover why Voyager 1 is sending a stream of gibberish from outside our solar system

Voyager 1 has been sending a stream of garbled nonsense since November. Now NASA engineers have identified the fault and found a potential workaround.

For the past five months, the Voyager 1 spacecraft has been sending a steady stream of unreadable gibberish back to Earth. Now, NASA engineers finally know why.

The 46-year-old spacecraft sends regular radio signals as it drifts further from our solar system . But in November 2023, the signals suddenly became garbled, meaning  scientists were unable to read any of its data, and they were left mystified about the fault's origins. 

In March, NASA engineers sent a command prompt, or "poke," to the craft to get a readout from its flight data subsystem (FDS) — which packages Voyager 1's science and engineering data before beaming it back to Earth. 

After decoding the spacecraft's response, the engineers have found the source of the problem: The FDS's memory has been corrupted.

Related: NASA's Voyager 1 sends readable message to Earth after 4 nail-biting months of gibberish

"The team suspects that a single chip responsible for storing part of the affected portion of the FDS memory isn't working," NASA said in a blog post Wednesday (March 13) . "Engineers can't determine with certainty what caused the issue. Two possibilities are that the chip could have been hit by an energetic particle from space or that it simply may have worn out after 46 years."

— NASA hears 'heartbeat' signal from Voyager 2 probe a week after losing contact

— Historic space photo of the week: Voyager 2 spies a storm on Saturn 42 years ago

— NASA reestablishes full contact with Voyager 2 probe after nail-biting 2-week blackout

Although it may take several months, the engineers say they can find a workaround to run the FDS without the fried chip — restoring the spacecraft's messaging output and enabling it to continue to send readable information from outside our solar system.

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Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 zipped past Saturn and Jupiter in 1979 and 1980 before flying out into interstellar space in 2012. It is now recording the conditions outside of the sun's protective magnetic field , or heliosphere, which blankets our solar system.

Voyager 1 is currently more than 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) from Earth, and it takes 22.5 hours for any radio signal to travel from the craft to our planet.

Ben Turner is a U.K. based staff writer at Live Science. He covers physics and astronomy, among other topics like tech and climate change. He graduated from University College London with a degree in particle physics before training as a journalist. When he's not writing, Ben enjoys reading literature, playing the guitar and embarrassing himself with chess.

NASA spacecraft snaps mysterious 'surfboard' orbiting the moon. What is it?

The moon is getting its own time zone, White House memo to NASA reveals

Cancer patients can now be 'matched' to best treatment with DNA and lab-dish experiments

• TorbjornLarsson Bon voyage, Voyager! Reply
• Jay McHue What if aliens are doing it to try to communicate with us? 🤪 Reply

Jay McHue said: What if aliens are doing it to try to communicate with us? 🤪

admin said: Voyager 1 has been sending a stream of garbled nonsense since November. Now NASA engineers have identified the fault and found a potential workaround. NASA engineers discover why Voyager 1 is sending a stream of gibberish from outside our solar system : Read more

sourloaf said: What does FSB mean?

Rusty Lugnuts said: Where are you seeing "FSB"? The closest thing I can see in the article is "FDS". In modern computers, FSB would most likely refer to the Fr0nt S1ide Bu5, though I have no idea if a system as old as Voyagers, let alone engineered so specifically, would have an FSB. (apparently I can't spell out "Fr0nt S1ide Bu5" or my post gets flagged as spam or inappropriate??)

• SkidWard Just cut the % of ram needed... skip the bad sectors Reply
• kloudykat FDS = fl1ght da1a sub5ystem5 Reply
• 5ft24dave This is pretty old news, like 6 months old. Are you guys just now discovering this? Reply

Commodore Browncoat said: That's about as sane a theory as many of the others that have become ridiculously popular in the past several years, so sure - why not? What reply do you think we should send?

