Legendary NASA spacecraft, probes «Voyager 1» and «Voyager 2» were launched into space in 1977 and have been moving away from Earth ever since. Amazingly, during their nearly 50-year space journey, «Voyagers» transmitted signals about their location, allowing engineers and the whole world to «observe» behind them from afar. From time to time, communication with the devices was lost, and scientists reminded that sooner or later the probes would go on a solo voyage through outer space. So, in the summer of 2023 «Voyager 2» an incorrect command was sent, after which the probe stopped communicating, and in the fall «Voyager 1» – suddenly started transmitting… nonsense. His usual string of ones and zeros—the binary code that collectively told the story of his journey into the unknown—suddenly turned into gibberish. Moreover, the probe remained in this state for four whole months and only recently “came to its senses.”
«Voyager 1» back in touch. Image: wired.com
NASA's Legendary Mission
Probes «Voyager 1» and «Voyager 2» – one of the most significant spacecraft in the history of solar system exploration. Launched by NASA in 1977 to study Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, «Voyagers» traveled further into the outer heliosphere and interstellar space. At the same time, the probes continue to transmit data about their location to Earth. Over time, however, communication with the devices began to disappear, which aroused the interest of both scientists and the general public.
Let us remind you that each probe is equipped with scientific instruments for studying magnetospheres, atmospheres, satellites and rings of planets. On board «Voyagers» The famous golden plates are also installed, on which information about humanity is recorded, intended for alien civilizations.
Voyager may be the best thing our species has done. Image: New York Times
The fact that «Voyagers» are one of the most successful space missions in the history of mankind, there is no doubt – the probes have been plowing interstellar space for almost 47 years. Is it any wonder that moving further and further from the Earth, communication with the devices began to disappear? The first difficulties arose at the beginning of the 21st century due to the limited power of transmitters, the worn-out state of instruments and lack of energy.
Do you want to always be up to date with news from the world of science and high technology? Subscribe to our channel on Telegram – so you definitely won’t miss anything interesting!
Despite the loss of communication, the data collected by the probes throughout the mission are of great value for scientific research. Even after losing contact with Earth, «Voyagers» will continue their journey into the outer regions of the solar system, providing a unique opportunity to study interstellar space.
What happened to «Voyager 1»?
Since November 2023, the first «Voyager» There are problems with the on-board computer. And although the device sent a constant radio signal to Earth all these years, it did not contain any useful data, which puzzled scientists. Fortunately, after four months of hard work, NASA scientists finally received a clear signal from the legendary probe.
So, on March 1, as part of efforts to find a solution to Voyager 1's problems, NASA sent a command directing the probe to use different sequences in its software package, which effectively meant bypassing any corrupted data.
The Voyager series are highly autonomous robots equipped with scientific instruments for exploring the outer planets. Image: Insider.com
The result did not disappoint – scientists received a new signal from Voyager 1, which they managed to decipher. Experts hope that the information received will help them explain the strange communication problems.
The source of the problem appears to be related to one of the three computers on board, the flight data subsystem (FDS), which is responsible for packaging scientific and engineering data before sending it to Earth, NASA said in a statement.
Note that«Voyager 1» is located more than 24 billion kilometers from Earth. This means that any radio signals sent from our planet take 22.5 hours to reach a spacecraft, and the same amount of time it takes to receive a response from antennas on Earth.
More on the topic: What happened to Voyager over the last 42 years in space?
Unreadable data
Then, on March 3, previously unobserved activity was detected in the “unreadable stream of data” sent by the spacecraft. Four days later, engineers began the arduous task of deciphering the new signal and by March 10 discovered that the signal contained instructions for the operation and operation of the system, information about the current position and condition of the probe, and downloadable scientific or engineering data.
The Voyager 1 space probe entered the interstellar space in 2012, and ;Voyager 2» – in 2018. Image: Sciencefocus.com
Now researchers are «comparing the probe's latest messages with those received before the problem occurred» and will look for inconsistencies in the code and variables to understand what exactly happened. Experts emphasize that the task is not easy and it takes time to solve it.
Don’t miss: A malfunction was detected in the Voyager 1 probe. How serious is this?
However, since «Voyager 1» is currently further from the Earth than any other object created by man, the connection with the device will sooner or later be completely broken. It is important to understand that the loss of communication with both probes is an important moment in the history of space exploration, as well as maintaining communication with them. Ultimately, humanity has never gone so far into space.