Voyager Launch-Order Benchmark

Project Overview

Frontier AI browsing systems can answer many questions by locating obvious keywords or matching information from highly ranked webpages. This project explores how to construct a research question that cannot be solved through a single search. The answer must remain short, stable and objectively verifiable, while the clues require the researcher to connect different people, dates, places, organisations, publications, events, records and quantities.

Research Goal

Design one difficult but fair browsing challenge.

Required Answer

A short, stable and objectively verifiable fact.

Evidence Standard

Every clue must be independently supported by reliable evidence.

Final Deliverable

A question, answer, clue set, source trail, validation log and JSON record.

AIBRC-002

The Research Challenge

Challenge ID: AIBRC-002
Research domain: Space Exploration and Mission Records
Difficulty level: Advanced
Date created: 4 September 2026
Last verified: 4 September 2026
Expected answer type: Short text
Research question: Two identical NASA probes left Cape Canaveral roughly a fortnight apart in 1977, and the one carrying the higher number in its name departed first. On what date did that earlier launch take place?
Correct answer: 20 August 1977
Answer-normalisation rules: Case-insensitive; punctuation ignored. Accepted variations: 20 August 1977; August 20, 1977; Aug. 20, 1977; 1977-08-20.
Confidence level: High — stated directly on two separate NASA pages
Challenge status: Complete and verified

Portfolio integrity note: Every claim on this page was checked against the cited source before publication. No source, quotation, locator or search result is invented; where a detail could not be verified directly it is described rather than quoted.

Research Method

Step 1 — Establish the Answer
Begin with a stable fact that can be confirmed through a reliable primary or authoritative source. Record the exact wording, document title, issuing organisation and publication date.
Step 2 — Build Independent Clues
Develop clues involving different fact types, including dates, people, places, organisations, works, events, records and quantities. Each clue must be independently checkable.
Step 3 — Test Discoverability
Run obvious, broad and targeted search queries. Record the results to identify accidental shortcuts, direct answer leakage and misleading pages.
Step 4 — Construct the Evidence Chain
Explain how each source supports a specific clue and how the clues logically combine to identify one answer.
Step 5 — Validate and Package
Recheck every source, confirm answer uniqueness, document limitations and export the completed benchmark record in a consistent JSON format.

Clue Matrix

Each clue constrains the answer from a different direction. No single row is sufficient on its own, and every row can be checked against a source another researcher can reach.

Verified clue set

Statuses are editable so the matrix can be worked through row by row. Scroll sideways on small screens.

Clue matrix listing clue identifier, fact type, statement, constraint, supporting source, exact locator and verification status.
Clue ID	Fact type	Clue statement	Constraint	Supporting source	Exact locator	Verification status
C01	Organisation	Both spacecraft were built and flown by a United States space agency centre.	NASA, with the mission managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.	NASA Science — Voyager mission overview	Overview, Quick Facts	VerifiedVerification status for clue C01
C02	Place	Both left from the same Florida launch site.	Cape Canaveral, Florida.	NASA Science — Voyager mission overview	Quick Facts paragraph	VerifiedVerification status for clue C02
C03	Record or quantity	The two launches were separated by roughly two weeks in the same summer.	Sixteen days apart in 1977.	NASA — 45 Years Ago: Voyager 1 Begins its Epic Journey	Opening paragraph	VerifiedVerification status for clue C03
C04	Event	The probe carrying the higher number in its name left Earth first, because the two were placed on different trajectories.	Identifies Voyager 2 as the earlier launch.	NASA — “Voyager 2 Launched Before Voyager 1”	Image article caption	VerifiedVerification status for clue C04
C05	Date	The later of the two launches took place on 5 September 1977.	Anchors the pair without naming the earlier date.	NASA Science — Voyager 1 mission page	Mission facts panel, “launch”	VerifiedVerification status for clue C05
C06	Person	A NASA history-office author published anniversary accounts of both launches in 2022.	John Uri, NASA Johnson Space Center History Office.	NASA history article, 7 September 2022	Byline	VerifiedVerification status for clue C06
C07	Publication or work	Both spacecraft carry an identical phonograph record assembled as a message to any finder.	The Voyager Golden Record.	NASA Science — Golden Record Overview	“A Kind of Time Capsule”	VerifiedVerification status for clue C07

Evidence Records

Each card records a source that was opened and read before it was cited. Excerpts are quoted only where the wording was read directly; otherwise the record describes what the source shows.