• View All 11 Comments

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To learn more about Voyager, zoom in and give the spacecraft a spin. View the full interactive experience at Eyes on the Solar System . Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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How Much Does It Cost To Level A Yard? Quick Guide to Regrading Your Property

W hen you consider it, leveling a yard is a great idea: no more lugging the mowers uphill, tripping, and stumbling, and you’ll likely preserve your foundation in the long run. However, you may wonder what the costs are when you choose. That said, how much does it cost to level a yard ?

Homeowners spend about $1,950 to have their yards leveled. This price varies depending on the slope’s severity and a few other factors that could influence the amount. Most places offer it by the cubic yard for an average price of $15. An hourly rate for landscapers begins at $50 per hour.

Erosion-prone areas require greater attention and may require frequent grading to maintain the soil in place. Each regrade might cost up to $400 more than the original. Therefore, it is important to consider a few factors throughout the process to understand the costs involved. So, what is there to consider?

Related help for hilly yards:

• best garden tractor for hills
• the best lawnmower for hilly yards

What Are The Costs Of Leveling A Cubic Yard?

You’ll need to measure this project in cubic yards because you’ll work with three dimensions rather than two. When re-grading a yard, expect to pay roughly $15 per cubic yard. The slope of the hill determines how much soil you’ll need. The larger the slope you’re trying to regrade, the more dirt you’ll require.

A short slope that must be lifted a few degrees might cost as little as $400 in soil. However, raising the ground 10 degrees or more may require an investment of $1,000 or more.

Hiring a local landscape grading business helps ensure that the grade is properly adjusted the first time. Guessing and regrading again can cost upwards of $400 for each regrade, not to mention the time and backaches.

If you need to know the numbers in square feet instead of yards, you can do the conversion on that. There are also tools online to do it quickly for you. 

The average cost will vary based on whether or not you do the entire yard or only parts of the yard that need the leveling. A very sloped yard may need the whole thing done. 

The Amount of Lawn Resloping Required

The cost is determined mainly by how much you need to shift the present slope’s orientation. If your lawn has a steep downhill slope in one direction and you need to change the slope in the other substantially, it will take a lot more labor (and money) than if it only requires a minor resurfacing.

Steep slopes exacerbate erosion, and areas with more profound and extensive slopes require more re-sloping to achieve a flat region. The standard expenses for various types of slopes are listed below.

The slope is calculated by dividing the change in height by the distance traveled. It indicates that in every 30 feet of 100 feet is a slope of 30 percent.

Costs of leveling by slope severity

The following (approximate) prices include the cost of filling soil as well as the pay of a professional. The gradient of the existing yard determines the quantity of re-sloping required. Low gradients and fewer materials are required on shallow slopes. Because of the steep gradient, a deep slope needs more fill dirt and work.

• Deep slopes of 0 – 9 degrees will cost $1800 – $5000
• Hillside slopes of 10 – 15 degrees will cost $1000 – $2500
• Shallow Slopes of 16 degrees and above will cost $400 – $1 800

The cost to level a yard in different states in the US

While the cost of living nearly always affects how much services cost based on where you reside, it doesn’t always matter when leveling a yard. The exact cost of leveling a lawn is determined on your specific property and might vary from one neighbor to the next.

So, although your neighbor could have paid $1,500 to level their yard, yours may have a higher slope and cost roughly $2,000 to level. Let’s take a look at the costs from different states.

Across these states, a quarter-acre yard costs on average are:

• Pennsylvania: $ 2 300
• Minnesota: $ 1 800
• Texas: $ 2 200
• California: $ 2 000
• Massachusetts: $ 2 500
• Michigan: $ 1 700
• Colorado: $ 2 000
• Georgia: $ 2400

7 Factors You Should Consider When Leveling Your Yard

As previously said, analyzing all the factors is critical before spending money on this endeavor. You’re conducting a vast landscaping project at the risk of stating the obvious. The land may need to be cleared of trees, sod may need to be purchased, and licenses may be required.

