'Hello from the other side': NASA's Voyager 1 faces glitch in interstellar space, can't call back home
NASA's Voyager 1
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched the space probe Voyager 1 in 1977 to study the outer Solar System, the interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere.
No spacecraft has travelled as far as Voyager 1, which is still collecting data. But sadly, it is unable to dial back home because of a glitch.
The spacecraft and its twin, Voyager 2, are the two longest-operating spacecraft in history. It's like a cosmic version of a song by Adele when she sang 'Hello from the other side. I must've called a thousand times...'
Also read:NASA's Perseverance rover decodes Martian lake's ancient history after spending 1000 Martian days
In a blog post, NASA wrote that engineers and other experts are working to resolve an issue with one of Voyager 1's three onboard computers, called the flight data system (FDS).
When it works properly, the FDS works on compiling information into a data package. It collects data from the science instruments as well as engineering data about the health and status of the spacecraft.
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Once compiled, the data is then transmitted back to Earth using the telecommunications unit (TMU).
The blog post said that the spacecraft is receiving and executing commands sent from Earth; however, the FDS is not communicating properly with one of the probe's subsystems, called the TMU. As a result, no science or engineering data is being sent back to Earth.
It said that the 46-year-old spacecraft is capable of receiving commands, but a fault appears to have occurred with the probe's processors.
NASA said that the data is in the form of ones and zeros (or binary code). "Varying combinations of the two numbers are the basis of all computer language," it said.
When the issue will be resolved?
As per the NASA blog post, it could take several weeks for engineers to develop a new plan to remedy the issue.
Finding solutions to problems encountered by the probes requires reading original, decades-old materials written by engineers. It is assumed that the experts may not even anticipate the issue faced by the probe today.
"As a result, it takes time for the team to understand how a new command will affect the spacecraft’s operations in order to avoid unintended consequences," NASA said.