E01

Verified

Claim supported: Supports C04 and the answer — the launch order and both dates.
Source title: Voyager 2 Launched Before Voyager 1
Author / issuing institution: NASA
Source type: Government records
Publication date: 11 September 2013
Direct URL: https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/voyager-2-launched-before-voyager-1/
Page number: n/a (web article)
Table, figure or section: Image article caption
Relevant excerpt: “Voyager 2 launched on Aug. 20, 1977, about two weeks before the Sept. 5 launch of Voyager 1. Why the reversal of order? The two were sent on different trajectories…”
Researcher's interpretation: The decisive source: it states the earlier date and explains the counter-intuitive numbering in one place.
Access date: 4 September 2026
Archive URL: [Not archived yet]
Classification: Primary
Reliability assessment: High — statement by the operating agency

E02

Verified

Claim supported: Corroborates the answer and supports C01 and C02.
Source title: Voyager Mission Overview
Author / issuing institution: NASA Science
Source type: Government records
Publication date: Continuously maintained mission page
Direct URL: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/mission-overview/
Page number: n/a (web page)
Table, figure or section: Quick Facts
Relevant excerpt: “Voyager 2 launched on Aug. 20, 1977, from Cape Canaveral, Florida aboard a Titan-Centaur rocket. On Sept. 5, Voyager 1 launched, also from Cape Canaveral…”
Researcher's interpretation: Independent NASA page giving the same two dates plus the launch site and vehicle.
Access date: 4 September 2026
Archive URL: [Not archived yet]
Classification: Primary
Reliability assessment: High — agency mission documentation

E03

Verified

Claim supported: Supports C05 — the 5 September 1977 launch of Voyager 1.
Source title: Voyager 1
Author / issuing institution: NASA Science
Source type: Government records
Publication date: Continuously maintained mission page
Direct URL: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-1/
Page number: n/a (web page)
Table, figure or section: Mission facts panel
Relevant excerpt: Mission facts panel lists “launch — Sept. 5, 1977”.
Researcher's interpretation: Confirms the later date on its own page, so the pair can be checked from two separate records.
Access date: 4 September 2026
Archive URL: [Not archived yet]
Classification: Primary
Reliability assessment: High

E04

Verified

Claim supported: Supports C03 and C06 — the sixteen-day gap and the history-office author.
Source title: 45 Years Ago: Voyager 1 Begins its Epic Journey to the Outer Planets and Beyond
Author / issuing institution: NASA History (John Uri, Johnson Space Center)
Source type: Government records
Publication date: 7 September 2022
Direct URL: https://www.nasa.gov/history/45-years-ago-voyager-1-begins-its-epic-journey-to-the-outer-planets-and-beyond/
Page number: n/a (web article)
Table, figure or section: Opening paragraph and byline
Relevant excerpt: “Voyager 1 lifted off on Sept. 5, 1977, 16 days after its twin left on a similar voyage.”
Researcher's interpretation: Gives the interval as an exact number of days, which lets a solver derive the answer arithmetically from clue C05.
Access date: 4 September 2026
Archive URL: [Not archived yet]
Classification: Primary
Reliability assessment: High — agency history office

E05

Verified

Claim supported: Supports C07 — the identical record carried by both probes.
Source title: Golden Record Overview
Author / issuing institution: NASA Science
Source type: Government records
Publication date: Continuously maintained mission page
Direct URL: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-golden-record-overview/
Page number: n/a (web page)
Table, figure or section: “A Kind of Time Capsule”
Relevant excerpt: “Launched in 1977, both Voyager spacecraft carry a unique 'time capsule' along with them into interstellar space.”
Researcher's interpretation: Confirms the shared payload clue without touching either launch date.
Access date: 4 September 2026
Archive URL: [Not archived yet]
Classification: Primary
Reliability assessment: High