In some cases, heavy equipment may need to be used. If you’ve had problems with water runoff and soil erosion, this can impact the slope of your yard, but if those issues are not addressed, the problem will keep coming back.

A sloped backyard with drainage issues will need those issues resolved before or as part of the grading. 

1. The costs of labor

It’s important to consider labor costs when getting cost estimates for this type of work on your lawn. Grading a yard costs about $50 per hour of labor.

The landscaping company you choose will have to clear the site, dig out any spots, and then fill in the dirt, which will take 12 to 24 hours. On average, this will raise the total labor cost to around $900.

2. The quality of the soil

The health of the grass and other plants is determined by the soil quality utilized in a yard. Determining the quality of pre-existing soil is critical so that the re-sloped area fits the overall yard’s growth pace and health. When done by a professional, soil testing might cost anywhere from $700 to $1,800.

A few low-cost tests are available for as little as $400. Fill soil costs $8 to $15 depending on the number of nutrients available. The price of high-quality variations will be higher.

3. Applying sod

There’s no getting around it: leveling your grass will ruin it. If you don’t want your new level yard to appear like a desert, fresh sod should be installed to bring the lawn back to life. It shouldn’t cost too much if you’re simply resodding a piece of your yard. But if you need to resod your entire yard, the cost of sod installation will be roughly $1,850.

Another possibility is hydroseeding. Hydroseeding is when grass seed is blended with water and sprayed over the lawn. It takes less water to get started and is easier to maintain. Plus, you may tailor the seed mix to the type of grass you want to grow, whether it’s in the shade or in the sun.

Or, since you have already gotten rid of the grass, why not grow an edible landscape instead of grass? Here are 5 edible landscaping idea s you might want to try.

4. Having to clear any land

Trees, stones, and landscaping will almost certainly need to be removed. Clearing land could cost from $750 to $2,300, depending on the number of trees on your property.

Trees coupled together as well as large trees boost the price dramatically since they necessitate rigorous safety procedures to keep the tree away from structures (and people).

5. The necessary permits

Grading usually necessitates permits and inspections to ensure that no subsurface pipelines or cables are damaged. If something happens to them, you or your entire neighborhood may be without water or power, which isn’t an excellent way to win friends.

Permits range in price from $100 to $500, depending on where you live in the city and county. You should also contact your underground utility company before proceeding so that they can mark out the wires, according to Dudley.

6. The landscaping involved

You may begin landscaping after your yard is level. One of the most significant advantages of clearing and leveling land is that you now have a blank canvas on which to design your own garden. So, if you’ve always wanted to pluck fresh lemons off your very own tree, now is your opportunity.

The cost of landscaping ranges from $4,000 to $6,000, depending on the scope of the job. You may save money by planting your own trees and bushes, but it may still be worth it to hire a landscaper for a consultation who can offer you tips and assist with placement.

7. Controlling erosion

When you dig up the earth and move it somewhere else, you risk causing erosion. Erosion is the process of the ground sliding or shifting due to natural forces.

The process of erosion may tear down even the healthiest yard. Soil can shift and impair leveling due to groundwater, rain, wind, and other factors. To address this natural occurrence, professionals employ a variety of techniques.

Planting live and rooted plants is one technique to help with erosion management.

It is an excellent method for preventing the earth from washing away during the first downpour. Another option is installing wooden or metal edging or bracing where you’ve moved the fresh soil. In any case, consider erosion management considerations (lay down an erosion control blanket) as part of the resurfacing cost when re-sloping your grass.

So now that you know that sod is necessary, the cost of building a retaining wall is on average $2 900 to $7 800. The cost of mulching, on average, is around $ 160 to $ 300.

The most costly choice is retaining walls, which are also the most durable. Applying sod may need to be done once a year, whereas spreading mulch may need to be done many times a year. The prices for each technique reflect this. Most leveling professionals can also construct retaining walls.

A landscaper that specializes in heavy sod and mulching would usually charge a cheaper hourly fee. Many landscapers may save money by bringing their own supplies rather than buying them at the shop.

