NASA’s Voyager 1 probe is currently unable to transmit scientific or systems data back to Earth due to a problem with its computers, according to the Space.com.
While the 46-year-old spacecraft can receive commands, a problem appears to have arisen with Voyager 1’s flight data system (FDS), which collects onboard engineering information and data from the probe’s scientific instruments.
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The FDS is not communicating as expected with the probe’s telecommunications unit (TMU). Voyager 1 engineers have traced the problem back to FDS, but it could be weeks before a solution is found.
Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 and its twin sister Voyager 2 are currently in interstellar space, more than 24 billion kilometers from Earth.
Due to the enormous distance, a transmission takes almost a day (22.5 hours) to reach the spacecraft and another day to receive any kind of response. A simple round-trip communication with Voyager 1 takes 45 hours. Therefore, NASA engineers will have to wait until the next day to find out if the solution sent to the probe’s FDS worked.
Technical challenges faced by Voyagers
- However, the solution is not as simple as turning the system on and off again;
- The advanced age of the spacecraft and its hardware presents unique challenges;
- NASA technicians must work within the framework and technology available to their predecessors in the 1970s, often finding creative software solutions.
This is not the first time that Voyager 1 has malfunctioned in recent years. Problems with the probe’s Attitude Articulation and Control System (AACS) were noticed in May 2022 and persisted in transmitting meaningless telemetry data for several months before an alternative solution was found.
Another update took place in October 2023, with a software patch to resolve the problem and prevent the accumulation of residue in the probe thrusters.
However, these updates do not occur quickly. The NASA team must consult original documents written by engineers decades ago to find solutions to the challenges the probes face, as current problems were not anticipated.
Therefore, it takes time for the team to understand how a new command will affect spacecraft operations and avoid unintended consequences.
Despite these setbacks, the Voyager 1 and 2 probes remain the longest operational spacecraft in history and have provided extremely important scientific data about Space.
2023-12-13 00:28:00
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