E06

Verified

Claim supported: Independent engineering corroboration of the Voyager 1 launch vehicle.
Source title: Titan/Centaur D-1T TC-6 Voyager Flight Data Report
Author / issuing institution: NASA Lewis Research Center
Source type: PDF documents
Publication date: 1976 report series, TC-6 Voyager I
Direct URL: https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/TC-6-Voyager-Flight-Data-Report-1976.pdf
Page number: Contents page (Launch Phase of the Voyager Mission)
Table, figure or section: Sections I–IV
Relevant excerpt: Flight data report covering the Titan IIIE / Centaur D-1T vehicle that carried Voyager 1.
Researcher's interpretation: A technical document rather than a press page, demonstrating that the chain reaches primary engineering records.
Access date: 4 September 2026
Archive URL: [Not archived yet]
Classification: Primary
Reliability assessment: High — agency technical report

Search Validation Record

A strong benchmark documents the searches a capable researcher or browsing agent would naturally attempt, including the ones that exposed the answer. Leakage is recorded rather than hidden, and the question is rewritten around it.

Direct wording searchKeyword combinationExact-phrase searchPerson and date searchOrganisation and location searchDomain-restricted searchPDF-only searchGovernment-site searchInstitutional-database searchAlternative spelling search

3 searches run and recorded

Search validation record.
Search number	Exact search query	Search engine or database	Date searched	Top relevant results	Answer revealed?	Problem discovered	Action taken
S01	Voyager 2 launched August 20 1977 before Voyager 1 September 5 1977 NASA	Web search	4 September 2026	nasa.gov “Voyager 2 Launched Before Voyager 1”; NASA Science mission overview; Voyager 2 page; JPL 45-years article	Yes	The query named both dates, so the top result restated them.	Published question avoids both dates and both spacecraft numbers; the solver must infer which probe left first.
S02	Voyager 1 launch September 5 1977 Titan IIIE Centaur Launch Complex Cape Canaveral Golden Record	Web search	4 September 2026	NASA Science Voyager 1 page; NASA image article; NASA history 45-years article; TC-6 flight data report; Golden Record overview	No	Anchors only the later launch; a solver still has to find the interval or the second launch record.	Retained as evidence for clues C05, C06 and C07.
S03	which Voyager launched first	Web search	4 September 2026	NASA image article and mission overview surface immediately.	Yes	A single plain-language query resolves the launch order, so order alone is too easy to be the question.	The question asks for the exact date of the earlier launch and hides which probe that is, forcing at least two hops.

Source Quality Assessment

Every candidate source is scored from 1 to 5 against five criteria before it is allowed into the evidence chain.

1Authority
3 / 5
Who created or issued the information?
2Proximity
3 / 5
Is the source directly connected to the event or record?
3Specificity
3 / 5
Does it support the precise claim being made?
4Stability
3 / 5
Is the information unlikely to change?
5Traceability
3 / 5
Can another researcher locate the same evidence?

Evidence-Chain Audit

Export a report that maps every clue to the source it rests on, records the verification status and access date of each source, and lists the searches that exposed the answer.

Claims audited: 7
Sources in the chain: 6
Disclosed shortcuts: 2

Structured Benchmark Record

The complete challenge is delivered as a single validated JSON document.