In the end, you need to tally all of these factors for an accurate project cost, and only then can you really know how much this can cost you. 

And if the cost is prohibitive, why not just keep your hillside and landscape accordingly?

Here are a few hillside landscaping ideas .

Final Thoughts

Leveling a yard is no walk in the park if you have a big yard. It indeed is a steep exercise to do it properly, and doing it the correct way ensures a long-lasting and excellent result.

People level their yards for various reasons, both practical and aesthetic. While you may be leveling your yard to build a deck, someone else may be leveling theirs just to have a flat lawn.

So don’t forget to take on that perfect opportunity to plant all the seeds you intend to grow before you embark on this exciting project.

• https://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/landscape/reslope-a-lawn/
• https://www.thumbtack.com/p/land-grading-cost

Plant These 10 Pink Perennial Flowers For Years Of Low Maintenence Enjoyment

How much does it cost to build a house?

New home construction costs $100 to $155 per square foot on average with most homeowners paying $155,000 to $416,250 , in addition to the cost of your land. Costs vary considerably based on location and all your choices in design and interior and exterior finishes.

$100 – $155 average cost per square foot

$155,000 – $416,000 average total cost to build.

Average Cost To Build A House

The average cost to build a house is  $248,000 , or $100 to $155 per square foot  depending on your location, the size of the home, and if modern or custom designs are used. New home construction for a 2,000-square-foot home costs $201,000 to $310,000 .

Building a custom-designed dream home will usually end up costing more than if you were to buy a new home already built in a subdivision, or if you work with a developer that has floorplans to choose from.

New home construction takes up to one year to complete, and there are many steps to the home-building process that we will cover in detail.

If you do decide to go custom, your dream home will only account for  75% or less  of your final costs. Then you’ll have to factor in the cost of the land, financing, finishing out the lot, landscaping, and more which can add up to  $80,000+.

Cost Per Square Foot to Build a House

According to the  National Association of Home Builders , a general contractor's expenses are  $85 per square foot  for new home construction. Add overhead, profit, and finishing, and the average cost per square foot to build a house is  $100 to $155  depending on the region.

*Data is from the US Census Bureau Survey 2017 accounting for inflation and appreciation levels. Prices per square foot in your area will also depend on local material and labor costs. For instance, you will pay about  $180 per square foot  to build a mid-range house in Austin, TX, and  $140 per square foot  in North Dakota.

Building A House Cost Estimator

The chart below gives cost estimates to build a house across a range of sizes, using a low-end cost of  $100 per square foot , an average modern build at  $155 per square foot , and a high-end custom builds at  $400 per square foot .

Cost To Build a 2, 3, or 4 Bedroom House

The average cost of building a 3-bedroom house is $248,000 to $310,000 , while the cost to build a 4-bedroom house $388,000 to $465,000 , and the cost to build a small 2-bedroom home is $93,000 to $155,000 .

Here are the average costs to build a single-family home by square footage.

Final costs depend on where you live, the total square footage, the number of bedrooms, the number of bathrooms, the type of flooring, cabinets, appliances, etc.

In a 2017 analysis of new builds by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development:

46% have 4 bedrooms or more

44% have 3 bedrooms

10% have 2 bedrooms or fewer

Cost to build a custom home

The cost to build a custom home is  $200 to $550 per square foot  based on the location, design choices, and interior and exterior finishes. Most people also need to buy land to build the house on.

Hiring an architect costs   $15,000 to $80,000 or  8% to 15%  of the total construction cost for detailed drawing specifications, construction documents, and project management.

To get accurate bids from general contractors, you’ll need to have an architect both turn your ideas into blueprints and work with structural engineers and planning agencies.

Hiring a custom home designer adds  10% to 17% more to your budget, and high-end professionals charge  $30,000 to $50,000 .

You can save up to 30% by choosing all your design options up front, or by going with a developer with pre-designed options.

