NASA updates Voyager software from 12 billion miles away

Some 46 years after NASA's Voyager 1 and 2 began their epic journey of space exploration, the probes' aging software continues to be updated remotely.

Engineers are updating and fixing software to manage the faulty data that Voyager 1 began transmitting back last year. Another set of updates is aimed at preventing contaminants from building up in both thrusters on the spacecraft. These updates will help the spacecraft maintain contact with Earth for as long as possible , Space reported on October 23.

Voyager 1 travels through interstellar space. (Photo: NASA).

'The engineering team is facing challenges that we don't have a playbook for ,' said Linda Spilker, a Voyager project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 'But they continue to come up with creative solutions.'

In May 2022, ground control began receiving meaningless data from Voyager 1's guidance and control system (AACS), which points the probe's antenna toward Earth. Tests showed that the AACS hardware was working perfectly, but for reasons unknown, the AACS was transmitting its telemetry data through an unused onboard computer, causing the data to become erroneous.

The fix, however, doesn't answer why AACS diverted telemetry data. That mystery could reveal a larger problem with Voyager 1. But engineers are confident the fix will solve the problem at its root, at least once the update transmissions complete after a more than 20-hour journey to Voyager 1.

The Voyager probes can adjust their antennas independently by firing their thrusters. But each firing leaves a layer of sludge in the fuel feed tube. Over decades of operation, the sludge builds up. Engineers worry that the tube could soon become completely clogged. So in September and October 2023, they will begin rotating the spacecraft more frequently to reduce the frequency of engine firings. If successful, the adjustment could extend the spacecraft's life by at least five more years.