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Engineers recently sent a “poke” to the Voyager 1 probe in an attempt to fix a communication issue that has been ongoing for five months. They have received a potentially encouraging response from the aging spacecraft.
Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are exploring unknown space at the edge of our solar system.
Voyager 1 has been sending a radio signal back to Earth, but it hasn't been transmitting any useful data since November. This suggests there may be a problem with one of its three onboard computers.
A recent signal from the spacecraft indicates that NASA's mission team is making progress in understanding Voyager 1's current conditions. Voyager 1 is currently the most distant spacecraft from Earth, located approximately 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) away.
NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft will carry a special message when it launches in October 2024 and heads toward Jupiter's moon Europa. The moon shows strong evidence of an ocean under its icy crust, with more than twice the amount of water of all of Earth's oceans combined. A triangular metal plate, seen here, will honor that connection to Earth.
NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft is set to launch in October 2024 on a mission to Jupiter's moon Europa. This moon has shown promising signs of having an ocean beneath its icy surface, containing even more water than all of Earth's oceans combined. To commemorate this special connection to our planet, a triangular metal plate will be carried onboard the spacecraft.
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Voyager 2 has traveled over 12.6 billion miles (20.3 billion kilometers) from Earth, while Voyager 1 is not far behind. Both spacecraft are now in interstellar space, making them the only ones to venture beyond the heliosphere, the sun's magnetic bubble that extends past Pluto.
Originally meant to last only five years, the Voyager probes have exceeded all expectations and are now the longest-operating spacecraft in history. Their extended missions have allowed for even more discoveries about our solar system and beyond, building on their successful flybys of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune many years ago.
But both probes have faced challenges along the way as they age.
Cosmic communication breakdown
The communication issue with Voyager 1 was first detected by the mission team on November 14, 2023. It started when the telemetry modulation unit of the flight data system began transmitting a repetitive code pattern.
Voyager 1's flight data system gathers data from the spacecraft's scientific instruments and combines it with engineering data indicating the current status of Voyager 1's health. This information is then sent to mission control on Earth in binary code, which is a series of ones and zeroes.
Since November, Voyager 1 has been experiencing an issue with its flight data system. This has caused the spacecraft to be stuck in a loop. Despite this, Voyager 1 is still able to receive and follow commands from the mission team. However, due to a problem with the telecommunications unit, no science or engineering data has been transmitted back to Earth from Voyager 1.
The mission team has been trying to fix the issue by sending commands to restart the computer system and understand what is causing the problem.
On March 1, the team sent a command, known as a "poke," to Voyager 1. This command was intended to prompt the flight data system to run different software sequences in order to address any potential glitches that may be causing the issue.
Courtesy Sotheby's
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On March 3, our team observed that a particular section of the flight data system was displaying unusual activity compared to the jumbled data. Despite the signal not being in its normal format, an engineer from NASA’s Deep Space Network successfully decoded it.
The Deep Space Network consists of radio antennas located on Earth that play a crucial role in facilitating communication between the agency and spacecraft like the Voyager probes exploring our solar system.
NASA shared that the decoded signal revealed the entire flight data system's memory. The memory consists of code, instructions on what to do, and variables, values that can change based on commands or spacecraft status. It also contains science or engineering data for downlink. The team will compare this readout to the previous one and look for differences in the code and variables to identify the source of the current issue.
Voyager 1 is incredibly distant, making it a lengthy 22.5 hours for commands from Earth to reach the spacecraft. The team also has to be patient, waiting 45 hours to get a response. At the moment, the team is busy examining Voyager 1's memory readout. They started the decoding process on March 7 and finally discovered the readout three days later.
“Using that information to devise a potential solution and attempt to put it into action will take time,” according to the space agency.
Images reprocessed in the study, from left Uranus and Neptune
Images reprocessed in the study, from left Uranus and Neptune
Courtesy University of Oxford
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In 1981, Voyager 1 faced a similar issue with its flight data system, although not exactly the same as the current problem. This recent glitch does not seem to be linked to any previous malfunctions the spacecraft has experienced.
Both Voyager spacecraft have encountered unexpected problems and communication dropouts over time. For instance, in 2020, Voyager 2 had a seven-month period where it could not communicate with Earth. In August 2023, the mission team managed to restore communication with Voyager 2 using a risky "shout" technique, after a command mistakenly turned the spacecraft's antenna in the wrong direction.
The team managing the twin Voyager probes has been conserving power and extending their missions by gradually turning off instruments on the aging spacecraft. According to Voyager's project manager Suzanne Dodd, these probes are like "senior citizens" exploring the cosmos.
Editor's P/S:
The Voyager 1 probe, launched in 1977, has been exploring the outer reaches of our solar system for over four decades. However, in November 2023, the probe experienced a communication issue that has prevented it from transmitting any useful data back to Earth. The mission team has been working to fix the issue, and on March 1, they sent a "poke" command to Voyager 1. On March 3, they received a potentially encouraging response from the spacecraft, indicating that the team is making progress in understanding Voyager 1's current conditions.
The Voyager probes are a testament to the ingenuity and perseverance of human exploration. Despite the challenges they have faced, they have continued to operate far beyond their original design life, providing us with valuable insights into our solar system and beyond. The mission team's dedication to keeping the Voyagers operational is a reminder of the importance of scientific research and the human spirit of exploration.