Developers and Home Builders

New home construction costs with a developer can be approximately  15% less  than with a custom home builder. Developers plan subdivisions and offer a range of floorplans to select from. Developers build many houses at once, so houses typically cost less each than a custom home, and they’re likely to be completed faster too.

Most developer-planned subdivisions will also have a playground, picnic tables, a BBQ area, and even a pool. On the downside, it could mean there is construction around your home for some time, and it won't be custom designed.

Custom home builders can develop anything you want once you have all the design features in the blueprint. However, your home will cost more purely because they are giving your home their exclusive focus, ordering materials, and hiring workers for one house.

Additional Price Factors

The average prices we have listed here are just averages, and with the range of customization possible, there is a potential for the final price for your home to differ significantly depending on where you live and the options you choose.

Some of the more significant pricing implications include:

Land – In addition to the cost of the land, when you buy your own lot, you'll need to have the land cleared and yard graded for construction.

Size – More square footage equals a higher cost.

Number of Stories – The cost to design, build, and develop a home with multiple stories will add to your overall cost.

Pools, Decks, Fencing, & Landscaping – The cost to build a deck , install an inground pool , and install landscaping can add tens of thousands to your price. Fencing prices are $10 to $30 per foot depending on if you go with a picket fence or more expensive vinyl fencing.

Finishes & Fixtures – The quality of the fixtures and finishes will affect your overall budget. Adding high-end granite countertops or hardwood flooring come at an additional cost.

Roof type – A new roof costs $7,200 to install on average, but with a high-end solar roof expect to spend $40,000+.

Appliances – High-end appliances like an internet-enabled fridge often cost 2X or 3X the cost, plus wiring and plumbing expenses.

New Home Construction Costs

The cost of materials and labor to build a house will average 75%  of your home's final price.

Use the cost breakdown below to check bids provided by  construction companies . These costs are based on a 2,000-square-foot home built at an average cost of  $125 per square foot .

These prices are averages and will vary depending on the materials used, the type of home, and the quality of construction.

Material Cost to Build a House

The material cost to build a house is about  $50 per square foot  or 42% to 51%  of the build cost. For a two-story 2,776 square foot home, the construction materials would account for around  $140,000  and would cover framing, foundation, roofing, siding, interior and exterior doors, windows, insulation, drywall, siding, paint, flooring, electrical, plumbing fixtures, and light fixtures.

Add an average of  $8,700 for HVAC ,  $3,400 for cabinets , and  $2,400 for appliances . Material costs will vary depending on your building material choices regarding long-term durability, eco-friendliness, energy costs, and social costs.

Labor Cost to Build a House

The average labor cost to build a home is roughly  39%  of the total build cost and works out to about  $34 per square foot . The labor cost for an average 2,776-square-foot home will run about  $68,000 .

The ratio of labor cost to material costs is about  $1.30  in labor for every  $1.00  in materials—for baseline costs—and more with more ornate materials or custom work because of the higher cost of architects and master craftsmen.

Architects’ fees can range from $125 to $250 per hour.

Master electricians charge $35 to $55 per hour .

Bricklayers charge about $38 per hour.

Home Building Cost Breakdown

There are so many major components or stages in residential construction that your costs will vary considerably depending on the quality of each aspect of your home build. The National Association of Home Builders says that on average, for a 2,776-square-foot home, you’ll pay:

Cost of House Plans

The  cost of house plans  is  $500 to $2,500 , while an architect will cost an average hourly rate of  $60 to $130 per hour , or $2 to $5 per square foot , for the design work. Our sample 2,776-square-foot home has an architect cost of  $6,000 .

Site & Prep Work

Site work includes  building permit fees  of  $400 to $4,000 , impact fees of $2,000 to $3,800 + to cover connecting the property to local public services like water and sewer facilities, water and sewer inspection fees of around  $5,000 , and architecture and engineering fees of about  $3,300 .