aibrc-002-benchmark-record.json

{
  "challenge_id": "AIBRC-002",
  "title": "Voyager Launch-Order Benchmark",
  "project_type": "independent_demonstration",
  "research_domain": "Space Exploration and Mission Records",
  "difficulty": "advanced",
  "question": "Two identical NASA probes left Cape Canaveral roughly a fortnight apart in 1977, and the one carrying the higher number in its name departed first. On what date did that earlier launch take place?",
  "accepted_answers": [
    "20 August 1977"
  ],
  "answer_type": "short_text",
  "answer_normalisation": {
    "case_sensitive": false,
    "ignore_punctuation": true,
    "accepted_variations": [
      "20 August 1977",
      "August 20, 1977",
      "Aug. 20, 1977",
      "1977-08-20"
    ]
  },
  "clues": [
    {
      "clue_id": "C01",
      "fact_type": "organisation",
      "statement": "Both spacecraft were built and flown by a United States space agency centre.",
      "constraint": "NASA, with the mission managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.",
      "source": "NASA Science — Voyager mission overview",
      "locator": "Overview, Quick Facts",
      "status": "verified"
    },
    {
      "clue_id": "C02",
      "fact_type": "place",
      "statement": "Both left from the same Florida launch site.",
      "constraint": "Cape Canaveral, Florida.",
      "source": "NASA Science — Voyager mission overview",
      "locator": "Quick Facts paragraph",
      "status": "verified"
    },
    {
      "clue_id": "C03",
      "fact_type": "record or quantity",
      "statement": "The two launches were separated by roughly two weeks in the same summer.",
      "constraint": "Sixteen days apart in 1977.",
      "source": "NASA — 45 Years Ago: Voyager 1 Begins its Epic Journey",
      "locator": "Opening paragraph",
      "status": "verified"
    },
    {
      "clue_id": "C04",
      "fact_type": "event",
      "statement": "The probe carrying the higher number in its name left Earth first, because the two were placed on different trajectories.",
      "constraint": "Identifies Voyager 2 as the earlier launch.",
      "source": "NASA — “Voyager 2 Launched Before Voyager 1”",
      "locator": "Image article caption",
      "status": "verified"
    },
    {
      "clue_id": "C05",
      "fact_type": "date",
      "statement": "The later of the two launches took place on 5 September 1977.",
      "constraint": "Anchors the pair without naming the earlier date.",
      "source": "NASA Science — Voyager 1 mission page",
      "locator": "Mission facts panel, “launch”",
      "status": "verified"
    },
    {
      "clue_id": "C06",
      "fact_type": "person",
      "statement": "A NASA history-office author published anniversary accounts of both launches in 2022.",
      "constraint": "John Uri, NASA Johnson Space Center History Office.",
      "source": "NASA history article, 7 September 2022",
      "locator": "Byline",
      "status": "verified"
    },
    {
      "clue_id": "C07",
      "fact_type": "publication or work",
      "statement": "Both spacecraft carry an identical phonograph record assembled as a message to any finder.",
      "constraint": "The Voyager Golden Record.",
      "source": "NASA Science — Golden Record Overview",
      "locator": "“A Kind of Time Capsule”",
      "status": "verified"
    }
  ],
  "evidence": [
    {
      "evidence_id": "E01",
      "claim_supported": "Supports C04 and the answer — the launch order and both dates.",
      "source_title": "Voyager 2 Launched Before Voyager 1",
      "issuing_organisation": "NASA",
      "source_type": "Government records",
      "url": "https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/voyager-2-launched-before-voyager-1/",
      "publication_date": "11 September 2013",
      "page_number": "n/a (web article)",
      "section": "Image article caption",
      "access_date": "4 September 2026",
      "reliability": "High — statement by the operating agency",
      "verification_status": "verified"
    },
    {
      "evidence_id": "E02",
      "claim_supported": "Corroborates the answer and supports C01 and C02.",
      "source_title": "Voyager Mission Overview",
      "issuing_organisation": "NASA Science",
      "source_type": "Government records",
      "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/mission-overview/",
      "publication_date": "Continuously maintained mission page",
      "page_number": "n/a (web page)",
      "section": "Quick Facts",
      "access_date": "4 September 2026",
      "reliability": "High — agency mission documentation",
      "verification_status": "verified"
    },
    {
      "evidence_id": "E03",
      "claim_supported": "Supports C05 — the 5 September 1977 launch of Voyager 1.",
      "source_title": "Voyager 1",
      "issuing_organisation": "NASA Science",
      "source_type": "Government records",
      "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-1/",
      "publication_date": "Continuously maintained mission page",
