(CNN) – The Voyager 1 spacecraft is still exploring interstellar space 45 years after its launch, but has encountered a problem that puzzles the spacecraft’s crew.
Voyager 1 continues to work well, despite its advanced age and the distance of 14.5 billion miles (23.3 billion kilometers) from Earth. And it can receive and execute commands sent by NASA, as well as collect and send back scientific data.
But the readings from the articulation and position control system that control the spacecraft’s orientation in space do not match what Voyager is actually doing. The articulation and position control system, or AACS, ensures that the high-gain antenna remains pointed at the Earth so that Voyager can send data back to NASA.
Due to the interstellar location of Voyager, it takes 20 hours and 33 minutes for light to travel in one direction, so it takes two days to call and answer a message between NASA and Voyager.
For now, the Voyager team believes that AACS is still working, but the readings of the tool’s data seem random or impossible. The problem with the system so far has not triggered anything to put the spacecraft in “safe mode”. Then only basic operations are performed so that engineers can diagnose a problem that could put the spacecraft at risk.
And Voyager’s signal is as strong as ever, which means the antenna is still pointed at Earth. The team is trying to determine if this incorrect data is coming directly from this tool or if another system is causing it.
“Until the nature of the problem is better understood, the team cannot predict whether this could affect how long the spacecraft can collect and transmit scientific data,” NASA said in a statement.
“Such a mystery is somewhat normal for the course at this stage of the Voyager mission,” said Suzanne Dodd, project manager for Voyager 1 and 2 at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
“Both spacecraft are almost 45 years old, which is far beyond what the mission planned. We are also in interstellar space – a high-radiation environment in which no spacecraft has flown before. So there are some big challenges for engineering team. But I think if there’s a way to solve this problem with AACS, our team will find it. “
If the team does not determine the source of the problem, it can simply adapt to it, Dodd said. Or if they can find it, the problem can be solved by changing the software or relying on a redundant hardware system.
Voyager is already relying on backup systems to last as long as it is. In 2017, the spacecraft launched propulsion devices that were used during its initial planetary encounters in the 1970s – and they’re still working , having remained unused for 37 years.
Aging wells produce very little energy per year, so subsystems and heaters have been shut down over the years so that critical systems and scientific tools can continue to operate.
Voyager 2, a twin spacecraft, continues to operate well in interstellar space 12.1 billion miles (19.5 billion kilometers) from Earth. By comparison, Neptune, the most distant planet from Earth, is at most only 2.9 billion miles away. Both probes were launched in 1977 and far exceed their original goal of flying past planets.
They have now become the only two spacecraft to collect data from interstellar space and provide insights into the heliosphere or balloon created by the sun, which extends beyond the planets in our solar system.
Add Comment