NASA’s Voyager 1 probe has resumed sending usable data to ground control after a period of malfunction. The spacecraft stopped transmitting meaningful information in November 2023, although controllers could still receive its commands.
Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory determined that a software issue was the cause and developed a coding fix that worked within the tight memory constraints of the spacecraft’s 46-year-old computer system.
‘Voyager 1 spacecraft is returning usable data about the health and status of its onboard engineering systems,’ NASA announced. ‘The next step is to enable the spacecraft to begin returning science data again.’
Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 became the first spacecraft to enter the interstellar medium in 2012 and is currently more than 15 billion miles from Earth. Messages sent from Earth take approximately 22.5 hours to reach the spacecraft.
Its twin, Voyager 2, also left the solar system in 2018. Both Voyager spacecraft carry ‘Golden Records’—12-inch, gold-plated copper disks designed to convey information about our planet to potential extraterrestrial recipients.
These records include a map of our solar system, a piece of uranium serving as a radioactive clock, and symbolic instructions for playing music and viewing images using an included stylus. The contents of the record, curated by a committee led by astronomer Carl Sagan, encompass diverse aspects of life on Earth, including music and sounds.
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are expected to continue their journey through the Milky Way potentially indefinitely, even after their power sources deplete sometime after 2025.
