2024-04-26 06:32:57
The Voyager 1 probe is plunging into interstellar space at a speed of 60,900 km/h (artist’s impression). NASA/JPL-Caltech
DECRYPTION – NASA engineers have succeeded in reprogramming the computer of the probe launched in 1977 and which now explores interstellar space, beyond our Solar System.
When the Voyager 1 probe began sending incomprehensible radio signals to Earth at the end of 2023, most NASA experts were very pessimistic about the chances of survival of this legendary exploration mission launched more than 46 years ago . « One could be fatalistic and think that, after all, Voyager 1 had had its day, that it had functioned longer than one could have hoped, after having revolutionized knowledge of the giant planets of the Solar system and after having been the first machine sent by man into interstellar space, this unexplored zone between the stars where the influence of our Sun is no longer felt. Despite this, the members of the mission team were so attached to this probe that they hung on. They tried everything for months, to finally achieve a technological tour de force which allowed them to reconnect this week »enthuses Rosine Lallement, emeritus astronomer at the CNRS…
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