The Voyager 1 space probe was launched from Earth in September 1977, and it is now About 23.5 billion km (or 14.6 billion miles) away from home — and we’re still growing. But despite this incredible distance, NASA scientists have just performed repair work on the craft.
since MayVoyager 1 returned garbled information from the Attitude and Articulation Control System (AACS), the part of the probe that ensures the antenna is pointed at Earth.
Although the rest of the probe continued to behave normally, the information it had sent regarding its health and activities didn’t make sense. Thanks to a change in the way data is returned from Voyager 1, the issue is now resolved.
“We are happy to restore the remote tracking feature,” Susan Dodd saysVoyager project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.
Scientists were able to discover that the spacecraft had begun transmitting data through an on-board computer that was known to have been out of service for years. NASA’s Voyager 1 team was ordered back to the correct communications computer.
What we don’t know yet is why Voyager 1 decided to change the way it sends data back to its home planet. The most likely explanation is something wrong created from elsewhere on the probe’s electronics.
This, in turn, indicates that there is another problem somewhere else, otherwise the computer will not be changed. However, the Voyager 1 team is confident that the spacecraft’s long-term health is not in danger.
“We’re going to do a full read-through of the AACS memoirs and review everything I’ve done,” Dodd said. “This will help us try to diagnose the problem that caused the remote tracking issue in the first place.”
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 (which actually launched a month before their twins) have traveled so far in the 45 years that they are both now Behind the so-called heliopauseWhere the sun’s solar wind is no longer perceptible and where space is formally seen Interstellar.
Although Voyager 1 has shut down some of its systems and lost some functionality during this time, and Voyager 2 also needs troubleshooting, both probes continue to report back to Earth – although the message can take regarding two days. to cover the required distance.
The spacecraft returned images approx JupiterSaturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto have continued to record and analyze in recent years Weird and wonderful experiences They have it in space.
Voyager 1 did not start its “safe mode” routine, indicating that it had not detected anything defective, and that the spacecraft’s signal had not weakened. All is well, you can continue to report for many years to come.
“We are cautiously optimistic, but we still have more investigations to do.” Dodd said.
You can follow the inquiry on Voyager mission case Website.
