NASA space probe that has been sending mysterious messages for FIVE months has been fixed – but a major problem remains

NASA has finally reconnected with its Voyager 1 probe after a mysterious five-month blackout, the US space agency announced.

The Voyager 1 probe – the most distant artificial object in the Universe – is now returning legible information to ground control.

Previously, it sent incoherent information – and scientists weren’t sure why.

The spacecraft stopped sending readable data back to Earth on November 14, 2023.

But the mystery remained when controllers realized the spacecraft was still receiving their commands.

In March, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory discovered that chip malfunctions were to blame and rushed to provide a solution.

After issuing a coding fix for the faulty chip, Voyager 1 is back in service.

However, scientists have yet to figure out how to start receiving scientific data again.

“The Voyager 1 spacecraft is returning useful data about the health and status of its onboard engineering systems,” the agency said. he said in a statement.

“The next step is to allow the spacecraft to begin returning scientific data again.”

The gold records

The probe and its twin, Voyager 2, are the only spacecraft that have ever flown in interstellar space, according to NASA.

In January 2024, Voyager 1 reached 15 billion miles – or about 136 AU – from Earth.

Both Voyager spacecraft carry “Golden Records” – 12-inch gold-plated copper discs intended to transmit the history of humans and our world to any alien life that might encounter them.

According to NASA, “the records also contain instructions for playing them using a cartridge and needle, like a vinyl record player.

“The disc’s audio includes greetings in 55 languages, 35 sounds of life on Earth (such as whale calls, laughter, etc.), 90 minutes of generally Western music, including everything from Mozart and Bach to Chuck Berry and Blind Willie Johnson .

“Also includes 115 images of life on Earth and recorded greetings from then-US President Jimmy Carter (1924–) and then-UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim (1918–2007).”