AFTER months of mayhem, a probe floating in deep space has resumed normal transmissions back to Earth.
NASA announced Friday that its Voyager 1 spacecraft was fully operational for the first time in months.
“We’re back, baby!” the agency proclaimed in X, previously Twitter.
“Our Voyager 1 spacecraft is conducting normally Science operations for the first time since November 2023.”
All four of Voyager’s instruments, which examine plasma waves, magnetic fields and particles, were returning “usable” data, the agency said.
Investigation operations failed when a technical problem arose late last year.
Voyager 1 began beaming gibberish information back to Earth — apparently signifying the end of its historic mission.
The mission team asked the spacecraft to return engineering data, which includes information about its health and status, and partially fixed the issue in April.
Two of the probe’s science instruments returned to their normal operating modes, but the other two required additional work.
Last month, engineers performed the second step of the repair process and sent a command to the spacecraft to begin sending back scientific data.
Despite the achievement, small works are still necessary. Engineers plan to carry out a series of tasks in the next future.
This includes resynchronizing the timing software in the spacecraft’s onboard computers so they can execute commands at the correct time.
The team will also repair the digital recorder, which collects data for a plasma wave instrument that sends information to Earth twice a year.
Voygaer 1 took off on September 5, 1977, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, a launch site frequented by SpaceX.
The launch of the probe took place in jump from its sister ship, Voyager 2, which took off on August 20. This year will mark its 47th year of operation.
In addition to being NASA’s oldest and most distant spacecraft, the duo is the only one to collect samples directly from interstellar space.
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This term denotes the region outside the heliosphere, or the region around the Sun and solar system influenced by magnetic fields and solar wind.
No spacecraft has gone further than Voyager 1, which is currently more than 24 billion kilometers from Earth. Voyager 2, by comparison, is more than 12 billion miles away.
Both probes passed by Jupiter and Saturn, while Voyager 2 also passed by Uranus and Neptune.
Voyager 1 is known for discovering a thin ring around Jupiter and two moons called Thebes and Metis.
The probe also located five new moons and the G ring around Saturn.
Voyager 1 timeline
Here’s a look at NASA’s most distant probe currently exploring deep space
September 1977: Voyager 1 lifts off from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, now Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. It is transported aboard a Titan IIIE-Centaur rocket.
March 1979: Voyager 1 makes its closest approach to Jupiter.
November 1980: The spacecraft makes its closest approach to Saturn.
December 2004: Voyager 1 crosses the termination shock – the first boundary denoting the end of the solar system – into the heliosphere.
August 2012: Voyager 1 enters interstellar space for the first time.
September 2017: NASA scientists celebrate four decades since the spacecraft’s launch.
November 2023: An onboard computer malfunctions and Voyager 1 begins sending absurd data back to Earth.
June 14, 2024: After a series of repairs, the probe is declared fully operational for the first time in more than half a year.
IN THE FUTURE: Scientists predict the probe will reach the inner edge of the Oort Cloud – a shell of icy bodies that surrounds the solar system – within 300 years.
Each spacecraft carries a gold-plated phonograph record of images and sounds on Earth, in case life is found in deep space.
The contents of the registry were selected by a committee led by Cornell UniversityIt’s Carl Sagan.
Content includes 115 images and spoken greetings in 55 languages.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
