NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft, which is currently the farthest spacecraft from Earth at about 15 billion miles away, has experienced a computer glitch that has resulted in a communication breakdown with its mission team on Earth. The 46-year-old probe is exploring uncharted cosmic territory along the outer reaches of the solar system, and engineers are currently working to solve the issue.
Voyager 1, along with its twin Voyager 2, has traveled more than 12 billion miles from our planet and both are in interstellar space. Initially designed to last five years, the Voyager probes have become the two longest-operating spacecraft in history, providing additional insights about our solar system and beyond after flying by Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune decades ago.
The glitch with Voyager 1’s flight data system was first noticed on November 14 when it began sending back a repeating pattern of ones and zeroes, indicating a problem with the telecommunications unit. While the spacecraft can still receive and carry out commands transmitted from the mission team, no science or engineering data is being returned to Earth.
NASA engineers are currently working to gather more information about the underlying cause of the issue, but the process could take weeks. This is not the first time Voyager 1 has experienced a similar issue with its flight data system, but the current problem does not appear to be connected to other glitches the spacecraft has experienced in recent years.
As the aging spacecraft continues to explore the cosmos, the mission team has gradually turned off instruments to conserve power and extend their missions. The team hopes to restore the regular stream of data sent back by Voyager 1, as the spacecraft’s extended mission holds great scientific value. Ultimately, the engineering team is working hard to keep the Voyagers alive, fully expecting issues to arise as they continue on their record-breaking missions.