WASHINGTON: NASA, the US space research agency, announced early on Saturday that it has fully reestablished communication with its Voyager 2 spacecraft, more than a week after a wrong command resulted in severed contact with the 45-year-old probe.
The successful communication restoration came after staff used the highest-power transmitter to send a message to the spacecraft, aligning the antenna with the command during optimal conditions.
Voyager 2, currently a billion miles away from Earth, had detected a “heartbeat” signal during a regular sky scan, indicating the probe’s good health. NASA’s huge dish in Australia’s capital, Canberra, played a vital role in catching the signals from Voyager 2 and sending correct commands on its path to be picked up.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Closely Observing Voyager 2
The loss of communication occurred when a wrong command was inadvertently sent to the spacecraft, causing the antenna to shift 2% away from Earth, disrupting its ability to receive commands or transmit data. However, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been closely observing Voyager 2 and working to reestablish contact with the spacecraft, which is currently over 12 billion miles away.
Voyager 2, launched from Florida in 1977, has been on a mission to explore the outer space of our solar system, including Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. It was sent before its twin spacecraft, Voyager 1, and entered outer space in the solar system in 2018, making significant discoveries, such as new moons on Uranus and Jupiter.
In the coming weeks, Nasa’s Deep Space Network in Canberra will continue efforts to bombard Voyager 2’s vicinity with the correct command, hoping for a successful connection. If this attempt fails, NASA will have to wait until October for an automatic spacecraft reset that could potentially restore communication. Until then, the probe is expected to remain on its planned trajectory during the quiet period.
Both Voyager spacecraft are expected to continue their journey through space until they run out of power, which is estimated to happen sometime after 2025. Once their power depletes, they will continue to drift through space, marking the culmination of an extraordinary and groundbreaking mission.