      "page_number": "n/a (web page)",
      "section": "Mission facts panel",
      "access_date": "4 September 2026",
      "reliability": "High",
      "verification_status": "verified"
    },
    {
      "evidence_id": "E04",
      "claim_supported": "Supports C03 and C06 — the sixteen-day gap and the history-office author.",
      "source_title": "45 Years Ago: Voyager 1 Begins its Epic Journey to the Outer Planets and Beyond",
      "issuing_organisation": "NASA History (John Uri, Johnson Space Center)",
      "source_type": "Government records",
      "url": "https://www.nasa.gov/history/45-years-ago-voyager-1-begins-its-epic-journey-to-the-outer-planets-and-beyond/",
      "publication_date": "7 September 2022",
      "page_number": "n/a (web article)",
      "section": "Opening paragraph and byline",
      "access_date": "4 September 2026",
      "reliability": "High — agency history office",
      "verification_status": "verified"
    },
    {
      "evidence_id": "E05",
      "claim_supported": "Supports C07 — the identical record carried by both probes.",
      "source_title": "Golden Record Overview",
      "issuing_organisation": "NASA Science",
      "source_type": "Government records",
      "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-golden-record-overview/",
      "publication_date": "Continuously maintained mission page",
      "page_number": "n/a (web page)",
      "section": "“A Kind of Time Capsule”",
      "access_date": "4 September 2026",
      "reliability": "High",
      "verification_status": "verified"
    },
    {
      "evidence_id": "E06",
      "claim_supported": "Independent engineering corroboration of the Voyager 1 launch vehicle.",
      "source_title": "Titan/Centaur D-1T TC-6 Voyager Flight Data Report",
      "issuing_organisation": "NASA Lewis Research Center",
      "source_type": "PDF documents",
      "url": "https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/TC-6-Voyager-Flight-Data-Report-1976.pdf",
      "publication_date": "1976 report series, TC-6 Voyager I",
      "page_number": "Contents page (Launch Phase of the Voyager Mission)",
      "section": "Sections I–IV",
      "access_date": "4 September 2026",
      "reliability": "High — agency technical report",
      "verification_status": "verified"
    }
  ],
  "search_validation": [
    {
      "search_id": "S01",
      "query": "Voyager 2 launched August 20 1977 before Voyager 1 September 5 1977 NASA",
      "platform": "Web search",
      "search_date": "4 September 2026",
      "relevant_results": "nasa.gov “Voyager 2 Launched Before Voyager 1”; NASA Science mission overview; Voyager 2 page; JPL 45-years article",
      "answer_exposed": true,
      "notes": "The query named both dates, so the top result restated them. Published question avoids both dates and both spacecraft numbers; the solver must infer which probe left first."
    },
    {
      "search_id": "S02",
      "query": "Voyager 1 launch September 5 1977 Titan IIIE Centaur Launch Complex Cape Canaveral Golden Record",
      "platform": "Web search",
      "search_date": "4 September 2026",
      "relevant_results": "NASA Science Voyager 1 page; NASA image article; NASA history 45-years article; TC-6 flight data report; Golden Record overview",
      "answer_exposed": false,
      "notes": "Anchors only the later launch; a solver still has to find the interval or the second launch record. Retained as evidence for clues C05, C06 and C07."
    },
    {
      "search_id": "S03",
      "query": "which Voyager launched first",
      "platform": "Web search",
      "search_date": "4 September 2026",
      "relevant_results": "NASA image article and mission overview surface immediately.",
      "answer_exposed": true,
      "notes": "A single plain-language query resolves the launch order, so order alone is too easy to be the question. The question asks for the exact date of the earlier launch and hides which probe that is, forcing at least two hops."
    }
  ],
  "quality_checks": {
    "The answer is short and objectively verifiable.": true,
    "The answer is supported by an authoritative source.": true,
    "The question has only one defensible answer.": true,
    "No single clue directly exposes the answer.": true,
    "Each clue is independently checkable.": true,
    "The clue set spans multiple fact types.": true,
    "The task requires multi-step reasoning.": false,
    "Obvious searches have been documented.": true,
    "Search-result snippets do not reveal the answer.": false,
    "Sources are publicly accessible.": true,
    "Exact pages, tables or sections are recorded.": true,
    "The evidence chain can be reproduced.": true,
    "The question avoids subjective interpretation.": true,
    "The answer is stable over time.": true,
    "No fabricated evidence is included.": true
  },
  "researcher": {
    "name": "TMK Research Lab",
    "portfolio": "https://theophilusmorkporkpor.lovable.app",
    "email": "tkudjordjie@gmail.com"
  }
}

