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NASA published this original article on March 13, 2024. Edits by EarthSky.<\/p>\n
Since November 2023, NASA\u2019s Voyager 1 spacecraft has been sending a steady radio signal to Earth, but the signal does not contain usable data. The source of the issue appears to be with one of three onboard computers \u2013 the flight data subsystem, or FDS \u2013 which is responsible for packaging the science and engineering data before it\u2019s sent to Earth by the telemetry modulation unit (a data encoder).<\/p>\n
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On March 3, the Voyager mission team saw activity from one section of the FDS that differed from the rest of the computer\u2019s unreadable data stream. The new signal was still not in the format used by Voyager 1 when the FDS is working properly, so the team wasn\u2019t initially sure what to make of it. But an engineer with the agency\u2019s Deep Space Network, which operates the radio antennas that communicate with both Voyagers and other spacecraft traveling to the moon and beyond, was able to decode the new signal and found that it contains a readout of the entire FDS memory.<\/p>\n
The FDS memory includes its code, or instructions for what to do, as well as variables, or values used in the code that can change based on commands or the spacecraft\u2019s status. It also contains science or engineering data for downlink. The team will compare this readout to the one that came down before the issue arose and look for discrepancies in the code and the variables to potentially find the source of the ongoing issue.<\/p>\n
This new signal resulted from a command sent to Voyager 1 on March 1. Called a \u201cpoke\u201d by the team, the command is meant to gently prompt the FDS to try different sequences in its software package in case the issue could be resolved by going around a corrupted section.<\/p>\n
Because Voyager 1 is more than 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) from Earth, it takes 22.5 hours for a radio signal to reach the spacecraft. And then it\u2019s another 22.5 hours for the probe\u2019s response to reach antennas on the ground. So the team received the results of the command on March 3. On March 7, engineers began working to decode the data. Finally, on March 10, they determined that it contains a memory readout.<\/p>\n
The team is analyzing the readout. Using that information to devise a potential solution and attempt to put it into action will take time.<\/p>\n
Bottom line: The Voyager 1 spacecraft \u2013 which launched in 1977 and has now traveled out of our solar system \u2013 started sending gibberish back to Earth in November. Now engineers have sent it a \u201cpoke\u201d and received a message they\u2019ve been able to decipher.<\/p>\n
Via NASA<\/p>\n
Read more: Why are the Voyager spacecraft getting closer to Earth?<\/p>\n
Read more: SETI finds sign of intelligence, and it\u2019s our own Voyager 1<\/p>\n
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