The average  cost to pour a concrete foundation  is  $26,800  for a 2,776-square-foot house, including excavation, foundation, concrete, retaining walls, and backfill. A concrete slab alone costs  $6 per square foot , soil grading or land could amount to  $3,300 , and if there are abnormal efforts required for excavation because of rocks in the earth, or if the addition of retaining walls is needed, the cost for the foundation could go up to an additional $5,000 to $20,000 .

Cost to Frame a House

According to Craftsman’s  National Estimator , the cost to frame a house ranges from  $13 per square foot  for lumber and labor costs for a single-story home to $22 per square foot  for a two-story home.

Framing a 2,776-square-foot home costs about  $42,900 or $15 per square foot , which includes framing the home and the roof, trusses, sheathing, and any metal and steel.

The cost of lumber to build a house does fluctuate some, and it is the only variable that could have a significant impact on the final cost of framing your home.

Exterior Finishes

Once the foundation has been laid, and the framing is constructed, creating the look for the exterior of the home is completed through the installation of the walls, siding, windows, doors, and roof. In most cases the final cost for exterior finishes will total around  $35,000  and include the following:

Building a Brick House Cost

A layer of brick over the wood frame costs about  $35,000  for a 2,000-square-foot house. A brick or solid-masonry house has a brick frame rather than one made of wood. Finding a stonemason to build this can be nigh impossible, as these types of homes have not been developed for about fifty years.

Cost to Build a Log Home or Stone House

A log cabin shell—the exterior—will cost $2,800 to $7,075 per 100 square feet . If you’d rather live a sustainable life off-grid, you can build a solid stone shell with stones and mortar for about  $10 per square foot . Stone siding on a wood frame costs $0.30 to $7.60 per square foot.

Major Systems Installation

Major systems include  rough-in plumbing costs ,  electrical work , and  HVAC systems . Rough-ins are the elements that don’t fall under general construction but are essential to the use of the home. Their combined cost averages $34,000  and can include the following:

Interior Finishing

The combined cost for interior finishes is typically twice the cost of exterior finishes and generally accounts for around  $71,000  of the cost to build a home. The interior finishing covers everything to make the interior of the home beautiful as well as useable and can include the following:

Final Details

The final details cost about  $17,300  for our 2,776 SF house. These are a mix of some potentially necessary additions as well as some that are not essential and more of a nice-to-have feature. After the finishing touches, the final clean-up will cost around  $3,000  and can also include some of the following:

Cost to Build A House Yourself

For potential homeowners looking to save money, building your own home costs about  $70 per square foot  and will  save an average of 25% . On a typical home costing  $248,000 , you would save around  $62,000 .

Cost to Build a Modular Home

The average  cost to build a modular prefab home  is  $80 to $160 per square foot . Of the three types of fabricated building structure options, modular homes are the most expensive, with a 2,500-square-foot home costing $200,000 to $365,000 .

After this, there could still be costs related to land, utility hookups, landscaping, driveways, permits, taxes, and fees.

Manufactured Homes – These homes can look like both modular or traditional site-built homes. A major difference with manufactured homes is that they are built to the HUD code in a climate-controlled environment.

Modular Homes – Modular homes are built in sections that are assembled and, like manufactured homes, built constructed in climate-controlled manufacturing environments. These homes are built to state and local codes to ensure they pass inspection once in place.

Cost to Build a Pole Barn House

The  cost to build a pole barn house  can run as high as  $120,000+  depending on many factors. A basic unfinished 2,400-square-foot pole barn shell costs $20,000 to $40,000 . The price of your pole barn will largely depend upon its size.

Cost to Build a Shipping Container Home

You can also finish out a shipping container for about  $60,000 to $90,000 . A large home built from shipping containers can cost $150,000 to $175,000 , which is generally about half the price of a traditional home of the same size. Shipping container houses take about 30% less time to build than traditional homes.