Skills Demonstrated

Open-Web Research
Investigative Research
Fact-Checking
Source Verification
Primary-Source Research
Institutional Databases
Government Records
Archive Research
PDF Investigation
Search Strategy
Evidence Documentation
Research Problem Design
Benchmark Construction
AI Evaluation
Adversarial Testing
Data Validation
JSON
Structured Data
Technical Writing
Quality Assurance

Research Tools

Google Search and advanced search operators
Google Scholar
Google Books
Google Maps
Government websites
Institutional databases
Digital archives
Public registries
PDF search
Internet Archive
Spreadsheets
Microsoft Word
Google Docs
JSON validators
Browser developer tools
AI systems used for testing, not as final evidence

AI-generated statements are never treated as evidence. Every factual claim must be verified against an accessible external source.

Project Outcome

This benchmark is complete: the answer is fixed, 6 evidence records are attached to specific clues, and 3 validation searches are documented, including those that exposed the answer. It demonstrates the ability to approach an unfamiliar subject systematically, separate evidence from assumption and document research so that another person can audit it.

Reflection and Limitations

What made the question difficult

The numbering is misleading: Voyager 2 launched before Voyager 1. A solver who assumes the obvious order looks up the wrong date.

Which searches failed

None failed outright — the weakness here is the opposite. A single plain question about launch order is answered immediately, which is why the challenge asks for a date and hides the spacecraft name.

Which source proved decisive

The NASA image article that states both dates and explains why the order was reversed.

How ambiguity was removed

The launch site, the year and the interval together leave exactly one pair of spacecraft and one date.

What an AI browsing agent might get wrong

Returning 5 September 1977 by assuming Voyager 1 flew first, or quoting the interstellar-crossing date instead of a launch date.

Remaining limitations

This benchmark is easier than AIBRC-001: the decisive fact sits on a well-indexed agency page, so it tests care rather than search depth.

Recommended future improvements

Raise the difficulty by requiring a figure that only appears inside the flight-data PDF rather than on a mission summary page.

Need a careful researcher for complex web investigations?

I am available for web research, fact-checking, AI evaluation, benchmark construction, source verification and structured research documentation.

Start a research enquiry View My Resume Email Me

TMK Research Labtkudjordjie@gmail.com https://theophilusmorkporkpor.lovable.app https://www.linkedin.com/in/theophilus-kudzordzi

Project Overview

Research Goal

Required Answer

Evidence Standard

Final Deliverable

The Research Challenge

Research Method

Step 1 — Establish the Answer

Step 2 — Build Independent Clues

Step 3 — Test Discoverability

Step 4 — Construct the Evidence Chain

Step 5 — Validate and Package

Clue Matrix

Evidence Records

Search Validation Record

Source Quality Assessment

1Authority

2Proximity

3Specificity

4Stability

5Traceability

Evidence-Chain Audit

Benchmark Quality Checks

Structured Benchmark Record

Skills Demonstrated

Research Tools

Project Outcome

Reflection and Limitations

What made the question difficult

Which searches failed

Which source proved decisive

How ambiguity was removed

What an AI browsing agent might get wrong

Remaining limitations

Recommended future improvements

Need a careful researcher for complex web investigations?