NASA’s Voyager 2 Probe Regains Full Communications After Temporary Glitch
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced on Friday that they have successfully re-established full communications with Voyager 2, an aging probe that is currently exploring the outer edges of the solar system. The spacecraft had temporarily lost contact with Earth on July 21 after an accidental command was sent, pushing its antenna two degrees away from its intended position.
“After two weeks of not hearing anything, we’re back to getting unique data from the interstellar medium,” said Linda Spilker, lead mission scientist for Voyager 2 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Deep Space Network, a global network of radio dishes used by NASA to communicate with various space probes, detected a faint carrier signal known as a heartbeat from Voyager 2 on Tuesday. While no data could be extracted, this signal confirmed that the spacecraft was still operational.
However, picking up only the heartbeat was concerning for the team. Suzanne Dodd, project manager for Voyager 2, described the moment as “upsetting and worrisome.” To rectify the situation, a plan was devised to send a command to reorient Voyager 2’s antenna back towards Earth. The command was successfully sent on Wednesday using a Deep Space Network radio dish in Canberra, Australia, though the chances of success were initially slim.
The team had to wait anxiously for 37 hours to determine whether their attempt was successful. “It was pretty nervewracking. You don’t sleep well,” said Dodd. Scientists, engineers, and the flight team were all on edge, eagerly awaiting news from Voyager 2. The wait paid off, as on Friday at 12:29 a.m. Eastern time, Voyager 2 began transmitting science data once again. Furthermore, scientists confirmed that the probe remained on its original trajectory.
The Voyager 2 probe was launched on August 20, 1977, with the mission to explore the outer planets of the solar system and venture into the interstellar space beyond. Currently over 12.5 billion miles away from Earth, the nearly 46-year-old spacecraft continues to collect valuable data on the distant region for scientists to study. Its twin spacecraft, Voyager 1, was launched just weeks after Voyager 2 and became the first to cross the solar system’s boundary.
Had contact not been re-established, the mission team would have needed to wait until October 15 when Voyager 2 is programmed to perform an automatic reset of its antenna direction. Fortunately, this delay was avoided, and data transmissions from beyond the solar system’s heliosphere have resumed. “We did an assessment and the spacecraft looks very healthy, very normal,” said Dodd. The team will conduct further tests to fully understand the probe’s current status before resuming regular operations.
Looking ahead, Dodd is excited to celebrate the upcoming launch anniversary of both Voyager spacecraft later this month. “Both of these spacecraft are truly remarkable in their longevity,” she said. “They’re like the spacecraft with nine lives.”