The following costs are related to turning a container into a home:

Container – $5,600 for a 40-foot container

Foundation – $550 to $5,900

Insulation – $1.75 to $3.00 per square foot

Drywall Installation – $1.60 to $2.35 per square foot

Additional Interior Finishing – $40,000

External Finish – Stucco at $6 to $10 per square foot and timber for $2 to $3 per square foot

Cost to Build a Tiny House

The average tiny house costs $25,000 to $35,000 , but you can build one for less. One couple built a 24-foot-long, 8-foot-wide, and 13-foot-tall tiny home for  $8,000  by using cheap or free lumber, along with sourcing items for free on Craigslist and Habitat for Humanity Restore locations. For the base structure of the home, they built the house on a trailer frame.

Another option in this arena is to purchase a new prefabricated tiny home. Simple Terra offers a 1-bedroom container home with 320 square feet of interior space and a 160-square-foot outdoor covered deck for  $38,000 . They can be delivered with or without interior walls.

Tiny homes are generally considered dwellings of less than 500 square feet.

Cost to Build a Small House

Small houses of around 600 square feet cost $50,000 to $70,000  to build. If a tiny house is too small for your family, you could build something that qualifies as a small house to save money.

Building materials account for just over  $31,000 , and labor costs total  $25,500 .

In addition to construction costs, add another $20,000 for utility hookup, building permits, construction plans, and contractor overhead and profit.

Cost to Build a Guest House

The cost to build a 600-square-foot guest house is $50,000 to $70,000  for an average quality version,  $120,000 for a custom version , and as much as  $330,000 for a high-end custom  guest house. Other options for building a guest house include tiny homes, container homes, and modular homes. In many cases, one of these could be cheaper and finished out faster.

Is It Cheaper to Build or Buy a House?

Depending on a wide range of factors, it could be anywhere from  $0 to $50,000+ more  to build a home versus buy a home. If you already own the land, the total cost of building your own home will compare better to buying a home.

Buying an existing home –  The National Association of Realtors ’ says the median cost of buying an existing single-family house is about  $260,000 . The seller's real estate agent and appraiser will determine the sales price when buying a home. Also, your location will factor considerably into the final price. For example, homes in the Northeast are about  55% more expensive  than homes in the South.

Building a new home – According to  US Census Bureau , the median price to buy a new home is  $302,700 , with the lowest prices in the South at  $100 per square foot , and the highest rates in the Northeast at  $155  per square foot.

This price does not include the cost of land or a septic system and water and electrical lines for new construction—if you are building in a rural area. The main difference is that you'll be getting a brand new home instead of one that may be 20 to 60 years old.

Buying Land and Building a House Costs

Another significant element in the cost to build a house is the price of the land, unless you already own a plot where you would like to build your home. Your location could make a difference of millions. A plot can cost as little as $5,000 in Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada, or as expensive as $2,000,000+ in California or New York.

Even if you own the land,  demolishing an existing house costs   $4 to $10 per square foot  before the construction of your new home.

The cost to build a house on your own land could still be higher than buying an existing home, because of the  cost of a land survey , grading the land, putting in a septic tank, bringing utility lines and systems to the property, etc.

Building A New House Checklist

Compared to buying in a subdivision that is being developed, you have a lot more control and influence on the project when building a custom home with your selected general contractor. However, you'll also have more responsibility and decisions to make along the way.

The following steps will help you navigate the home-building process with confidence.

Create Budget

Purchase property, choose a construction method, develop plans or designs, obtain permits and inspections, purchase construction insurance, begin construction, book a final inspection, complete landscaping.

You will need to contact a lender and figure out what kind of mortgage you will qualify for. Once you have a handle on the total budget for your new home build and have some idea of the costs per square foot, you can begin to draw up your plans without getting carried away and designing something you won’t be able to accomplish.

You will need to find the right spot for your new home.

If you are buying a plot that currently has a house that will need to be demolished, you will save a little when it comes to electrical and sewer connection fees, since those would have already been in place for the previous home.

