NASA spacecraft 24 billion km away transmits data after 6 months of problems

NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is back to normal operation after a serious problem last November left the spacecraft unable to transmit data for months.

Voyager 1 is the farthest-flying man-made object , currently exploring interstellar space. Two instruments aboard Voyager 1 are back online and sending usable scientific data, according to Forbes . "The mission's science instrument team is determining steps to calibrate the remaining two instruments over the next few weeks. This achievement marks an important step toward restoring the spacecraft to normal status." " , NASA shared in its announcement on May 22.

Voyager 1 returned to normal operation after 6 months of problems. (Photo: NASA).

Voyager 1 is in unprecedented territory both in terms of location and age. NASA's probe is more than 24 billion kilometers from Earth. The signal from Earth took more than 22.5 hours to reach Voyager 1 and another 22.5 hours to receive a response from the spacecraft. That means the error correction process is very slow. Voyager 1 and its twin spacecraft, Voyager 2, launched in 1977, so NASA staff had to work with systems, technology and documents that were decades old. Voyager 1 became the first man-made object to leave the Solar System in 2012 when it entered interstellar space. Voyager 2 also experienced a similar advancement in 2018.

Voyager 1's plasma wave system and magnetometer are sending back readable data. The team is still working to fix the cosmic ray system and the low-energy charged particle device.

The process of returning Voyager 1 to scientific operations required perseverance and creativity. The probe began sending meaningless data at the end of November 2023, and NASA staff spent a lot of time searching for the source of the problem. Ultimately, they determined the problem stemmed from a faulty piece of memory in the flight data subsystem, one of three computers on the spacecraft. The system is designed to encapsulate data from scientific equipment as well as technical data about the spacecraft's condition before transmitting information back to Earth.

After finding the source of the problem, the team in charge began correcting Voyager 1's code. At the end of April, the probe sent a signal updating the ship's status . NASA's efforts to fix the error will help scientists better understand interstellar space.

The spacecraft duo won't last forever, but NASA hopes to keep at least one operating on both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 until 2025. Even if the science equipment stops working , the two ships will remain in contact with Earth for many years to come.