The vast expanses of space hide not only majestic mysteries, but also the difficulties that space probes face. This time, NASA’s Voyager 1 sent strange messages that were a meaningless combination of ones and zeros. Space agency engineers confirm that another malfunction occurred in the probe.
Writes about this Space.com.
Voyager 1 was launched in 1977 and is one of the oldest spacecraft in service. At the moment, it is in interstellar space, rushing through space at a distance of about 24 billion kilometers from Earth. However, even at such a huge distance, the probe continues to communicate with scientific researchers on Earth.
The latest failure affected the probe’s flight data system, which collects engineering information and data from scientific instruments. This system lost contact with the probe’s telecommunications unit, which made it impossible to transmit data to Earth. Instead of scientific information, Voyager 1’s telemetry data shows a strange, repeating combination of ones and zeros.
NASA engineers emphasize that in this case the problem was identified in the flight data system. However, the process of fixing it can take weeks due to the age of the probe and the features of the software, created back in the 1970s.
This incident was not the first for Voyager 1. In May 2022, problems arose with the probe’s positioning and control system when it transmitted meaningless telemetry data. Then it took engineers several months to find a solution.
Despite the difficulties, NASA employees continue to work on improving Voyager 1 software. They released an update in October 2023 that aims to address crashes and improve the performance of the probe’s motors. However, such changes require time and careful analysis, since engineers are forced to rely on the technologies available at the time of the creation of this amazing spacecraft.
It should be noted that each attempt to interact with Voyager 1 takes many hours due to the enormous distance at which the probe is located. Each signal takes 22.5 hours to reach Earth, making interaction with this oldest research apparatus a difficult and patient process for scientists.
Earlier, Cursor reported that scientists had found a source of infinite energy.