If you are buying raw, undeveloped land in a rural setting, you might have to add a septic tank for your wastewater needs. You will also need to run utility lines back to your property, and possibly factor in the cost of grading the land and laying a driveway.

In most cases, the budget for your project will determine the type of construction to be undertaken for the new home. In addition to traditional construction methods, others available include:

Complete prefabricated homes

Modular homes

Barndominiums

Container homes

Pre-built tiny homes

3D printed home structures

Establish the number of bedrooms along with their sizes and locations.

Decide on the kitchen size and location and the size of the main living area.

If you are going to do most of the design work yourself, you can find a vast range of examples online that you can use to inspire and guide your design efforts. Alternatively, you can purchase plans that fit with your overall plans regarding total size and number of bedrooms and bathrooms.

If you have room in the budget, you can hire an architect to bring your vision to life in the design of your new home. From these choices, the least expensive is going with a design your contractor has already worked with or purchasing plans online for the contractor to build to.

Depending on where you live, your building permit costs will range from $400 to $4,000 , and inspections will cost an average of  $5,000 . Your contractor can accurately schedule the inspections that will need to be carried out during construction.

For the most peace of mind, select a contractor who has adequate insurance to cover the project through all phases of construction.

Alternatively, if you are doing a low-cost hybrid construction project with many different contractors involved, including you doing certain portions of the work, you won’t need to purchase construction insurance.

With your land purchased and prepared for construction, your construction loan approved, budget finalized, plans drawn up, your contractor selected, and your permits approved, your contractor can be scheduled to break ground and begin the prep work for the foundation as the first phase of your construction.

Once built, you or your contractor will schedule a final inspection to obtain a certificate of occupancy. This is the official document that verifies that all work on the home was done to code and the structure is safe for people to live in.

You can either wait until the entire home is complete before getting the landscaping done or start as soon as the foundation and framing of the house are finished. The other major factor at play regarding when this will take place is related to what you are having planted on your property with respect to trees, plants, and shrubs and what time of year they are best planted in.

House Building FAQs

How much does it cost to build a 1,500 square foot house.

The basic price most homeowners will pay to build a 1,500-square-foot home is  $128,500  while an entry-level custom home of the same size will average around  $300,000 , and a high-end custom home around  $675,000 .

How Much Does It Cost To Build A 2,500 Square Foot House?

The basic price most homeowners will pay to build a 2,500-square-foot home is  $250,000,  while an entry-level custom home of the same size will average around  $388,000 , and a high-end custom home around  $1,000,000.

What Is The Cheapest House To Build Per Square Foot?

A pole barn house completely finished out costs  $30 to $45 per square foot  which makes it the cheapest house to build with quality in mind.

What Is The Cheapest Way To Build A House?

Design your house down to the tiniest detail.

Any different shapes have different cost implications, with squares being the least expensive and curved walls being more expensive. In addition, look for ways to create storage space to free up more living space.

Study what you can about the home building process so you can be better positioned to select the right contractor for the job. Also, so you will understand everything your contractor will be addressing in the planning stage, and throughout the construction work.

Study our Home Improvement Cost Estimator as much as you can to get an idea of the average costs for each stage of your home build.

Spend a lot of time selecting your contractor and ask them what software they use for cost and effort estimation, and how their team tracks and reports progress daily. Online tools are available for builders that allow the client to log in and see the progress of each component of the build, and even show pictures so you can be entirely up to speed with each phase as it moves forward.

Solicit bids from 3 to 5 contractors who've been in business for at least five years, check their reviews on HomeGuide and Google, make sure they are licensed, bonded, and insured, and meet with them in person to walk you through their proposals.

The cheapest way to build a house is something that has two data points – the cost now and the cost later. Many materials used in the construction of your home will be available in a variety of qualities and prices. Some materials may be cheaper now but lead to a higher cost of ownership because of maintenance, energy costs, and replacement costs down the road. Consider this before you choose the cheapest options.