In the farthest reaches of the Universe, a signal we thought we’d never receive again has appeared.
Voyager 1: the return!
After a five-month period of communication difficulties, NASA engineers have finally managed to receive decipherable data from Voyager 1. This breakthrough comes after Voyager 1’s flight system began sending an indecipherable and repetitive code pattern in November 2023, rendering its data unusable. The 46-year-old space probe is currently around 24 billion kilometres from Earth and is showing signs of ageing. However, despite its years of service, Voyager 1 continues to push back the boundaries of space exploration.
“Today is a great day for Voyager 1. We have re-established communication with the space probe. And we can’t wait to receive the scientific data. Linda Spilker, project scientist”
The source of the communication problem was identified as a chip malfunction, which led to the corruption of 3% of the flight system’s memory. This faulty chip caused the loss of crucial code, rendering Voyager 1’s scientific and engineering data unusable.
A stroke of genius to reconnect
However, thanks to the ingenuity of NASA engineers, a solution was found. Commands were sent to Voyager 1 to reboot its computer system, and a plan was devised to store the affected code elsewhere in the system’s memory, dividing it into sections and adjusting these to ensure its functionality. On 20 April, after sending commands to relocate the affected code, the team received a response from Voyager 1 confirming the successful modification, enabling the readable transmission of engineering data.
“For this plan to work, they also had to adjust these sections of code to ensure, for example, that they still worked as a whole. Any references to the location of this code in other parts of the memory (of the flight data system) also had to be updated.”
Engineers now plan to continue the process of relocating the affected parts of the system software to restore the transmission of precious scientific data. Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, launched in 1977, are the oldest operating space probes in history, currently in interstellar space. And despite the problems encountered in the past, engineers have always managed to re-establish the connection with these probes, which are already from another era.
Withh all due respect Dr. Voyager 1 & 2 are 48 years old, not 46. (They weren’t created 2 years into their journey through space)
This is incredible news! I can’t believe Voyager 1 has resurfaced after all this time. It’s a testament to human ingenuity and the power of exploration. I can’t wait to see what new data it brings back!
Is it only 46 years old instead of 48 due to time dilation due to it’s high speed through space?
😆
I’m sorry but I lose cell service if i’m not close enough to my Networks tower, and you expect us to believe that you guys can transmit and receive data from a machine?That’s floating through space 24 billion kilometers away and that it’s somehow managed in its 46 years of space Travel not to get destroyed by any space debris. We’re talking about technology that should be far outdated, way too old to be using compared to what we have today, So either aliens are real and this is how you’re doing it or ya’ll full of s***
Argument from incredulity duly noted.
🙂
And if you’re wrong you’re full of sh$t. Either this is troll poo or maybe this is fact but to poo poo it without any scientific knowledge is ignorant
Farthest reaches of our universe? More like just outside of our solar system…which is still an incredible feat! But hardly the “farthest reaches of the universe.”
Also, glad to see people corrected the age and launch date discrepancy. Additionally, quotation marks go around just the quote, they don’t include the speaker’s name and role. No idea who said the second quote too. I understand the author is a sociologist and not a writer, but this article really should have been edited by someone.