NASA's Voyager 1 resumes full ops, transmits valuable data after overcoming malfunction

NASA's Voyager 1 has resumed full operations and ended its silence period. Notably, the spacecraft, which stopped sending usable data in November 2023, is now once again transmitting valuable information from its four scientific instruments.

Voyager 1, launched on September 5, 1977, had been sending garbled data instead of its usual binary code. It is presently more than 15 billion miles from Earth.

Given the spacecraft's 46-year journey, such malfunctions weren't entirely unexpected. However, Voyager 1 team traced the problem to the flight data subsystem (FDS) that was responsible for packaging and sending data back to Earth.

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A detailed investigation pinpointed the exact chip causing the trouble and enabled the team to develop a workaround. Voyager 1 began sending coherent data again on April 20, 2024, although initially only from two of its instruments.

But now, all four scientific instruments are operational and communicating effectively with mission control.

The primary mission of the aircraft from 1977 to 1980 was conducting flybys of Jupiter and Saturn to collect data on these planets and their moons. However, from 1980 onwards after its primary mission, Voyager 1 continued its journey towards interstellar space. It is currently providing valuable information about the outer regions of the Solar System and the interstellar medium.

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With Voyager 1 back online, the team will focus on further restoration efforts. This will include resynchronising its timekeeping software and maintaining the digital tape recorder used to measure plasma waves.

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In 1979, Voyager 1 sent back detailed images and data of Jupiter, its rings and its moons, including volcanic activity on Io. The probe in 1980 provided unprecedented close-up images and data of Saturn, its rings and its largest moon, Titan.

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In 1990, Voyager 1 took a famous photograph of Earth from a distance of about 6 billion kilometres that showed our planet as a tiny dot in the vastness of space. On August 25, 2012, Voyager 1 became the first human-made object to enter interstellar space by crossing the heliopause, the boundary where the Sun's influence wanes and the interstellar medium begins.

(With inputs from agencies)